Mushroom Cafe

So the team was at Sengkang Riverside Park yesterday morning for a secret project (which we are too shy to reveal here) and after it was all done, we decided to stop at a nearby cafe situated in the park itself.

Mushroom Cafe is the one place at Sengkang Riverside Park you can stop by to have a coffee on a relaxing morning or even for some makan after a workout in the park. The only other nearest makan place we saw as a McDonalds so you might as well try something else for a change right?

They have a quite an array of dishes to choose from but just our luck (as usual) that quite a few of them were not available. So we decided on some classics instead.

Mee Rebus ($4.50)

Nothing like a big hearty serving of Mee Rebus to get you going in the morning sometimes am I right or am I right? And it is a pretty big serving here at Mushroom Cafe.

Turned out to be quite a standard bowl of Mee Rebus. Mein Brudder thinks it has a little bit of a weird taste (which I tend to agree with him on that) but it's not a big reason not to enjoy the dish. Well, the girls obviously enjoyed it.

For me, I can respect a bowl of Mee Rebus which has the traditional (and not so often used) garnish of Udang Geragau!! Old school and traditional!!

Laksa ($4.50)

Unfortunately the same can't be said of the Laksa though...

This dish definitely had a very distinct taste and it was not the taste we'd associate with Laksa.
Yeah sure you can get hints of it but maybe it was too much of the rempah or something that gave it an extra salty kind of flavour

Everyone kept saying it was as if they used a few packets of Maggi Kari seasoning inside!!
Anyways it's got some prawns and tau pok and egg but no cockles FYI. Plus no coconut milk was used in this dish so it's on the 'healthy' side if you wanna put it that way.

Chicken Stew ($5.50)

If you're looking for another hearty dish it's gotta be the Chicken Stew.

You've got chicken stewed in a tasty broth with veggies like potatoes and carrots. Give you a nice rich flavour which you can choose to enjoy with either bread, rice or noodles (not sure what type of noodles though)

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR

You're probably gonna go to the park with your kids so you'd expect them to be a little bit more kid-friendly here. They have baby chairs available but they have only TWO chairs!! So if you have kids yeah they can play around the cafe area since it's in the park but if it's infants then you might have to hold on to them while you eat.

Child Friendly Rating - 1.5/5

Adam's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 2.5/5 -- Laksa 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3.5/5 -- Laksa 1.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3./5 -- Laksa 1.5/5 -- Chicken Stew 3.5/5

Yana's Verdict:
Mee Rebus 3./5 -- Laksa 1.5/5 -- Chicken Stew 3.5/5

Well, it's not like there's much choice there but in the end it wasn't too bad. I guess there could be worse places to relax after a day out in the park.

PS here's a fun fact - Mushroom Cafe is actually a brand owned by the famous Old Chang Kee! :)

Mushroom Cafe

Sengkang Riverside Park
50 Anchorvale Street

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mushroom-Cafe/162021857332582?fref=ts

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 9.00pm Weekdays
7.00am til 9.00pm on Weekends
Closed on Mondays

Fara's Restaurant - Malacca Lok Lok Steamboat Buffet

Oh you guys won't believe how long we have waited to make our way down to try this.
And finally, the time has come! Here's the Malacca Lok Lok Steamboat Buffet at FRC!

So some of you are probably going "Errr... what's Lok Lok?"
Well, it's basically kinda like a steamboat/hot pot where you get to dunk and cook food in soup/gravy and boy oh boy it can get really fun and filling!

It's really popular in Malaysia (especially Malacca like duh). But you'd be surprised how difficult it is to find a Halal one even across the Causeway! When my Darling Wife and I visited Malacca awhile back, we found out we would have to travel about half an hour by cab just to reach the nearest Halal Lok Lok joint there. Hmmm.....

Well, we don't have to go so far now because we can get it without having to chop passport or pay expensive toll charges LOL

So the Lok Lok Steamboat Buffet is available only on weekends at Fara's Restaurant in Sentosa.
Before you start commenting stuff like "Aiyah all the way to Sentosa??", let us remind you that you probably can't get this anywhere else as close by. Anyways after you see the picture maybe you will see why it's worth it to make your way down.

As you can see, it's a Kampong-style thing going on at Costa Sands (Imbiah Walk) and you'll be eating literally in nature so you really get into the atmosphere. Al Fresco dining!!1

When you get there, the first thing you need to do is choose your soup/gravy favours and you have 4 to choose from... Satay, Laksa, Tom Yum and Chicken.

Satay and Tom Yum

Laksa and Satay

So we tried the ones that we figured we'd like the best.

The Satay is the one traditionally associated with Lok Lok Steamboat so that was a must. We could see why this was the staple at all Lok Lok places. There's just something about dunking food on sticks into Satay gravy that rocks! The gravy was tasty and the right consistency too! I was a bit worried that it would be too thick but not at all! You can even drink it as a soup!

The Laksa was pretty nice too! A great flavour that actually makes you wish you were having actual Laksa LOL but you're having Lok Lok Steamboat okay so don't get carried away.

As usual, we are somehow firm followers of Tom Yum and the Tom Yum soup here was super. Most people will probably choose Tom Yum too and it's little wonder why with a great tasting soup here at FRC. And the more and more you dunk stuff in, the tastier it becomes!!

So what exactly are we dunking?

Prawns

Fish Balls

Hot Dogs and Spicy Fish Cakes

Fish

Assorted Crab Meat

Sotong

Otah

Cocktail Sausages

Beef

Something for the kids!

Don't feel bad about eating the little faces LOL we've seen some variations like Star shapes and the lot but the kids are definitely going to love it! Something fun for them to enjoy!

There's also other stuff we didn't get to photograph because we were too busy stuffing our faces.
Chicken meat and Quail eggs are good examples. I think Quail eggs already we can whack 200.

And don't worry, there's other stuff too not just protein!

Assorted Mushrooms

Assorted Tofu

Assorted Veggies

I know that Veggie Bouquet looks too pretty to eat but you gotta have at least 2 servings of vegetables a day so please don't feel bad and eat your veggies!

They also have some stuff that you don't have to dunk or cook in the soup by the way. These are foods already prepared so just pick it up and eat it.

Mee Goreng

Nasi Goreng

Most of the time when we see Mee Goreng and the sort at a buffet, it's just a filler and not really that good but the Mee Goreng here was excellent! Kept going back for more when I should have been concentrating my efforts on the Lok Lok Steamboat! LOL

They've also got other cooked food (best part - it's fried!) for you to chomp down on. you could eat them as is with some sauce or you could even dunk them for a bit in the Lok Lok Steamboat!

And speaking of sauces....

They have 3 special dipping sauces for you and they keep in the style of the Asian spicy flavours we all know and love so much. But please pardon the picture quality... shaky hands cos too hungry!!

Right on top you have a Chili Kicap kind of concoction which had a bit of tang to it and was definitely on the spicy side! In the middle was a special mix of Sambal Belachan for all you Belachan lovers. Last but not least was a Sambal Tumis.

So how exactly does it go besides choosing which foods you wanna dunk into the Lok Lok Steamboat anyways?

So you remember we chose our stock right at the top right?
Choose between Satay, Laksa, Tom Yum and Chicken stock! And don't forget - You can choose up to 2 because they have a double steamboat thing going on.

Next, you  put your food in, let it simmer up a little bit and you dig in!

Looks good right? Tastes great too!
It's a simple idea and it's fuss free eating! Just choose, dunk and then devour! And it's really fun too! I'm sure you all agree it's always a bit more fun when you're cooking your food at the table and getting to eat it fresh and piping hot!

And if the pictures are not enough to entice you...

 
That's surely got to get your appetite running right!!!

After after a whole evening of stuffing your self with so much yummy food, if you still have space, then tuck in to some of the desserts they have there!

Even the drinks are served old-school style!!

I'm guessing that all the food you see above (both for the Lok Lok Steamboat and assorted food/desserts) are probably on a rotational basis. That means you might have a few different items depending on the weekend you visit but what's important to note is that the food will always be fresh and you'll always have a choice of which of the 4 Lok Lok Steamboat soup bases you'd like to enjoy!

Even if you drop by on a weekday or the weekend afternoons, they have an ala carte menu which you can enjoy in the air-con section of the restaurant! Spoilt for choice!

Prices are:
Adult - $29.90+

Child - $14.90+

Sentosa might be a bit of trip from the mainland but hey it's still better than traveling across the causeway am I right? Go early in the day and make a day trip to Sentosa with the family. And in the evening, make your way to FRC and enjoy some Lok Lok Steamboat to reward yourselves! If you're lucky, can catch the weekend fireworks display too!

And who knows, if we are lucky enough, they might open one on the mainland too!
Let's show our support and enjoy some Lok Lok!

Fara's Restaurant and Catering

30 Imbiah Walk 
Costa Sands Resort
Sentosa

Tel: 6274 9963
www.farasrestaurant.com
www.facebook.com/frcdining

Operating Hours:
8am til 11pm Daily

Lok Lok Steamboat only available on
Saturdays and Sundays 6pm til 10pm

Penang Culture

Advertorial

My darling wife had gone to this makan place with her friends during the recent Ramadhan. I hadn't heard much about Penang Culture before that. Many months later, we finally got the chance to visit and tuck in to some Penang-style cuisine.

The first thing that surprised us after browsing through the menu was that they offered not only Penang favourites but even some other dishes that you might enjoy as well.

Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles ($7.65)

First thing on our list was the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles.
We did some research on foods that everyone should try in Penang and this was definitely on those lists!

When someone says Hokkien Mee in Singapore, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fried Hokkien Mee aka Rochor Mee which is the half-beehoon-half-yellow noodles dish with loads of prawns fried up in prawn stock. But when someone mentions Penang Hokkien Mee, we are talking a nice big bowl of soupy goodness.

The first thing we tried was the stock which was full of flavour!
We were told that the stock was made with prawns and chicken which is what gives it such a rich and flavourful oomph and I could not help but keep gulping it down.

You will also get bee hoon and yellow noodles  so you can decide which you prefer.
But it's topped off with fish cake, chicken, boiled egg and 2 big prawns for you to enjoy!

Here's a tip - mix in the spoonful of chilli sambal to give your dish an even more spicy kick!

Penang Assam Laksa ($6.95)

Here's another Penang must-try!

We've had Assam Laksa before but this was a whole different story.
The spicy-sour fish broth was really the bomb. I thought I had found treasure with the Hokkien Prawn Noodles broth but for those of you going for a more tangy flavour - this is for you!

And the best thing is that it was not overly sour that you get tired of the taste after a few spoonfuls.
This was a very flavourful broth and boy was I hooked!

And here's a special touch that I never expected.
You see that spoon with the black liquid? It's Petis Udang (Fermented Prawn Paste)!!
Totally unexpected and added such a big difference to the dish!

If the broth was not enough to convince you that this was authentic Penang fare, check out the noodles.
These are not the regular thin Laksa noodles you'd normally get. These are thicker (very similar to Laksa Cap) and give you a great bite.

Pile on some noodles, sardines and yummy broth and take a big delicious SLURP!!

Penang Fried Koay Teow ($7.95)

Here's the dish that so many people were telling us to try should we visit Penang Culture.
One of the dishes that comes to mind when someone says Penang is undoubtedly Penang Char Koay Teow.

Don't be confused with the Singapore version which has loads of sweet sauce in it.
None of that here but definitely lots of chilli! Don't worry it's not going to burn your mouth off but if you're the type that likes your kway teow to have the full flavour of noodles and spiciness of chilli, this is for you!

Finish it off with some greens, beansprouts, eggs and of course - cockles!
A Penang hawker favourite available right here!

BBQ Seafood Platter for 2 ($17.95)

If you're looking for something to share, consider this a good choice of BBQ goodies so you can sample a number of things at once. It's also good for you to whet your appetite while waiting for your main course!

You get a nice mix of BBQ prawns, Satay and BBQ squid.
In fact, it's even enough to share between 3-4 people!

The prawns were great and I love it when they make it easy to eat. No messy peeling!
And the sambal was good too! Similar to the BBQ seafood type of sambal you get and this one was a little sweet but definitely spicy!

And I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the squid but it was tender and not at all rubbery!

For all you Satay lovers, you'll probably enjoy the Satay here. The meat was tender and the satay sauce was good. Plenty of cucumber and onions for you to chomp down on but you might wanna ask for more sauce.
And I know you'll probably say that if wanna east Satay then might as well go somewhere that specializes in Satay but if you're at Penang Culture, the Satay is still something you might want to try if you're there.

Pink Guava Juice & Ampla Juice ($4.55 each)

They've actually got quite a selection of drinks at Penang Culture for to wash down all the yummy makan.

One of the more unique ones (and one I've never tried before today) was the Ampla Juice.
The Ampla fruit is also known by another name, Buah Long-Long, and is apparently a very healthy choice.
It has a distinct veggie taste but also have a very nice tang to it. Definitely gets the appetite going and is refreshing enough to cool your mouth down with all the spicy food.

They also have Pink Guava, Rambutan Juice and even Nutmeg Juice!!

King Of Cendol ($6.95)

JENG JENG JENG!!!

The King Of Cendol is the perfect dessert for you Durian Lovers.
Cendol, sweet red beans and coconut milk topped off with shaved iced, gula melaka and fresh durian!!

The cendol was soft and the red beans were nice and sweet. And the fresh durian was definitely the highlight!
Definitely a nice and sweet end to a very very satisfying Penang-style meal!

They also have other sweet treats for you including Ice Kachang and Bubor Hitam!
And for those of you who do not fancy durian, don't worry! All the desserts have a version which does not have durian so you have a choice too!!

What we had tonight was just the tip of the iceberg apparently.
So many more dishes to try including Penang Belacan Fried Rice, Penang Hokkien Crab Noodles and even Assam Curry Fish Head!!

This is a great place for a quiet meal for 2 or even for a family feast.
They even have special Kids' Meals!

And in case I haven't mentioned, the head chef in-charge of all the dishes used to be a hawker/chef from Gurney Drive in Penang so he must definitely know what he's doing right! I've never been to Penang but I think I've got a great idea on how delicious the food is!

Penang Culture

Changi Airport Terminal 2 Departure
Viewing Mall Level 3
#036-087-01

Tel: 6546 7793
www.penangculture.com.sg

Operating Hours: 10.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Last order at 9.30pm