The Chicken Rice Chronicles Part 8: As-Shifaa Cafe

Not sure what The Chicken Rice Chronicles is all about?
Maybe you should check out THIS LINK first before proceeding.

We are on the 8th installment of one of our most popular series and this time we are smack in the middle of town to enjoy some chicken rice that so many readers have recommended including my very own Darling Wife and co-founder of this blog!

And this is not your typical plate of Chicken Rice!

Chicken Rice ($3.50)

From that picture alone, you can probably spot a few things that you don't really see when you talk about Chicken Rice. Deep Fried Chicken and what's up with that sambal??

Yes that's right. This is indeed something different from what we might be used to. No roasted or steamed chicken here. Deep fried goodness complete with some crispy batter bits but a very interesting take on chicken rice sambal.

Despite being deep fried, the chicken was surprisingly not dried out at all. And mind you, I had the breast meat and it was still good and tender! And as a bonus, the outer coating was a nice crispy special batter which was really tasty in its own right!

I'm guessing some of you might be shaking your heads right about now but since a lot of people seem to like it, why not try it first before you cross out deep fried chicken with your Chicken Rice.

The rice was fragrant but was a bit of a let down for me. I didn't really find the chicken rice flavour I was looking for but my Darling Wife seemed to enjoy it. I guess when you eat it with the chicken you won't really notice it.

But then again... maybe it wasn't the chicken. Maybe it was the... Sambal!
Sambal? Don't I mean Chicken Rice Chili? No. I mean Sambal.

Again, anything but usual when it comes to the Chicken Rice at As-Shifaa!
They do have your usual Chicken Rice Chili with the vinegar and the sort but they also have something very unique - a sambal to go along as well!

I guess the closest I can describe is an Ikan Bilis Sambal but a little on the sweet side. This sambal was actually really the perfect partner for the deep fried chicken. I mixed it up by having both types but let me tell you that this sambal was a clear winner.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken 3/5 -- Rice 2/5 -- Chili 2/5 -- Sambal 4/5 -- Overall 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken 3.5/5 -- Rice 2.5/5 -- Sambal 4.5/5 -- Overall 4/5

And if the unique nature of this Chicken Rice is not enough to draw you to visit then maybe the next reason will. They have  Offal too! Liver! Gizzard! Take your pick! I'm not really a fan but my Darling Wife is so she had a nice serving of it with her Chicken Rice!

And remember - THE SAMBAL!!

If you're in town, drop by and try. But go early because the lunchtime crowd takes a big share so they do sell out pretty early.

As-Shifaa Cafe

304 Orchard Road
Lucky Plaza #06-52

Operating Hours:
11.00pm til 5.30pm (or til sold out) Daily
Closed on Sunday

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

Fish & Co

I remember the big fuss when Fish & Co opened in Singapore all those years ago.
Seems like not so long ago but that was 1998! About 15 years ago! Well it wasn't always certified Halal because they did serve alcoholic beverages along with their famous seafood but no worries about that now!

And I know that a lot of people would label Fish & Co as one of those restaurants that is overrated and would rather avoid but I guess it's not so bad in my books and I quite like it to be honest.

Well we are visiting their flagship store at Glass House in Dhoby Ghaut and hoping for a good hearty meal! I remember all the fanfare when they first opened at Glass House and would make regular visits there with family and colleagues especially since we were all working in the area!

Well, that was a pretty long time ago and plenty of people have given feedback about Fish & Co over the years. Some good. Some bad. But hey that's the same with a lot of places right?

Well I'm hungry so let's start with some appetizers shall we?

Mushroom Soup ($4.50)

I know that doesn't look very spectacular but hey I have to include the soup right?
We actually ordered the Soup of the Day and it happened to be Mushroom Soup today.

Despite it's rather pale colour, it actually tasted okay. There were bits of mushroom here and there with a nice earthy and warming taste. I guess if they would only do something to improve the look of it.
But having said that, it's definitely an improvement from the time when they used to serve their soup in teacups. (Does anyone else remember that?)

Anyways, I personally prefer their Chowder (either fish or clam or seafood)

Fried Calamari ($9.95)

Now this is a MUST HAVE especially if my Brother is around!
I think this might actually be one of the best things that they serve at Fish & Co because it's deep fried, tasty and simple enough for everyone to just pick up and enjoy!

The coating is seasoned really well and makes it really tasty with a really crisp bite when you chomp down.
The calamari itself is succulent and not at all rubbery. Goes great with the accompanying mayonnaise!
 And if you're not a fan of the deep fried, they also have Grilled Calamari!

Soft Shell Crab Salad ($11.95)

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken ($9.95)

We also decided to try some salads to make it a complete meal.
After all, we're supposed have 2 servings of vegetables a day right? :P

The Soft Shell Crab Salad was err... interesting to say the least.
As you can see from the picture, the batter coating on the soft shell crab was really really thick. No doubt it was crispy but you end up having to bite into more batter than crab. I guess some might like it but I guess I personally prefer a little less batter. And as you can see, besides the soft shell crab, the salad itself it pretty basic.

And as for the Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken, sigh.
Yeah sure you get a rel nice big serving of the grilled chicken but because of the hot chicken, the salad below kinda gets.... disappointing. And it's so oily!

Look at how the lettuce leaves have wilted because of the heat from the grilled chicken!
I'm definitely all for a nice hot meal but this might be the first time that I've had a salad where the accompanying meat was so hot that the salad leaves wilted. I'm not sure if this is how it is at all their outlets but this is good if you're going more for the chicken but not if you're hoping for a nice crisp salad.

Crispy Whole Line Fish ($19.95)

This has recently become one of my favourite things to have when I visit Fish & Co.
(It used to be the Swordfish Collar everytime in the past by the way)

Imagine a whole barramundi (which is pretty much like a seabass aka siakap) coated and depp fried til it gets super crispy on the outside but still remains nice and tender and flaky on the inside. You then get to choose if you want to top it off with Sambal OR Lemon Butter Sauce!

I really love the crisp on this fish and when they serve it hot and you peel the flesh back your appetite really gets going! I normally choose the Sambal because I think it goes well. The Sambal itself is not super spicy nor is it the sweet type so it goes well with the fish overall.

When you order, you also get to choose 2 sides to go along.
Either rice, chips, coleslaw, mashed potatoes or stewed vegetables. I always choose the rice (so-called makan nasi with ikan lah konon) and then add it up with either some potatoes or coleslaw. Perfecto!

Adam's Verdict:
Mushroom Soup 2/5 -- Fried Calamari 4/5 -- Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken 2.5/5
Crispy Whole Line Fish with Sambal 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Fried Calamari 3.5/5 -- Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken 1/5

Unfortunately it seems like the standards (including the service at Fish & Co Glass House seem to be on the down and down.
There's actually so much more to the Fish & Co menu since they recently revamped it. So look forward to more posts including some sole-ly (geddit geddit) dedicated to the different types of Fish & Chips!

And here's a tip - Top-up $5.50 when you order your main to "Complete Your Meal" with the Soup of the Day and also a choice of drink!

Fish & Co.

Glass House Park Mall
9 Penang Road #01-24

Tel: 6334 1858
www.fish-co.com

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 10.00pm Daily

Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet & Seafood Restaurant Part II

So do you people remember the post we had about Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet & Seafood Restaurant right? Yes, the one featured on Jus! :P

Well, as previously mentioned, they not only have a Steamboat Buffet spread to offer but also some ala carte food items for you to choose from. And to be honest, I was quite surprised at the variety that was offered on top of the Steamboat Buffet spread.

You've got the works. Beef, chicken, seafood and vegetables among other things.
They even have a wide selection of crab dishes for you to choose from including Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab. The most interesting of the lot is actually the Cheese Crab!

Well, we didn't have any crabs. But we did have something new though.

We actually ordered this special set menu offer that they had.
For $8 per pax, you get to choose from a wide range of dishes from this special menu.
The great thing is, the more people eating, the more dishes you get to choose. Consfused?
Well, 2-4 pax get to choose 3 dishes, 5-7 pax get 5 dishes and 8-10 pax get 7 dishes. Not bad right?
And all come with soup and rice!

Spring Onion Beef

OMG you actually won't believe how delicious this dish was. Something so simple as that was actually probably the most delicious thing we had during our whole meal.

The meat was super duper tender and it was drowning in any sauce. Stir-fried simply to perfections with some spring onions and carrots. I still can't get over how tender the beef was.
Even if we didn't have the set meal, we'd probably order this ala carte because it's a must have!

Anyways the only other beef dish you can choose from the set menu is Black Pepper Beef.

Coffee Chicken

I was in the mood to try something new and since we were not having any Cheese Crab, we decided to try the Coffee Chicken. I've heard and seen people cooking with coffee before but this would be the first time I was actually trying something cooked with coffee.

To be honest, it was actually pretty nice.
The chicken was tender and the sauce was not overpowering. It really tasted like coffee!
To closest thing I can compare the taste with is that Roti Boy bread because of the coffee and butter combination going on.

Not in the mood for coffee? Well you can also choose from more classic options like Kung Po Chicken and Mango Chicken.

Fried Chili Prawn

So Fried Chili is actually Sambal so I have no idea why not just call it Sambal Prawns.

By the way, the prawns actually look bigger in the picture than in real life. They're not the big tiger prawns you might be expecting but they're medium sized, fresh and definitely reasonable. The sambal itself was quite tasty and not too spicy.

Bring the lazy guy I am, I would have preferred if the prawns were peeled... :P

Other seafood options include Curry Fish, Black Pepper Butter Prawn, Sweet and Sour Fish, Cereal Prawn and the simple Salt and Pepper Prawn. You can also order side dishes like several Tofu dishes, Ngoh Hiang or Spring Roll as well.

As you can see, being the greedy buggers that we are, we ordered all meat for our 3 dish choices and no veggies at all! But we can't have a good meal without some veggies right??

Sambal Kangkong ($8.00)

Our first choice was actually the Salted Egg Lotus but it was unfortunately not available so we decided to have a classic veggie dish that everyone is familiar with. Sambal Kangkong!!

Okay so this was pretty okay lah. Nothing like super spectacular in my view. Most probably because I like my Sambal Kangkong to be a little wetter. As you can see from the picture above, it's kinda dry...
But if you're like my brother, you'll probably like it...

Adam's Verdict:
Spring Onion Beef 5/5 -- Coffee Chicken 4/5 -- Fried Chili Prawn 2.5/5
Sambal Kangkong 3/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Spring Onion Beef 5/5 -- Coffee Chicken 4/5 -- Fried Chili Prawn 3/5
Sambal Kangkong 4/5
Wow let me tell you this.
Steamboat Buffet? Superb! Don't feel like Steamboat? No problem! Because their ala carte rocks too!

Maybe next time it's time for the crabs...

Royal Kublai Khan Steamboat & Seafood Restaurant

175 Bencoolen Street
#01-56 Burlington Square (facing La Salle)
Tel: 6836 2389

http://kublaikhanbbq.com/royalkublaikhan

Operating Hours:
11.30am til 10.00pm Daily
Steamboat Buffet starts at 5.30pm

Guru's Banana Leaf Cuisine

Here's another quickshot for you kiddies.
Something that simple but I'm sure a lot of you really enjoy...

So my darling wife and I were in Changi Village to run an errand and decided we'd have some breakfast.
Nasi Lemak? Lontong? Mee Siam? Hmmmm.... so many choices....
But we eventually decided to settle on a place that my Dad, my brother and myself had chanced upon when we had gone fishing a few months back...

Roti Prata Kosong ($0.80) and Roti Prata Telur ($1.50)

Now doesn't that just look like the type of breakfast you'd really enjoy?
Simple and comfortable!! It's universal!

Now I know there are many many many many places where you can get prata and I'm pretty sure most of you have your own opinion on where has the best prata am I right? Well, I'm pretty particular too but I am willing to admit that there are quite a large number of places where you can get decent prata.

In Changi Village, this is our venue of choice (until something better comes along?)
The prata is crisp and fresh looks damn inviting. And I have to say that even though there are plenty of prata stalls around Singapore, it's getting increasingly difficult to find one that still sells at the relatively low prices offered at Guru's Banana Leaf.

Even better still - the prata comes with friends!
A nice big serving of dalcha and sambal to go along with your roti prata is always a winner.
The dalcha has all the trimmings and the sambal was actually pretty nice and that always goes well with prata am I right?

If you're looking for more than just plain or egg prata, they pretty much have the works in case you were wondering... Cheese, Tissue, Masala, Egg Cheese, Mushroom, Hotdog, Masala, Bom. The list goes on!

Masala Paper Thosai ($3.00)

The last time I stopped by with my Dad and brother, I had the Masala Paper Thosai and I could safely say that it was "Boleh tahan" standard so I decided to have it again.

As usual, it was huge and made for a filling meal. Comes with coconut chutney (mint and spicy) and some dalcha too. But for some reason, today there was a slight issue...

Now, I don't mean to be a complain king or anything but to me that's like really really bad.
It's like really a little bit of masala only! It definitely wasn't like this the last time...

And further to this, the masala was unfortunately salty AND it was dry too.
Thankfully I enjoyed the crispy flour.

Oh well. Maybe better luck next time?

Or maybe next time I might go back to this place for my thosai...

Adam's Verdict:
Paper Masala Thosai 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Roti Prata 4/5

Maybe I should start a hunt for the best prata?
But I think that hunt might never end actually... So in the mean time let's stick to the ones we know are good.

Guru's Banana Leaf Cuisine

Blk 1 Changi Village
#01-2020

Operating Hours:
6.00am til 11.00pm Daily

Ramadhan Special 2013: My Pizza

Something worth checking out at the Geylang Bazaar this year is this stall called My Pizza.
Not really something new I guess but at least something a little different from your usual fare like Kebabs.

It's quite a simple set-up actually.
Just a stall with pizzas on display and some ovens to get the pizza nice and hot for you.

Hawaiian Pizza ($3.50 per slice)

Pepperoni Pizza ($3.50 per slice)

They've got some classic favourites like Hawaiian and Pepperoni for you. Some other flavours include Spicy Chicken, All Cheese and something like a Meat Lovers among others.

The pizzas are actually pretty big in size so a slice is gonna be enough for one person to get filled-up.
If you're buying for a few people then you might consider buying the whole pizza?
They actually have those mini-size pizzas for $5 each and should be enough for a really hungry solo meal or maybe 2 people to share.

Well in case you were wondering, I didn't buy any of your usual flavours.
I saw something that was pretty unique and I couldn't resist ordering it just to try it out.

Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza ($5.00 per slice)

Maybe I'm a jakun but I've never seen this around before.
Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza! Unique or what! I know we always have Sambal Ikan Bilis with bread (which is technicall what a pizza is) but I was really curious to know how the cheese would come into play.

Cheese + Sambal Ikan Bilis is not really a combination that comes to mind am I right?

But OMG it's good!
The sambal ikan bilis itself was really tasty and you get bits of the ikan bilis when you take a bite.
Surprisingly enough, the cheese doesn't really affect the taste of the sambal but definitely plays a big part in making every bite a really good one.

And as you can see, they're not stingy on the cheese or the sambal too.
In fact, it was so tasty that I ended up eating the whole pizza by myself!

By the way, the Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza only comes in the mini-pizza size.

Adam's Verdict: 
Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza 4.5/5

I really enjoyed this pizza. Maybe because it was something different but definitely because it was tasty.
The pizza box has the brand 'Pezzo' which my darling wife and I tried once at Ion Orchard. I'm not sure if this is a subsidiary maybe? Or perhaps the same place with a different name for the bazaar.

Well, whatever the name - you really gotta try this!

My Pizza

Geylang Serai Bazaar Ramadhan

Area located near Singapore Post Centre and across the road from Tanjong Katong Complex
(Please see map below)

Operating Hours:
3.00pm til 2.00am Daily