Catch 'N Bite

So we received a message via FB to come down and try a new grab-and-go type joint.
The only thing was - it was all the way at West Gate Mall which counts as good as a world away for us here located at literally the other end of Singapore!

But believe you me - Catch N' Bite was always on our mind because we saw the pictures on their website and boy oh boy were we excited to try! And eventually, the day came when we had to venture all the way to the west for a project which meant finally getting to visit West gate Mall!!

The Catch 'N Bite menu is made up mostly of seafood.
Some come in sandwiches, some come in rice bentos and some even come as mini-tartlets.
But we had some items already 'targeted'!

Ultimate Lobster Roll ($12.90)

Ever since I started watching Food Network on cable TV, i kept seeing Lobster Roll this and Lobster Roll that and I really wanted one. So can you imagine how excited I was when I found out that Catch 'N Bite had Lobster Rolls?

And it's the real thing too because we saw a whole pan of the lobster sitting waiting to be enjoyed.

We noticed that the lobster was mixed up with a few other ingredients which kinda took away from the lobster a little bit. To be honest, it pretty much ended up becoming an Egg Mayo sandwich with some lobster meat in it instead of being an actual Lobster Roll.

You can see the lobster meat there is no doubt (see the pink morsel on the left?) but you you can also see more egg than anything else which was kinda disappointing. I know lobster is a very expensive and premium ingredient and you have restaurants serving Lobster Rolls ate 5x the price compared to here but I guess maybe a little less of the egg filler so we can enjoy the lobster itself would be nice.

We actually also felt the bread choice for the Lobster Roll was a little off. We're not saying it's bad bread but I guess it was more about choice of bread.

Lobster Rolls normally come served in a soft bun kinda like a hotdog bun and the Ciabatta bread used here was kinda hard especially when toasted (albeit lightly). Maybe a slight change in bread tactics might help?

But the bread they used was perfect for another item on the menu.

Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy ($7.90)

Another temptation courtesy of Food Network - The Po Boy!

The shrimp has a nice coating so it gave them a nice crunch when you chomp down and the sauce went really well! But... missing the pickles which are supposed to be in there... Oh well...
But I actually found this more satisfying than the Lobster Roll.

They also have Fish and Chicken Po Boys too.
Actually they have one that we also wanted to try...

The Soft Shell Crab Po Boy was sold out!!
Oh well, at least we know what we're gonna try for the next time we visit!!

Anyways, we had some other stuff too! Went all the way so better try as much as possible!

Clam Soup ($4.90)

It was a bit more watery than we expected but then we realized that it was a Clam Soup and not really a Clam Chowder so less cream would be included. But it was still pretty tasty though! Probably because they used fresh lobster stock in here.

The clams were nice and plump and fresh too. Potatoes, carrots and celery thrown in like any good clam soup and you get a nice flavour of the ocean in a bowl. Wish they would have given small sachets of seasoning like salt and pepper for the benefit of those who might wanna tweak it a little.

Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream Tart

Crab Salad Tart

Garlic Mayo Shrimp Tart

Egg Mayo Ebiko Tart

The Seafood Tarts were these little mini-tarts with a baked shell and filled-in with an offering of seafood paired with some extras to make it a fulfilling bite. In fact, it's literally 1 or 2 bites to finish a tart so you and order a few if you'd like.

It's $2.50 per tart and they also have tarts like Shrimp Salsa, Pineapple Sauce Fish, Wasabi Mayo Shrimp and Mango Chutney Shrimp just to name a few.

Adam's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2.5/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 3.5/5 -- Clam Soup 2.5/5
Seafood Tarts 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 3.5/5 -- Clam Soup 0.5/5
Seafood Tarts 2.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 4/5 -- Clam Soup 2.5/5
Seafood Tarts 3.5/5

Definitely something I might visit if I am ever in the area but I'll probably get a Po Boy.
PS this post is dedicated to one of our readers @Signora Su! Promised you we would visit the west!!

Catch 'N Bite

West Gate Mall
3 Gateway Drive #B02-K16

Tel: 64959935
www.catchnbite.com

Operating Hours:
10.00am to 10.00pm Daily

Junshin Express

So I heard about this new Halal sushi place at Bedok Mall selling sushi that costs only 50 cents.
That's right - FIFTY CENTS!! But the catch is that it's all takeaway so don't have any ideas about sitting down and picking sushi up off a conveyor belt.

The worst thing is - it's so close to my workplace!!
Normally that's a good thing right? Well, for some reason, the closer something is to my workplace or home, the more likely I'm not gonna go to that place for some time. Not on purpose or anything but I guess I just happen to pass it by because I think I can always go another time since it's so close to me.

Well, I finally managed to make my way down to Bedok Mall one morning.

So the concept is really simple - Sushi is 50 cents and it's all takeaway.
They also have stuff that costs more (between $1.80-$4.80) but that's big stuff like Temaki (Handrolls), Sashimi and even Chuka Idako.

But I'm guessing we're all gonna be like sharks going after the 50 cent Sushi.

Imagine like 7 or 8 of those displays for you to choose from!

You have your pick of familiar favourites like Sake Sushi (Salmon), Maguro (Tuna), Red or Yellow Ebiko (Capelin Roe), Kani Salad (Crabmeat), Shiromi (White Fish) and Tamago (Egg) among other things.

But there are also some other sushi which is definitely not something you come across everyday.
More on that later.

One of the things I noticed about the Sushi at Junshin Express is how neatly everything is packed. So Easy to just pick up and go. Smaller sushi like the Gunkan and Nigiri Sushi are individually packed in plastic and the bigger ones like the California Roll are packed in plastic boxes.

Besides the usual Sushi, they also introduce new items on the menu from time to time.
Specials like the Teriyaki Salmon and the Aburi Black Pepper Salmon Sushi are two of the best-sellers!! Don't worry I get to try them later.... hehehe

And even the special Sushi is 50 cents each!!!

Even the Gari (Pickled Ginger) and Wasabi are 50 cents each!!
Don't worry you get some Shoyu and Wasabi when you buy your sushi but if you're hardcore like us, you're definitely gonna want a lot of Wasabi!!

But ready-to-eat Sushi is not all that Junshin Express has to offer -

Teriyaki Sauce ($4.60)

Shoyu ($3.60)

Sushi Vinegar ($3.30)

If you're into making your own Sushi or into some Japanese masak-masak, they also have some Halal-certified ingredients for you too! No need to hunt so high and low anymore!

Anyways, enough build-up because it's time for the Sushi!!

Remember that I mentioned that they have some Sushi that we probably familiar with and then they also have some Sushi that may be new to us because they're actually pretty unique. Well, they were nice enough to let me sample some of the more unique types of Sushi they had and here I am to tell you more about it!

Junshin Express actually has a whole range of Sushi which is pretty much fruits and/or vegetables.
That's right. It's not a typo. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES SUSHI!!

But before that, I simply had to try 2 of their best-sellers...

Aburi Black Pepper Salmon Sushi ($0.50 each)

This is supposed to be #1 and the most popular Sushi they have and it's quite easy to see why.
'Aburi' basically means 'Grilled' so this salmon is cooked. The black pepper give it a nice kick but it is not too overpowering so you can still enjoy the flavour of the salmon and the sushi rice as well.

This would actually be a great start especially if you're having sushi for the first time. I think even those people who are afraid to try Sushi would have no problem with this!

Teriyaki Salmon Sushi ($0.50 each)

The salmon here is also cooked and coated with some yummy Teriyaki sauce.
A definite must-try for Teriyaki lovers (like me!!)

And then I started on the more unique ones...

Shimeji Mushroom Sushi

Burdock Sushi

Mountain Vegetables

Firstly, let me assure you, these are not as scary or unusual as you might think.

Burdock is a root and the Mountain Vegetables is made up mostly of mushrooms so there's nothing to be worried about. In fact, after you take a bite, you'll actually see they are really tasty. If you are fans of mushroom and the woody flavour you normally get with mushrooms, then you'll definitely want to try these three.

Yellow, Red and Green Bell Peppers Sushi ($0.50 each)

Bell peppers drizzled with some Teriyaki sauce. It's not as spicy or overpowering as you might think. But I guess this is more for the health conscious who wanna stick to all-veggies only!

Enough veggies how about some fruits!!

Strawberry Sushi

Kiwi Sushi

Red Apple Salad Sushi

Green Apple Sushi

Dragonfruit Sushi

Aburi Banana Sushi

I know you're probably had those fruits before but can you tell me that you've had those fruits as sushi before?? Well, here's your chance!!

The sweetness of the fruits versus the slightly-sour vinegar flavour of the Sushi rice is actually quite a good combination! And when they brulee fruits like the banana, it unlocks even more sweetness!

To be perfectly honest, I actually could not believe that they had sushi made up of fruit. I only realized how great it was when I actually tried it. It may seem like a strange idea but it's actually really good! Affordable and healthy and something new for you to try! I'm pretty sure the kids will love it! (Especially the Aburi Banana Sushi!!)

They even have other fruits like Rock Melon and Jackfruit Sushi!

But don't worry! I also bought some of the more usual (or maybe not all so usual) Sushi to being home and sample just to confirm that Junshin Sushi was the real deal!

California Maki ($0.50 each)

Chuka Idako (Baby Octopus)

Wakame Sushi

Sake Sushi ($0.50 each)

Kani Tamago

Otah Sushi

That's right. Otah Sushi!
The Otah itself actually had a bit of a spicy taste to it which was really tasty/ Definitely not something you see on Sushi everyday am I right?

The usual suspects like California Maki, Sake Sushi, Chuka Idako and Wakame (Seaweed) Sushi all make an appearance on the displays but they also mix things up a little with classic Sushi.
For example, instead of just Kani (Crabstick), they add some Tamago in and make it a 2-in-1 Kani Tamago Sushi.

And by the way, they also have 2 types of Crabstick sushi.
One is the Crab-flavoured fish sticks and the other is the real deal crab meat. So you have a choice depending on your preference.

I guess whether you are a seasoned Sushi eater or something just starting out (maybe even trying for the first time!), you definitely would not mind dropping by Junshin Express for some sushi.

It's convenient, the quality is good and of course - the price is really affordable.
You can even grab a whole boxful and bring it home for the family or even back to the office to share with colleague for lunch!

It's nice to have an alternative Sushi place where we need a quick on-the-go Sushi fix when we don't have the time to sit down and have a proper Sushi meal. Think Express... Junshin Express!

Junshin Express

Bedok Mall
311 New Upper Changi Road
#B2-20

Tel: 6844 9448
www.junshinexpress.com.sg

Operating Hours:
10am to 10pm Daily