Toasties

As promised, here we are with our first review of Toasties!
We received 3 tip-offs within 12 hours and I actually went down that very evening but it was sooooo packo plus they had apparently run out of bread so I figured we'd come back another time.

The one thing we heard was that Toasties was the new 'Halal Subway'. To be honest we were not really expecting much because we had heard this claim a few times before with other makan places so we figured we'd better check it out before we get too excited.

So tell us if any of this sounds familiar to you okay :)

So when you get in the queue at Toasties, you have to first of all choose your order.
You can actually choose between bread, Cheese Oven Baked Rice, Salad, Wrap or even Pizza!
This was definitely looking promising!

Next step is to choose your bread.
They have Crunchy, Honey Oats, Oregano Parmesan and Premium. In case you were wondering, YES THEY MAKE THEIR OWN BREAD! 

And of course you have to choose if you want a 6-inch or a Footlong.

And then of course, you have to choose your filling.

They divide their menu into different categories for easy selection and pricing.

Choose from the Premium (Italian Trio, Chicken Bacon or Beef Pastrami), the Classic (Egg Mayo, Tuna Mayo, Turkey Ham or Garden Delight) or Special (Smoked Chicken Breast, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Beef or Beef Ham).

And of course you can choose what veggies you would like to have as well.

And lo and behold they toast up your sandwich for you and after you choose your veggies, choose from a variety of sauces to zest up your sandwich!

I'd say that so far things look promising but how was the food?

Italian Trio aka 'The Manwich' ($6.90)

So the Italian Trio is made up of Beef Salami, Beef Pepperoni and Beef Bacon (or least that's what I gather from my expert analysis lol).

Somehow (as you can see from the picture above) we were left feeling a little bit underwhelmed.
When something is dubbed 'The Manwich', I have the impression that it's such a massive or at least a massively packed sandwich that it's really gonna be a mouthful. But in this case, it seems like it's really really lacking in meat leh...

And just to let you know I'm not complaining as a guy who is a big eater... This was actually ordered by my Darling Wife and even she was left feeling like she could do with a bit more before she gets full...

Anyways, just for the record, she chose the Crunchy bread which has a nice crisp on the outside once it was toasted. The meat was not bad other than the fact that there was too little of it. Beef Bacon was a bit tough but I guess that's pretty normal.

Sauces she chose were the Honey Mustard and the Mayo. Oh, and they'd run out of onions.

Grilled Beef ($6.40)

I had actually decided to go for the Beef Pastrami but they told me they'd run out. Pfffttt...
So I decided to go with the Grilled Beef because we all know I'm 'The Meat Guy' right?

Well, it turns out that the 'Grilled Beef' was actually a burger patty. I'm not sure if it was a Ramly Burger patty or not but I have to say it was seasoned really well. Just the meat on its own was pretty tasty. I went with just the Honey Mustard which gave a nice tang.

I went with the Oregano Parmesan bread which I normally quite like but this was a little strong on the Oregano seasoning. I didn't get a chance to ask them if they baked their own bread because the queue was super long by the time we were done with out food but I think overall the bread we had was actually quite nice.

And I'm not sure if it was because I removed the juicy veggies like tomatoes but I found my sandwich to be a bit dry. A little hard to swallow after awhile without a gulp of drink even though there was sauce in the sandwich.

You actually have the option of making your meal a set with either Nachos or Cheesy Sausages plus a drink for an additional $2.90. They also have soups like Clam Chowder or Mushroom oup for $2.90 as well. That means you should prepare to fork out at least $10 or more when you go for the works.

Anyways, if you wanna add more meat or double meat or more cheese, there's always that option but of course please be prepared to top-up accordingly.

Adam's Verdict:
Grilled Beef 3.5/5 -- Italian Trio 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Italian Trio 3/5

Well, if the aim was to give the people a 'Halal Subway' then I think this is definitely the closest you'll get to it so far here in Singapore. Prices are bit on the high side but what can I say. And I guess maybe because they just opened so they have a few teething issues here and there (e.g. running out of bread, ingredients etc) but I'm sure they'll pick up in time.

Definitely plan on heading down again and hopefully this time we can get what we intended.
But it's really great that they make their own bread! Nice and fresh!

And if the good people at Toasties are reading this somehow, a little feedback if you don't mind.
Get a Facebook page or Instagram or something cos you guys could be huge. In the meantime, hope this review helps spread the word for you.

Salam Readers,

When The Halal Food Blog first visited Toasties, we spoke directly to the management and was informed that they had submitted their application for Halal certification and was pending approval.

Toasties Management has now clarified their stance and the situation still remains that Toasties is still pending approval for Halal certification. We do not know what name the application will be submitted under.

The Halal Food Blog Team acted based on information provided by the Toasties management which was deemed accurate at the time of posting. We apologize for any confusion this has caused and look forward to updating when the certificate from MUIS has been issued to Toasties.

Thank you.

Adam Shah
The Halal Food Blog

***UPDATE***
TOASTIES HAS BEEN CERTIFIED HALAL BY MUIS AS OF NOVEMBER 2014

Toasties

Blk 201D Tampines Street 21 #01-1171


Operating Hours:
8am til Midnight Daily

McDonald's - Sunrise Rolls

From the first time I saw the promo video play on FB, I knew I wanted to have it.
The way the egg looked nice and wet and runny with the cheese. And the thick slices of chicken ham and all their salty goodness. What a delicious sight!

And even thought in my heart that it would not look like the picture, I simply had to try it ASAP.
So I woke up a little bit earlier one morning and headed down to McDonalds.

Sunrise Roll Chicken Ham ($2.95 ala carte)

Compare that with the pictures and the video?
Hmmm... close enough!

The scrambled eggs are the type you'd get when you order your Big Breakfast and it's laid out on a nice slice of cheese which has pretty much melted into gooey goodness for your dining pleasure. On top of that, you have two half-slices of chicken ham. Sounds like quite a treat if you ask me!

The eggs were pretty much the standard you'd get at Macs and the cheese seems to have done us all a favour by melting like that. The chicken ham was really delicious because you get that slightly salty kick when you bite down.

I'd like to say I wanna complain about how thin the chicken ham slices were compared to the video but I won't because they're actually thicker than I expected them to be in real life.

Hmmm... let's see. How can put this into context for you. Okay I've got it.
You know the Turkey Ham slices you get at Burger King right? Well this is thick like 3 slices of that.
Get the picture?

Sunrise Roll Sausage ($3.45 ala carte)

That's the sausage version. The cheese looks a lot less melted so I guess it seems that it depends on your luck on whether you cheese melts.

The chicken sausage is the same one you'll get from your Sausage McMuffin so I wasn't really too crazy about it. I guess i'm kinda bored from having it so many times in pretty much most of their breakfast items.

I have to say that these Sunrise Rolls (especially the chicken ham one) are really quite tasty. It's a nice hearty bite in the morning which I'm pretty sure most people won't have a problem with.
But here comes the biggest (SHOCKER) debating point.

Galaxy Note 2 vs Sunshine Rolls

Some of our readers commented on our FB post and said that the rolls were really small.
And I thought to myself... "Can't be that bad lah".

Well as you can see, the rolls are bloody small lah!
That's my Samsung Galaxy Note II flanked by Sunshine Roll Sausage and Sunshine Roll Chicken Ham.
That's right! The Sunshine Roll Chicken Ham is just about half the size of my Note 2!

As delicious as the roll was, the questions now lie before us.
1. Is it worth the price for something so small?
2. Even if you're willing to pay the price, how many do you need to be satisfied?

I had the Chicken Ham one plus a Hashbrown and and Iced Milo and was still hungry. I finished off the Sausage one before I could say I was pretty full up. But that's just me! Reader @FirhasBizar says he "needs 4 or 5 of those baru cukup!".

You can buy the meal at $4.00 for the Chicken Ham or $4.50 for the Sausage and it comes with a Hashbrown and a drink. Or if you're really hungry or buying for the kids maybe then you have the choice of getting the Sunrise Roll Breakfast Bundle which comes with one of each Sunrise Roll plus a Hashbrown and a drink for $7.45.

So what do you think? Worth the price?

Adam's Verdict:
Sunshine Roll Chicken Ham 3.5/5 -- Sunshine Roll Sausage 2/5

Well I guess some will like it and some will not and some will wait for someone to buy it for them.
Whatever the case, take my advice - eat them while they're hot because not so nice when they're cold!

 McDonald's

120 outlets islandwide
www.mcdonalds.com.sg
Delivery Hotline - 6777 3777

Operating Hours: Varies depending on outlet

EpiKebabs

Does anyone remember the kebab shop that was situated at Peace Centre along Selegie Road?
It was called Sultan Kebab and it was really popular because it had some delicious kebabs.

Well, for those of you who go to Peace Centre now looking for it (like I did), you'll find out that it's already closed and before you start Google-ing to find out where they moved to, let me save you the trouble.
The owners of Sultan Kebab actually closed shop because they returned home to their native land from what I heard.

But fret not!

Just a little further up, you'll find Wilkie Edge which houses the new incarnation of Sultan Kebab.
They call themselves - EpiKebabs. And before you start thinking that this is just a joint that's trying to capitalize on the popularity of Sultan Kebab in the area, think again.

Photo from EpiKebabs

For those of you who have ever been to Sultan Kebab, you're definitely going to recognize that dude there.
That's Safak - one of the 2 regular faces you would have seen at Sultan Kebab.

The owners of EpiKebabs are good friends with them and obviously there has been some knowledge passed down so rest assured that this is not someone trying to copy the original. Think of it more like... Kebab v2.0!

Kebab Roll ($5.50)

Just like the original Sultan Kebab, they have choices for you.
Roll, rice, sandwich or salad. And of course, either beef or chicken.
If you're really a carnivore (like us!) you can opt for the mix of beef and chicken!

So the roll is as expected. Some veggies, sauce and the MEAT!
EpiKebabs takes a new turn by throwing the roll under a Panini toaster to give the wrap a little go.

The wrap overall does bring back memories of Sultan Kebab.
The first thing I notice is that the size of the roll is a little bigger. The meat DOES bear a resemblance in taste to the original as well but I actually would have like a little more sauce.

My darling wife who normally doesn't go for kebabs actually enjoyed this one. He favourite of the day.

Kebab Sandwich ($6.00)

The Kebab Sandwich also come with your choice of meat (beef/chicken/mixed) with veggies and sauce.
It's basically a kebab with Panini bread instead of a wrap.

I'm not too sold on the Panini though. But still good for those who like something a little more filling than a roll... And speaking of filling...

Kebab with Rice ($6.50)

This is something I used to have at Sultan Kebab.
They serve some meat with veggies and rice. It used to be white rice at Sultan Kebab but they've updated it to a more fragrant and tasty rice here at EpiKebabs.

The reason I always used to order this is because I can really enjoy the flavour of the meat.
I used to get them to squirt some mayonaise over my meat at Sultan but I opted to keep it 'clean' this one time because I really wanted to taste the flavours at EpiKebabs.

I've always preferred the beef at the original shop even though it was always a bit on the dry side.
It had a good flavour and that's still the case at EpiKebabs.

The chicken is still juicy and tender and has a nice flavour to it. If you're like me, then you'll consider yourelf lucky if you get the slices where some of the outer layers have just charred up a little on the roaster.
Nice big juicy bite of flavour right there!

They also have salads by the way!

Adam's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 4/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 3/5 -- Kebab with Rice 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 4/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 2/5 -- Kebab with Rice 2.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 3.5/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 2/5 -- Kebab with Rice 2/5

My brother really misses Sultan Kebab.
He says that everything seemed a little better at the original (like most cases).
But for those of us who still want a good kebab, at least we know we can still go to Selegie and grab one.
Or three.

And here's a tip, they always make less beef than chicken every day so if you're a beef person, make sure you go early to get your fill of cow meat. (Anyways, the chicken is pretty good too).

EpiKebabs

Wilkie Edge, 8 Wilkie Road #01-17
Tel: 8575 6393
https://www.facebook.com/EPIKebabs

Operating Hours: 11.00 am til 8.00pm Monday-Saturday
Closed on Sunday