A company who needs good food to destress after an emotional crazy work week. And so it became a Saturday full of food, thanks to yours truly. We did walked it off in between window shopping, chats and exploring the East side of the island, Bedok and Paya Lebar (I stayed in the North while my friend, R, stayed in Central) – so it kind of balance things off, I reckon?
Bedok had changed so much. Growing up, I used to frequent Bedok during most weekends to visit my late grandparents and have sleepovers with my cousins. My family used to frequent the coffeeshop next to the old Bedok library for one of the best Chicken Rice and halal Zi Char (can’t remember if the name of the stall was Alfiah or Alfian, owner was a Muslim convert). There was another coffeeshop which was a walk away from the interchange that sells halal wanton noodle (stall name Jessie, run by another Muslim convert). At that same coffeeshop, there was a stall that sells the best grilled/bbq seabass with sambal.
Bedok was once a go-to place growing up as I could find practically everything and anything (especially good food) there. I was staying in the North-East area then and it’s only a 25-minutes bus ride away (depending on traffic as back in the 90s there was no MRT). It has changed so much and yet there was some familiarity.
Back to the glutton section of this post…
Late lunch around 2+pm as R was working half day. This was my third time here and they have yet to fail. Tried their Hickory Smoked Beef Brisket Burger a couple of years ago at one of the food carnival and fell in love instantly especially with their soft and buttery toasted homemade buns.
Had The Viva Classic (single) and added $3 to ‘pimp up’ the fries to Cuban Fries (fries with pulled beef brisket, spiced nacho cheese sauce). Okay, it’s one of those greedy weekends (I did mention glutton, didn’t I?) where I want the best of both worlds – juicy homemade beef patty + tender and melt in your mouth beef brisket.
It was R’s first time there and she had the Burgs’ Bacon Cheese Burger (single, although she was tempted to make it to double) and ‘pimp up’ her fries to Cuban Fries as well. In her own words ”one of the best burgers I ever had”.
Was the second time that I had the Honey Butter Wings. Fried just right – crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Best of all, the honey butter coating was not overpowering. I only wished that they marinate the wings a little (or if they had, a bit more), so that the meat is not so bland (just salt and black pepper shall do the trick).
They have two outlets serving two slightly different menus. This was at Viva Business Park. Never been to the one at Golden Mile Food Centre.
Photos: Honey Butter Wings & Burgs’ Bacon Cheese Burger – R
Prima Deli Chocolate Waffle
Was walking around Bedok Mall and saw Prima Deli. R said that it’s been awhile since she had the waffle (personally it’s the best to-go waffle and the smell of the freshly baked waffle is just enticing) and that she is still full from lunch (and also for a fact that it was just about an hour or so after we left Burgs). After much deliberation on her side and convincing + tempt on my side, we shared a waffle with chocolate (did I mention, it’s dark chocolate?) filling. Satisfied, very satisfied.
Twelve Cupcakes – Lemon Meringue Slice
Been wanting to try this eversince they launched the whole cake. Glad that they launched the sliced version and the outlet in Paya Lebar sells the sliced cakes. R decided to buy 3 different slices as they were having a promotion of 3 cakes for $10 (no convincing required on my part). Shared the Lemon Meringue slice with R and am pretty disappointed. The curd is not as tangy as I had hoped and feels like they should add some lemon zest and/or juice to the sponge. R shared the same sentiments (our sour tolerance especially mine is very high). Unsure if there is a difference when eating it cold (ate it few minutes after we bought it) or at room temperature. Maybe I should try it again at room temperature as a final verdict. My search for the best Lemon Meringue cake/pie continues…
Tried the Rocky Coco Crunch cake for colleague’s birthday and I love that the moist dark chocolate cake is complimented with crunchy bits. Never tried the Cold Brew cake before. R texted the next day “I love the subtle coffee smell which wafted out from the cake.” Maybe I’ll try the next time but when I eat a coffee cake, I like it strong. Just like my coffee – black with no sugar and milk.
Twelve Cupcakes also sells cupcakes (obviously) and cookies. Tried almost all their cookies and their Triple Chocolate cookie is just divine (personal favourite).
Last stop, at about 8+pm after walking around Singpost Centre Mall (took the train from Bedok to Paya Lebar).
Instead of going to the usual The Coffeebean & Tea Leaf or Starbucks or any other cafe, decided to introduce R to this joint. Their tarts is not Portugese nor Hong Kong egg tart with pastry crust. It’s just a normal egg tart with crust that tasted like graham crackers (similar to fruit tart crust). I love that the egg custard is not eggy nor have a strong eggy smell. The chocolate egg tart may sound weird, but I really liked it (perhaps for a fact that it is dark chocolate) and it’s a good mix. For the kopi egg tart had it before and the coffee is just subtle, not as strong as I would like.
Yes, the iced coffee is huge. One size for all the iced drinks. R had a shock when she saw her order (iced kopi siew tai o: iced coffee less milk no sugar).
Photos: R
And after all that food and desserts on Saturday, had this on Sunday afternoon for dinner. Mum cooked and kept it in the fridge since Thursday as my schedule was pretty bad on Thursday and Friday plus Saturday was a glutton day with R. One word – HEAVEN. The longer it’s in the fridge, the more the fish head absorbs the spices and the spicier the gravy gets. It has always been said and proven that nothing beats Mum’s cooking.
Disclaimer: Just like art, food is very subjective. The opinions above are solely mine and it is up to individuals to agree or disagree. But only disagree after you had experienced it for yourself.
