Gyoza: Xin Wang Cafe at White Sands

Gyoza: Xin Wang Cafe at White Sands

This Gyoza was a free dish served to customers of Xin Wang Cafe at White Sands Shopping Centre during a recent promotion with a minimum spend on a la carte orders.

As the Gyoza was an unexpected side dish, we had no pre-conceived ideas or any particular craving for it. As a result, we liked the taste of this Gyoza. The filling had good vegetable crunch with the bits of vegetable cut into tiny bits. Without any added sauce or seasoning at the table, we found the gyoza reasonable sweet, with just the right dash of saltiness.

The outer crust was remarkably firm and springy, the way we liked our gyoza or anything similarly deep fried. The plain taste of the crust gelled well with its gyoza contents. The only downside was that these bite-sized gyoza were of small portions, only slightly larger than a tablespoon.

Overall, we rate it 8 out of 10 on our score for this gyoza from Xin Wang cafe served at White Sands Shopping Centre.

Definitely we will order this gyoza dish the next time we visit.

Swenson's Kids Burger

Photograph: Swenson's Kids Burger.

This Kids Burger comes from Swenson's family restaurant. I sampled this kids burger meal at the Suntec City branch last month. Wasn't feeling very hungry then so it may have affected my taste buds for this Kids Burger dish.



The main beef I have about the Swenson's Kids burger meal was the patty. The patty was pretty stiff and unyielding to my loose teeth. I have tasted softer patties, the way I like my beef. In fact, the softer and tender, the better. However, this kids burger did not fall under the 'soft' category.



The Swenson dough covering the beef patty was average. I like my bread soft and this did not feel soft. The introduction of lettuce was a good initiative for my kids, as they seldom like to ingest vegetables.



The Swenson's corn was sweet and palatable too. Not really outstanding but anyway how outstanding can corn be? The potato side dish did not impress my taastebuds. As I said, I wasn't feeling really hungry enough to eat my kids share.



Overall, nothing to shout about. So I'm giving this a 6 out of 10.

Kids will still like the cute flag as a Swenson toy gift though.

Sri Bistari Penyet Chicken

Sri Bistari Penyet Chicken

I ate Sri Bistari penyet chicken for takeaway dinner recently. This halal penyet chicken came from Sri Bistari located at a neighbourhood coffee shop “Kopitiam” in Simei housing estate, just a few steps away from the Simei MRT Station.

This Sri Bistari penyet chicken stall is apparently a branch of the famous Sri Bistari chain that serves the famous penyet chicken from Changi Village food center. Perhaps it was a takeaway penyet chicken meal box that affected its taste, or perhaps it was the delay before we ate it, somehow this penyet chicken does not live up to that produced from the Sri Bistari Changi Village oven.

The penyet chicken meat from Sri Bistari (Simei) had a rather salty coat of thick seasoning. While this was tasty and somewhat unusual, the bland chicken flesh was not as soft as I preferred. There was no outstanding texture nor flavour that would have garnered Sri Bistari penyet chicken a higher grade from me.

The Sri Bistari penyet chicken rice was of a good-grained kind, fairly firm to bite. Although the rice grain had above average firmness, it failed to match the basmati type of rice that I had come to expect from Sri Bistari.

My verdict: 6.5 out of 10.

I’ve tasted the better alternative of penyet chicken at its Changi Village branch, so this stall’s penyet chicken somehow fails to live up to Sri Bistari’s fame.

Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant: Charbroiled Chicken

Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant: Charbroiled Chicken

The Charbroiled Chicken, as presented at the Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant, is one of the best tasting grilled meat I’ve tasted. Two slices of charbroiled chicken are presented on a white oversized plate shaped like a leaf. Besides the charbroiled chicken, there’s a large serving of yellow fries and two tablespoonfuls of coleslaw. The presentation of this charbroiled chicken at Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant may look simple but inside this charbroiled Chicken is a commendable culinary delight waiting to be unleashed.

Main Dish
I bite into the charbroiled chicken at Korean BBQ Chicken restaurant. The skin of the chicken chop holds mysterious herbs and spices that offer a wonderful blend of sweetness. A chewy soft pleasant sensation greets my mouth when I chew on it, yet it does not betray with that familiar feeling of oiliness. The flesh of Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant’s charbroiled chicken comes in such a tender state that it gives way easily under the gentle bite of my teeth.

Side Dishes
The Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant’s yellow fries side dishes that follow the charbroiled chicken are nothing to shout about. Their carbo taste of French fries is familiar like other fries I’ve tasted. Yet it blends well with the sweetness of the charbroiled chicken. I do not really fancy coleslaw, as I do not possess a sour tooth.

Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant
Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant has a clean, bright, spacious and fully air-conditioned setting. A variety of seating arrangement is available. From curved cushion sofa seating around a round table to rectangle tables with sofa seats, this modern Korean-themed eating place seems a popular watering hole for families and couples. It is fully certified as halal according to MUIS. Their halal certificate is hung prominently near the cashier.

Recommendation & Rating:
Charbroiled chicken, Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant: 8.5 out of 10.

Summary of comments:
Charbroiled chicken taste excellent.
Halal dish.
Higher score if charbroiled chicken portion larger.

Address, Map & Location of Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant:
E!Hub Downtown East, Pasir Ris Park

Price of charbroiled chicken at Korean BBQ Chicken Restaurant: $ 13.90 before GST

Halal Restaurants Singapore: Pasir Ris

Halal Restaurants Singapore: Pasir Ris

There is a dearth of great halal restaurants in Singapore, especially in Pasir Ris that serves tasty, yummy, wholesome culinary goodness in a fine-dining setting. If you have been around Pasir Ris for many years like me, dining at halal restaurants in Singapore is a luxury hard to come by.

Sure, there are always those halal food courts and coffee shops with hawker stalls serving Muslim meals. There are also many halal certified air-conditioned fast food eating places all over Singapore. Such ubiquitous halal restaurants and halal dining places somehow lack the character of a traditional family-owned Muslim restaurant that serves delicious culinary feast even non-halal visitors will enjoy.

What I like most about my visits to halal restaurants in Singapore is the company that I can bring to such dining hahal restaurants. Muslim colleagues who need to visit MUIS-certified establishments or halal restaurants that serve fantastic tasting food will welcome such halal places to eat during company gatherings and evening outings when we go out for breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner.

I am determined to hunt around Singapore for the best tasting halal restaurants, especially in and around Pasir Ris. Besides sampling the best main course, the yummiest dish and lots of mouth-watering desserts in the best halal restaurants, I also plan to snap photographs and put up images and pictures of these halal meals to share with my readers on my humble photo-blog. In my typical wordy style, I shall also pen comments on the halal dishes that I think merit recommendation and reviews to share with my readers. I will try to list each restaurant’s address, contact telephone number, GPS coordinates, map directory, location, routes and directions on how to get there by bus, car or otherwise.

Enjoying good food is part of living life well. I hope to sample as many Singaporean halal dishes in halal restaurants as I can. Do visit my Pasir Ris Not Paris blog as I scour the island of Singapore for halal restaurants. If you have any noteworthy halal restaurants in Singapore to recommend, drop me a comment or share your own review.

Thanks for visiting and reading Pasir Ris Not Paris. If you like meals in halal restaurants or any other restaurants in Singapore for that matter, subscribe to “Pasir Ris Not Paris”.

I shall start my search for halal restaurants that serve great tasting meals and more in Singapore.

Pasir Ris Not Paris