Wang Family Kitchen

June 18, 2022 MelsLeave a comment

How far would you go to try on new food? Luckily for me, it is easy to travel around Singapore due to their amazing public transport. So, this time I went to Hillview area, which is located in Bukit Batok. I was invited by my friend on her birthday to have dinner there. When she told me about this restaurant, I was excited and couldn’t wait to try it. They only make meal sets, which are different every day! Of course, there are some side dishes that are almost every day included in the set menu. The food they are served is Korean home-cooking style.

Wang Family Kitchen Location Google Map — Location Wang Family Kitchen on google map

The restaurant is located in Hillview Community Club on the 1st floor. When we came, there was only 1 table left and the uncle let us sit there. After we sat, we saw a queue outside. How lucky! I only saw three people managing that restaurant. The couple, who are in charge of the dining hall, and 1 lady as a cook. That day they also have a special set with beef ribs soup, so the uncle asked us which set menu we wanted. We told him we wanted the normal set for 2 pax. The food took quite some time to prepare, but it was all worth it!

We can check the menu on their Instagram account @wangfamilykitchen. They posted every day what was on the set. We went there on June 16th, and their menu set consisted of Gimbap (Korean rolls), Yangnyeom-chicken (Seasoned Fried Chicken), Jjolmyeon (Spicy, chewy, sweet and sour cold noodles), Grilled Saba Fish (Grilled Mackerel), Miyeok Julgi Bokkeun (Stir-fried seaweed stem), Homemade Mashed Potato Korean Style, Gyeranmari (Rolled omelet), Kimchi, White Rice, plus Soup of the day which was Soybean Sprouts Soup. Don’t worry, they all came in a small portion. But yes, it IS still A LOT lol.

Of all these, I managed to finish Gimbap (Korean rolls), Yangnyeom-chicken (Seasoned Fried Chicken), Grilled Saba Fish (Grilled Mackerel), Miyeok Julgi Bokkeun (Stir-fried seaweed stem), Homemade Mashed Potato Korean Style, and White Rice. They were all delicious and I really enjoyed them. It can be considered as comfort food for me. Their Jjolmyeon (Spicy, chewy, sweet and sour cold noodles) actually was yummy as well but it was too spicy for me, unfortunately, so I couldn’t finish it. Well, the other reason was that I need to spare space for their dessert. Their kimchi

I am not a fan of omelets, and I also thought that their Gyeranmari (Rolled omelet) was too dry and not fluffy enough for my taste. Their Kimchi is also not that great in my opinion. It lacks spicy, sour, and salty taste, so it is rather bland. The Soybean Sprouts Soup was okay, actually, I almost finished it.

After we finished our meal, it was time to wait for the dessert. According to my friend, their desserts are always watermelon and a waffle. I wondered why no ice cream on the waffle, and I found out the answer when it came! I tried the waffle first and O.M.G.. it was sooo good! The outer was crispy, and when I bite it has a chewy texture. The sweetness was also on spot, just as I like it. The waffle was still warm as well! Meaning it was fresh from the kitchen. I was so happy after chomping it all. Happy tummy! And all that for only $17.90 nett. No service charge, No GST. Wow.

I definitely will come back again next time! And maybe will also try the coffee shop next to it. I heard they sell good coffees.

Address : 1 Hillview Rise, #01-04 Hillview CC, Singapore 667970

Food · singapore

Uncle Ho Tuckshop – Authentic Hanoi Cuisine

March 29, 2021March 31, 2021 MelsLeave a comment

Since I moved to Singapore, I’ve been looking for a place that serve authentic Vietnamese food. I love them! One of Vietnamese dishes that I like is Bun Cha. Yup, not Pho. I’m not a big fan of Pho. I prefer their Bun (vermicelli) dishes.

Bun Cha is a dish from North Vietnam. I tried it in Saigon and people said Saigon version is ‘sweeter’ than Hanoi version. Well, for me at least it’s already great lol. Maybe someday I will have a chance to try the real Hanoi’s Bun Cha. But hey, I’m in Singapore now so what is the chance of finding a Bun Cha (any version is okay!)? Quite big chance actually. There are a lot of Vietnamese here, so I’m sure there is a decent Vietnamese restaurant around (not those chain restaurants). And here it is, I found Uncle Ho Tuckshop! I don’t remember how did I find this place, but that doesn’t matter 😀

Uncle ho Tuckshop front door — Uncle Ho Tuckshop front door

Uncle Ho Tuckshop review — Uncle Ho Tuckshop interior

I decided to try this place out. The place is pretty easy to find. They have a big signage, you won’t miss it. The interior is simple. There are some Vietnam-themed decorations at one corner. You can sit in that area to feel the ambience. Other parts of the room are just like a normal restaurant. Or.. more like a canteen, with their big tables.

Looking at the menu, it seems authentic. And of course, my eyes are only looking at Bun Cha ❤ I didn’t really read other dishes. Just go straight to Bun Cha! 😀 I ordered at the cashier, paid them and waited for the food. Once it’s ready, they will call us out and we need to collect them.

I was so excited with my bowl of grilled pork and the vermicelli! Without delay (after taking photos), I dig in to try. It was sooo yummy! I’m happy with the meal. Grilled porks looks awesome. There are also pork belly. And, the soup contains young papayas as well. Authentic!

Do you know how to eat Bun Cha? A friend taught me like this : Take vermicelli, dip it in the soup, put it on top of lettuce, add in meat and other leaves, make a roll then enjoy! But since we’re not in Vietnam and they didn’t give many lettuces nor small bowl, this is what I did : Take the vermicelli with chopsticks, dunk them into the broth then enjoy it~ Eat it with the meat and vegetable as well. Yum! The soup can be too salty for some. If so, just dip the vermicelli a little so it won’t soak too much of the broth.

I would recommend this place to anyone who’s looking for great bun Cha. The only downside of this place is the location. It’s very far from the place I live and there is no nearby bus stop, so need to walk a bit. Unless you go there by taxi/grab.

Have you tried this place as well? Or do you have any recommendation of Vietnamese restaurant to try? Let me know in comment below.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Experience · singapore · Travel

Disney: Magic of Animation @ ArtScience Museum

March 16, 2020March 28, 2020 MelsLeave a comment

After procrastinating since December 2019, we finally went to see the exhibition Disney: Magic of Animation at ArtScience Museum. The exhibition will last only until 29 March 2020 so if you haven’t visited it, you better do it soon. During this period, however, they will limit the time to 30 mins per visit to avoid too many people inside at the same time. When we were there it was empty so we could enjoy it with no rush. In the end, we spent around 1 hour inside the exhibition.

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos. Stay safe and stay home if you can. We need to stop the spread of the virus.

Thank for reading 🙂

Food · singapore

Tonkatsu Curry @ Ikura Thomson Plaza

September 2, 2019September 3, 2019 MelsLeave a comment

It was Sunday evening and we planned to have dinner at Omote Japanese Restaurant in Thomson Plaza. Unfortunately, the queue was really bad. So many people lined up and the queue even reached the stairs outside the restaurant. I suggested to try Ikura, a Japanese Resto as well, located on the first floor, next to 7-Eleven. I’ve been there 1 time for their ramen and it was not that great but I’m willing to give another menu a try.

There was no queue here but we still couldn’t get a seat until they finally set up a table for us. It’s better to reserve first I guess! When we were waiting, we saw a Special Daily Deal and for Sunday is Curry Rice! I decided to order that. Curry rice is only for SGD $7.9 (normal price is SGD $10.9) and I opted for Tonkatsy as the topping (+SGD $5). Another topping they have are chicken, beef, pork, tori karaage (fried chicken) and ebi tempura (fried shrimp).

We waited for almost 30 minutes for our food because they were serving another guests first who were already there when we came in. When it finally came, we were so excited and ate it immeditely. Everyone was so quiet, savoring the curry rice. It was pretty good! Curry is thick but I wish they give more of it. Rice portion is just nice. Tonkatsu is delicious as well, especially when dipped into the curry. Yum!

Overall, it was a tasty dish. After the tax and service, I paid for SGD $15 for the curry rice with tonkatsu. Reasonable price for a Japanese Restaurant. Definitely will recommend people to try this resto. Just be patient when they are full though, as servingg time can be long. Their staffs are minimum number, 3 people at the kitchen and 1 people at the counter / taking order / serving / payment (multitasking!).

Have you tried this restaurant? If so, which dish is your favorite? Let me know in the comment 😉

Address : 301 Upper Thomson Rd, #01-43 Thomson Plaza, Singapore 574408

Experience · Travel

Siem Reap Trip Journal – Day 3 ( Artisans D’Angkor – Angkor National Museum – Floating Village )

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019 MelsLeave a comment

After a tiring day visiting temples in Angkor city, the 3rd day we decided to do some relaxing activity. After breakfast, we met our remorge driver in front of the hotel and headed to Artisans d’Angkor.

Artisans d’Angkor is a handicraft workshop center. They have workshops for wood carving, stone carving, silver plated, fabric painting and so on. They are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm and free entrance. Once we arrived there, someone welcomed us and became our tour guide for the entire stay. And the great thing is it was free of charge! Yes, they also provided free guided tour in our language.

It was very interesting and fascinating to see the process of crafting the product. They are very talented indeed. There were a lot of questions popped up in my head, mainly about “how did they do it?! how did they have such an inspiration?!”. For a person who can’t create any art, these things are always amaze me. It such an amazing trip to this place! Please take a look of some pictures I took there 🙂

Wood Carving Artisan d'Angkor Siem Reap Cambodia — Wood Carving

Step by step wood carving Artisan d'angkor cambodia — Step by step of how they do wood carving

From a block of stone to a beautiful statue

Stone carving for Temple Restoration project

Elephant stone carving artisan d'angkor siem reap cambodia — Elephant stone carving (model & work-in-process)

silver craft artisan d'angkor siem reap cambodia — Silver plating

step by step artisan d'angkor cambodia — Step-by-step process. An amazing end product!

Silk Fabric painting artisan d'angkor cambodia — Silk painting. Look at that level of detail!

Silk Weaving
Silkworm Cocoon
Silk weaving

After we finished visiting all their workshops, we arrived at the shop where they sell their product. The shop is pretty big with a lot of product from every workshop. I enjoyed strolling around the shop and adored the pretty stuff. Make sure you make time to visit this place if you like handicraft. Happy Shopping!

Artisan d’Angkor Souvenir Shop
Assorted silk scarves
Artisan d’Angkor Souvenir Shop
Cute stone piggy

Next place we visited was Angkor National Museum. Another fascinating place to visit! The entrance fee is US$12 for adult. We had to leave our bag at the counter and they gave us a small bag to put our wallet and phone (and camera for me). Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photo in most rooms so my camera had no use there.

Bag Angkor National Museum Siem Reap Cambodia — Small bag for our stuff

When we entered the area, I had a low expectation of this museum. Thankfully I was wrong! This museum is a must-visit for a history lover or an art lover. There are total 9 galleries in Angkor National Museum and my favorite is the Exclusive Gallery which has 1000 Buddha Images. I didn’t count them, of course.. but there are many of Buddha statues in that gallery. All different kind of Buddha. Amazing images. Visit their website to have a sneak peek on how does the gallery look like and to get to know other information. Some people recommends visiting the museum before visiting Angkor Wat, but I think visiting it after Angkor Wat also can give you insight of what you’ve seen at the temple. It might answer your question about the temple as well, if you have any.

Angkor National Museum entrance to Galleries

Our last destination for the day was floating village by the lake. It took around 42 mins from the city by car, or about 1 hour by remorge. Sitting on the remorge for an hour was quite a journey. The wind blew so hard on our face but the good thing was it made the weather less hot 😀 (although I was afraid I might catch a cold lol). I think it even rain that time..

We stopped by at the ticket counter to buy our entrance ticket. We paid for US$23 per person for the ticket. Quite expensive but we had no complaint since we got our own boat with noone else around. Lovely private trip 😀 If you need to go to the bathroom, this is the time because there will be no more bathroom after this point. After we got our ticket, we continued our journey.

on the way to floating village
Almost there
Boat to go to floating village

We boarded on our boat and went to Floating Village. I wished our guide, Mr Bun Rong, was with us. He can speak English very well. Floating Village is not my favorite place to go. Not because of the view but because I’m scared being on a boat 😅 I don’t like to get on a boat that is shake so much. This boat was actually not bad, but whenever we passed by another boat it would shake because of the wave. Thankfully, I was busy enough taking photos so the trip was not too bad for me. Although I must say it is better to go there near sunset time. For the other time, the view is just like a normal floating village, no special lighting 😀 The villagers have to live and do their daily life from boat to boat. Temples and schools are on top of water as well.

After about 30 mins boat ride, we arrived at sunset point. It was an open space with a lot of other boats around. They were also waiting for sunset like us. We stopped by at one spot and just waited there. There was a small boat approaching us and turned out she was selling drinks and snacks! 😄

It was a bit cloudy near sunset time so the sky was not as we expected 😔 There was no orange sky in the horizon, but at least we could still see some yellow-ish and magnificent sky. Ah~~ I love sunset! We enjoyed it until the sun almost gone then decided to head back because I didn’t want to go back too late.

Thank you for reading, my story! Have you been to any of these places? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comment 🙂 Bye for now! See you on day 4.

Tag: recommendedplace

Wang Family Kitchen

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