Sakae Adventure: T for Teppanyaki

Finally found the chance to dine at Sakae Teppanyki @ Century Mall on Monday, been a long time! Everything looked strangely familiar - the chefs, the waitresses. In the past, I've talked about the food and I've talked about the service. I want to write about something different this time - the Teppanyaki cooking! :) Keep reading to also find out something new at Sakae Teppanyaki.

I think teppanyaki is awesome! It's really fun to observe how they prepare and cook, then slowly enjoy the food. Wx and I would even discuss different chef styles. You know, like gourmets :D

For instance, how many eggs and how much soy sauce to use for 3 servings of the garlic fried rice...





To get...





This!!

Even the shrimpy topping can make a difference in the overall taste. Some chefs will heat it up a bit after the rice is done (this I think is optimal); some set it on the metal plate longer (but I feel it makes the shrimps too dry); and some just sprinkle directly onto the rice without extra heating.

Remember, what is the one best ingredient in teppanyaki? Garlic!! There is the garlic fried rice and seafood stir-fried with garlic. Seriously I think there needs to be more more garlic :p





Besides stir frying, there are other styles of cooking in teppanyaki. Try the lobster stew! Prepared and served in nicely folded aluminium foil trays. These trays are also used in making beef sukiyaki.





Then there is the steamed kind like chawanmushi. Just spray some water and cover it up with a big round lid!

Here's something cute from Sakae:





Green tea icecream served in Sakae froggie trays!! Hehe I took home the trays :p

Eating @ Hand in Hand

Lunched at Hand in Hand Beijing Restaurant (手拉手京华小馆) - dad saw it on the newspapers I think, so he wanted to try it out.

A variety of Chinese dishes - Hunan, Beijing, and Sichuan flavors in dim sum, noodles, soup and traditional style. But was quite disappointing, judging by the few dishes we tried.

In reverse taste rating:

5. Tianjin Goubuli (Go Believe) steamed buns
My dad always boasts about how yummy Goubuli buns are. But I've never tasted any up to standards. Sad to say, it's the same for this. Not enough filling and doesn't taste "hot and fresh" (still newly steamed though).

4. Suan xiang niu rou
There wasn't much "sauce" and the beef I felt was a little bit less than tender.

3. Fried dumplings
Not "fried" enough. It's halfway between boiled dumplings and fried ones.

2. Fried spring onion pancake
Not much of the spring onion flavor. But still quite acceptable IMHO.

1. Pork and cabbage dumplings
Taste quite good. It's just dumplings. I recommend adding mushrooms to the filling, will taste better.

Perhaps I should have tried their noodles. I believe they are known for that? Anyways, highly unlikely that I would go again. If you do go there, tell me if you like it there :)

Rating: ★

Teppanyaki Chef exercises Favoritism

I actually planned to talk about this in my long pending post along with few other recent happenings until I realized that I actually have a lot more to say for this.

This actually happened at Sakae Teppanyaki, Bugis Junction. Before I plunge into the story, just want to make it clear that this is by far the first time I had experienced such unfair treatment at Sakae. (Favorite branch still in Tampines!!) It's not a total big deal, but it's very unprofessional, especially coming from a teppanyaki chef, where everything is transparent - customers see everything you are doing.

So wx and I were seated at this booth with another family of three. They were there before us, already served with some food, and were chatting with the chef quite frequently. After the chef confirmed our orders with us, he started making our garlic fried rice. For the next 10 mins, the chef only prepped food for that family. In fact, we literally finished our rice before we were served with ours. I really wondered how much food that family had ordered, because even when the chef was finally cooking for us, he was still cooking for them! Then here's where it got worse...

First dish up is the squid. Squid is a common dish in both seafood and beef set. Apparently, that x amount of squid was to be split amongst the five of us at the table - ie. 20% for the each of us. To get an exact even split is tough, but I've always seen the past teppanyaki chefs try their best at it. Do a rough split first then spread the remaining bits among those who got a smaller portion. Seriously, I think I got 10-12 pieces, plus what wx got, we got only approximately 15%. The chef, in his dear judgement, served the remaining bits (1%) to the man of that family. Okay..he is a lot bigger in size but that does not make him deserve more food than I do. We pay the same price, and the chef has no rights to deprive me of what I should be getting for him to suck up to his other customers!!

And... Should teppanyaki chefs talk while they cook? Some hygiene concerns here eh.

In direct contrast, I have seen very nice teppanyaki chefs. Not those chatty slash "friendly" type, but real service. Chinese chef at Plaza Singapura branch, very polite and the only person who bothered with us when the Malay (?) waitress was busy trying to appear occupied - slowly laying out plates at an empty table instead of serving customers first.

Maybe a training program would help? :p Would strongly suggest studying the customer service at Din Tai Feng. Even an appetizer is weighed for every customer, and waitresses are usually friendly.

Ah can't wait to have my grand teppanyaki feast in December! How grand? I should have $90 to spend on my Sakae Card soon :) That's roughly 2 meals for two at Sakae Teppanyaki.

Sakae Adventure: Family Dining @ Sakae Sushi

So I finally took my family to Sakae Sushi @ Wheelock Place earlier this month to use my $50 voucher. Picked this location particularly because I saw on the website that it has tatami rooms!

But we didn't get the tatami room :( It was all dark as if that part of the shop is not yet open for business. What's worse was that one of the waitresses actually told us to not put our stroller beside our booths (my niece was still in there at that time). A little disappointing but understandable, as I really thought that the waitresses should offer us a tatami room if they didn't want us to have the stroller in the walkway - could be dangerous with them serving hot food. (We should have requested then too :\) Reason is simple. We were a big party with 4 adults 1 child 1 baby plus a baby stroller. It's very inconvenient to eat while carrying a baby, you know. Instead of asking your customers to adjust to your store plan, you should be trying to accustom to all your customers' needs at all times. That's what customer service is about, right?

So then we ordered 2 unagi-don, 1 gyuu-don, some side dishes, and some colored plates off the sushi train. I must say that the Enoki Niku Maki is quite disappointing - overflowing with teriyaki sauce, too sweet! It's a lot darker (black sauce) than in this picture. But the Saba Shioyaki is not bad for my dad - I think he enjoyed it.

The meal totals out to be $95 - $50 (voucher) = $45. This is my first time ordering ala carte at Sakae Sushi, and I believe it would be my last LOL. To be honest, Sakae Sushi's food is not top grade, though still lot better than those really cheap ones. Ala carte..sure, but cost-wise, is a little too pricey for me. So their buffets are the best - value deals especially if you eat a lot or eat a wide variety! & you have my honest opinion here :)

Just one thing to note when eating buffets:
If you want to use Sakae Sushi vouchers or if you want to benefit from 10% discount and/or 12% rebate from your Sakae Card, then you have to go ala carte. Sad, but the buffets are in fact a "promotion", so not valid with any other promotions.

Oh, and why Sakae Sushi is not ideal for families?

Sakae Sushi's primary seating areas are the booths, because of the sushi train. But not great for a big family with kids. That's why a tatami room is perfect! Best to come in twos, so both can get their hands on the sushi train running by them :D

If you're interested in trying out at Sakae Sushi, check out Sakae Sushi's on-going promotions!

Oh, I noticed that there's a Sakae Pasta Shop @ Wheelock Place! Worth a try next time :)

Sakae Adventure: Sashimi Buffet @ Atrium

note: check out all the Sakae bloggers here! and err sorry no photos this time round lah. :\

Remember that I won a $50 Sakae Sushi voucher sometime early August? Well, I am now also officially part of the Sakae e-Journalist programme where I get to eat and blog at the same time.

So here is my first post of my eat-n-blog venture! (2nd if you count my entry blog post on Sakae Teppanyaki)

A few weeks back wx and I decided to use our $50 Sakae Sushi voucher. The idea was to eat well and still save money. So wx suggested that we try the Sashimi Buffet at The Atrium @ Orchard. Ehh we sort of did our calculations beforehand: if we just had the normal sushi buffet, it would cost us $18.90 per person ($37.80++ total) - ie. we lose out on $12.20 voucher value and we are only entitled to only 2 'red plates' (sashimi) total; sashimi buffet costs $24.90 per person ($49.80++ total) and we get unlimited 'red plates'!

3 Reasons Why Sakae's Sashimi Buffet Is Better Than The Sushi Buffet
1) 'Red plates' are more than just sashimi! Though I don't fancy them all, it's always good to bring along someone who loves them. *points at wx*
2) Sushi buffet has more limitations. For example, 1 'red plate' per person and 1 'mini udon' per person. Most of items (except a few) are unlimited in sashimi buffet.
3) To be charged at the sushi buffet value, you need to finish your food within an hour! Anything beyond that time period is charged additionally. Whereas for the sashimi buffet, no need to rush - you can just eat at your own slow pace and eat MORE! muahahaha

In the end, we realized we couldn't use the $50 voucher because buffets are considered as promotions (T&C states that voucher is not valid with other discounts or promotions). Okay, that's what I didn't quite expected. The buffets have been on-going for so long that I thought it was a part of the usual menu. >< Quite a wasted trip in that sense, but I've decided to bring my family to Sakae Sushi instead! Planning for sometime next month (Oct), in time just before the voucher expires. And that would be the highlight of my Oct's Sakae blog post. Good idea eh? Lastly - a shoutout to Sakae Sushi - wx and I suggest to have the Sashimi buffet across more Sakae Sushi outlets in Singapore. Currently only available at The Atrium, which is kind of out of the way for us. :p The Sushi & Teppanyaki buffet ($24.90 per person) sounds cool. Eager to try it someday - Funan DigitaLife Mall only.

Sashimi Buffet
Rating: ★★★★

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More Sakae Sushi's promotions at sakaesushi.com.sg.

Old Airport Road Food Centre

Location: Old Airport Road Food Centre
Address: Blk 51, Old Airport Road
Map:


#1.
Hua Kee Hougang Famous Wanton Mee #01-02
Rating: ★★★
It's cheap and delicious

#2.
Cho Kee Noodle 曹记 #01-04
Rating: ★★★★
Another wonton noodle store (just a store away from Hua Kee). Done in a similar style,

#3.
??? #01-04
Rating: ★
Rather fail seafood

#4.
Freshly Made Chee Cheong Fun #01-15
Rating: ★★★
Soft and smooth skin.

#5.
ABC Yong Kee Famous Fishball Noodle #01-107
Rating: ★★

#6.
??? #01-107
Rating: ★★★

#7.
San Gu Dessert 三姑糖水 #01-115
Rating: ★★★

Sakae Adventure: Magic of Garlic

update:
Sakae is awesome~ Not only did I win the $50 Sakae Sushi Cash Vouchers, they are also offering me free Sakae card, topped up with $30 monthly!! :D All I got to do is blog about my Sakae experience every month. Haha so nice, I can save up on my food expenses :)


You would be surprised that my favorite foodie places would most seldom appear on my blog. Well, 1) because I eat there very often, sometimes 2-3 times a week and 2) because each time I'm there, I just want to EAT. But ultimately, being my favorites will have to make their way to my blog some time. Here, you get to hear about the first. :)

Sakae. The Sakae chain has a very cute froggie mascot. In their sushi bars, they even have froggie mouses hooked up to a monitors that display promotions and a navigable menu (possibly click-to-order as well?). I wondered, do they actually sell those froggie products? The fact is, they do! I think you would have to ask them at their counter if you're interested in purchasing any of the Sakae mascot merchandise. I've seen a number of them displayed in glass windows of some branches, though haven't seen the mouse in display before. I hope they sell that too. I should ask that next time. :p (Am a keen collector of cute computer mouse..)

Less presence of the froggie mascot at Sakae Teppanyaki, but the better of the two imo! It is where wx and I would always complain about my garlic breath the day after. But as always, rather inevitable as garlic is what makes the best of Sakae Teppanyaki. :)

(I used to ask for an extra dishful of really-spicy-garlic, but wx has forbidden me so because of the aftereffects :\)




A Teppanyaki Night

wx and I have our standard menu :)
1 Beef and 1 seafood set. Change both rice to garlic rice. Change assorted vegetables (for seafood set) to assorted mushrooms (add $2). 1 hot and 1 cold green tea. Each set comes with a salad, miso soup, and a dessert (ice-cream). - Total $52++

For starters, I would eat 2 servings of salad! Why 2? Because wx never liked veggies and tomatoes, so I get to eat his share too.

If you know me, I hate salads. All that Caesar's dressing, Ranch and Thousand Island just makes me puke. The only kind I would eat is the Japanese style salad dressing, with a unique sweet and sour taste. The first time I had it was in a Jap restaurant in Atlanta.

& While finishing up my salad, we would watch our teppanyaki chef cook..

Garlic rice!! Sprinkled with Japanese dried shrimps. (I like to top mine with extra scoop of fresh garlic!)

Next up, squuiiidd! (Dip dip, more garlic!)
Hmmm, I eat the seafood set because of this..

Bamboo clams!! (Tastes even better with extra garlic!) :D

Oooh, jumbo prawns.. (Moree gaarrrrlicc!!)

Original seafood set comes with assorted vegetables. But mushrooms is just much better, don't you think!!? (& I need more garlic!)
By this time, my tongue's usually scalded by the spiciness of the garlic. I could almost taste nothing else! Now, a hot miso soup really helps to soothe my taste buds.

Oooh ahhh~

Finally gulping down a cup of warm green tea or two to neutralize the overwhelming taste left in my mouth.
But that is not all!

A scoop of cookies & cream ice-cream served in an iced bowl. Usually good to have another cup of green tea at this point.

:)

Rating: ★★★★


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Dedicating this blog post to Sakae's Monthly Bloggers Affair :p chance to win $50 Sakae voucher!!

Cupcakes for My Niece's 1st Birthday (A Children's Cookbook Recipe!)

CUPCAKES NIGHT 2!

Over the weekend, my sis, qiqi and I baked cupcakes (again) to celebrate xiaoyu's 1st birthday :) The recipe was taken from Children's First CookBook by Annabel Karmel.

Making cupcakes...
First heat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Then prepare the following.

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 125 g sugar
• 125 g butter
• 125 g raising flour
• chocolate chips

This makes about 30 small cupcakes.

From previous experience, the cupcakes were too sweet and greasy. So we tweaked the formula a little - reducing both sugar and butter - to suit our taste preferences. (experiment with the right amounts for yourself!)

Mix all the ingredients together!

Add in some flavor! We threw in some chocolate chips, but raisins or blueberries would work too.

Lay out paper cones onto the tray and fill each cone to 1/2 or 2/3 the capacity. Put in the oven! Bake for 18 to 20 mins. (watch out for the color yourself!)

Meanwhile, prepare icing...

• 25o g icing sugar
• 125 g butter
• 1 tsp water
• coloring

Again play with the proportions to get the right taste.

Baking for kids is simple. Just mix everything up and add any coloring you would like! We had green and pink. Then put the icing in a corner of a small plastic bag. Cut off a tiny corner.

Ohh the cupcakes are almost ready!

Remove the cupcakes from the tray and leave out to cool down. (IMPT or your deco will melt!)

Making our second batch of cupcakes.

Ta-da! We wrote HAPPY 1st BDAY XIAOYU! on the cupcakes!

Next morning on webcam...

Opps, qiqi already started feasting on the cupcakes!

So good to see her again, she has grown so much and very talkative now! (keeps saying "da-da-da") I miss carrying and napping with her :)

Singing a birthday song for xiaoyu... Wah she was all ready to cut her cake!

Ok, no more talking. Just eat ;)

NEW Cheap Eat near HDB Hub

Lunched out today with wx at Toa Payoh Central, and found a new Chinese food store called Origins (aka 元庄). It's right behind the row of shophouses facing the HDB Hub/SPH Buzz pod. Features Laksa, Curry/Vegetable Rice, soups and desserts! Not bad and is cheap.

We ordered:

Hainanese Curry Rice - curry chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts plus a sunny-side-up. This is so-so.

Katong Laksa - Tastes quite good, my favorite. :)

Watercress Soup - Okay. A good amount of ingredients used, but I would prefer using ribs than chicken feet as the soup base. :x

Beancurd with Ginko Nuts - The beancurd is not bad, but ginko nuts were a bit "old" (not soft enough) and not fresh.

Almond-flavored Soya Milk - Not too sweet, which is good. A little bit dilute, but still much better than what we can get at most hawker centers these days.

All for under $15!

Rating: ★★★ for the laksa!

NEW Triple Prawn Burger!!

Went to J8 to pay my Singtel bills after work today, and bought MOS Burger back for dinner. Try their latest addition:

TRIPLE PRAWN BURGER!

Three deep-fried prawns topped with XO and tartar sauce plus shreds of lettuce.
Ermm didn't look as glamorous as this eh?

IMO not really worth the 40cents "upgrade" from my favorite fish burger. Although the prawns were fresh, I couldn't taste much of the XO sauce which was also a highlight of this dish.

Rating: ★★

Nevertheless, MOS Burger remains to be one of my favorite burger place locally! A little small portioned and expensive, but love the fat fries, croquette, and minestrone soup! (I give high ratings to those :D)

& Oh! New Scallops Rice Burger... wx might just like it :)


PS: MOS Burger needs delivery service in Singapore :x

Office Tea-time with Cute Cupcakes!

Yum yum yum~ Don't know where exactly these came from, but we've had a nice little tea-time (minus the tea) in office yesterday!

A whole box of cute and soft chocolate cupcakes. :D
(Someone ninjaed one before I took the picture T_T)

A poodle. (or sheep?)

A bear.

A butterfly.

Which is your favorite?
I like the poodle most. :)

The deco tastes a bit like dough but is candy sweet! And the chocolate cupcakes (base) were made just nice - not too sweet, soft, and not too dry either. Truly delicious! - I sneaked one out for wx in the end. hehe

PS: Gave me some ideas for next cupcakes session with my niece... :p