Mia Eats: Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai

 Hello, lovely readers! I realised that it's been eons since I've last done a non-sponsored food review post, which was actually the main push-factor that made me set up this blog back then. 

So now, let's do it again! 

-credits to Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai-

Located at level 1 of Great World City, it took us a few (wrong) turns before finding the restaurant, mostly because the mall is also undergoing some overhaul of their stores and trying to find your sense of direction when nearly every corner is hoarded up can be quite a challenge. 

Anyhow, we managed to find the restaurant without much fuss, and realised that they're full house on a Sunday night (around 7 plus, nearly 8pm). But table turnover also seems pretty quick, as we were seated after 15 minutes' wait, and the restaurant turned pretty empty while we were dining (around 830 ish pm). Haha, so if you want to skip the queue, you know what time to drop by. 

If you're curious, Nirai-Kanai refers to the God's world in the distance of the sea. And apparently, Okinawan cuisine is said to be healthy and good for beauty.... But I wanted to drop by and try them out only because I watched Senda Aisa's travel programme on Okinawa (her hometown). HAHAHA!

Anyhow, here's what we've tried out for the night. 

Okinawa Soup Noodle Set Meal - $16.50

The HB chose this set that comes with soup noodle with simmered pork belly, fried rice (not sure if it's mustard leaf or just garlic fried rice) and a cold tofu lookalike jelly dessert. 

I merely took a tiny taste test bite out of the soup noodles and fried rice, both of which were rather mildy flavoured, but still quite tasty if you're okay with mild flavours, in my opinion. Not a fan of the thick noodles though. The alkaline taste of the noodles, albeit not as full on as my much hated yellow noodles, was still too strong for me. It didn't help that the broth's flavour was on the mild side, hence it didn't do anything to cover the noodles' alkaline taste. HB is a fan of yellow noodles (don't ask me why anybody will like yellow noodles), so this dish was right up his alley. 

Stir fried Noodles with Kimuchi - $14.80

Yes, you got me. Whenever I see "kimchi" on the menu, I order. 

So simple. 

The noodles are wheat noodles, but extremely thin. So much so that it kind of resembles the mouthfeel of eating rice vermicelli (beehoon). Other than kimchi, there's also a generous portion of sliced cabbage and pork belly. I quite like the thin noodles, although the overall flavour of the dish was quite mild (not kimchi enough). There's a heaping amount of sliced cabbage too, but unfortunately they were left undercooked and crunchy instead of how I would love my cabbage, fully cooked down and soft. The amount of kimchi I found in the noodles were also quite little, hence the subtle kimchi taste. The pork belly slices were also very, very tough and with the porky smell, which the lack of kimchi taste has failed to mask over. 

So, it may sound a little weird. But I will be happier with the dish if there's no pork belly or crunchy cabbage added. I just need the noodles with kimchi! HEH!

Umi Budou (Green Caviar Seaweed) - $14

I was REALLY excited when I saw this on the menu. Well, because Senda Aisa introduced it on her show. 

But I was stumped when this tiny dish of "sea grapes" got served to our table. This friggin tiny dish of seaweed cost us $14++. The size of the dish is just slightly larger than the usual dipping sauce saucers. 

Taste wise, it's so underwhelming. It's really just the usual slight fishy-saltiness of seaweed, plus the slight popping sensation that is similar to eating tobikko (flying fish roe). 

I'll say, skip this please. Just try some out if you ever visit Okinawa. 

Chinpin (Brown Sugar Pancakes) - $9.80

A traditional Okinawan sweet snack, most people call this a pancake, but actually I would think it's more like a crepe instead. I was deciding between Sata Andagi (Okinawan Doughnuts) and this for dessert, and in the end chose this because I've never tried (nor heard of this) before. 

And I'm glad I did! Although Sata Andagi is also super yummy (not sure how Nirai-Kanai does theirs though), these are so.... moreish? 

The addictive chewiness of the crepe, paired with the delicious, rich sweetness of brown sugar and the "fun" of being able to unroll the pancake while eating it just made this the best after meal dessert, ever. It was served alongside a big heap of whipped cream, but you really don't need any of that. The taste of the pancake on its own should suffice to fix any sweet tooth cravings!

Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai is located at Great World City, #01-107/108 

For more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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BestInSingapore's SushiDelivery [Sponsored]

Couple of months ago, I've received a table full of yummy treats from sushidelivery.sg (review HERE). This time round, I'm super elated to have Best In Singapore sending over more delicious treats from sushidelivery.sg again! 

Drool-worthy, yeah?

This time round, bestinsingapore.com has sent over a great selection of bento, maki rolls, salad and sides/appetizers from sushidelivery.sg. 

Chicken Karaage Set Bento - $10.90 (usual RTP $14)

Currently only selling at $10.90, this bento set is a steal! Comes with a generous serving of chicken karaage that has managed to retain most of its deep fried crispiness upon delivery, along with a generous portion of fresh salad (that's so colourful and appetising!), chuka wakame and umeboshi! There's something addictive about eating plain Japanese pearl rice with umeboshi, don't you agree? 

Kani Salad - $6.90 (usual RTP $8.30)

Judging at how well sushidelivery.sg does their side salads for the bento sets, I've high expectations for their actual salads and I must say I'm not disappointed. Although the portion size is not impressive enough to fill me up (but I have to say, it takes alot to get me full), the selection of vegetables (lettuce, purple cabbage, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes) are super fresh and goes well with the roasted sesame dressing. The amount of shredded kani (crabstick) and tobikko (flying fish roe) added on top of the salad was also super generous, more than enough for me to have a substantial amount of "meat" in every bite.

And now for the maki rolls and sides. 

California Maki (8 pcs) - $10.90 & Kappa Maki - $3.90

California maki was one of the few sushi that I started eating when I first got introduced to Japanese food, and they're still one of my favourite go to sushi now. Some comes with avocado, but sushidelivery.sg roll theirs with cucumber, which added a nice crunch to the overall mouthfeel. The generous coating of tobikko on the outside also added a nice savoury touch to the overall taste; you just cannot mess up a california maki.
The Kappa (cucumber) maki was pretty basic, but definitely a great choice to have if you're watching your diet. HAHA!

Chuka Kurage - $4 (Usual RTP $4.67)

I remembered having these (seasoned jellyfish) in my bento set in the previous menu, and they were really good when paired with the steamed rice. But eating them straight up on its own got a little too salty. You definitely need rice to go with this.

Yam Net Sponge Roll (5 pcs) -  $5.90

So glad to have these yam net sponge roll in the menu again, as I really LOVE them! 

(my review of them HERE)

Takoyaki (5 pcs)- $4.90

Look at that crazy amount of katsuobushi (bonito flakes)! And I love that they only added the minimal amount of mayo over the top, and packed more separately instead of just drenching everything. 

There's basically two types of Takoyaki, the more "deep-fried" kind that comes with a slightly crispy exterior and an overall firmer bite and the more authentic Japanese kind, which are softer and more mushy in the centre. Well, I believe the latter is more authentic because that's how the takoyaki tasted like when I had them in Japan. These are definitely the authentic kind, with the centre just barely cooked to retain the slightly gooey, mushy interior. 

Shrimp Croutons (5 pcs)- $4.90

My Huawei P30 failed to pick up the bits of shrimp inside here, but they're there. HAHA! I'm not a fan of "balls" (meatball, sotong ball etc) in general and this kind of tasted like a sotong ball with bits of shrimp added to it. But the crouton coating was a huge plus point though, making these super crunchy and addictive. 

For more information on what Sushi Deliver has to offer, visit their website HERE.

And for more reviews to find out the best things Singapore has to offer, visit bestinsingapore.com

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Enjoy yummy crabs & more at home with 8 Crabs [Sponsored]

Do you love eating crabs but absolutely hate to eat it in public and end up with a glorious oily mess on your hands? Craving for some legit zichar dishes now, but finding it a chore to put on your mask and heading out to dabao (takeaway) while maintaining social distancing etiquette? 

Guess what, with 8 Crabs, now you can easily get to enjoy your favourite crab dishes (be it black pepper, chilli or salted egg) along with other yummy zichar favourites at the comfort of your home!

Just a few clicks of my mouse and I have 3 of my favourite zichar dishes delivered to my doorsteps, freshly cooked and still warm! 

Award-Winning Chilli Crab (Large, 750g) - $68 

Using only premium Sri Lankan wild caught crabs and stir fried to perfection with their award-winning recipe to achieve a gravy of the perfect blend between sweet, savoury and spicy. 

Do you know, crabs naturally travel about 500m every night and prefer to live alone. However, crab farmers breed many crabs in a confined space for profitability, causing the crabs to get stressed very easily while in captivity, as many farms cannot replicate their natural habitat. When stressed, crabs produce ammonia, which is a sign of decomposition of seafood. Hence, to cover up the distinctive ammonia smell in farmed crabs, restaurants will need to use highly fragrant gravies. 

8 Crabs is the only company in Singapore using grade AAA premium Sri Lankan sourced wild caught crabs, graded by the most experienced crab graders in the trade, while most restaurants tend to purchase farmed crabs due to their cheaper pricing. This simply means that the crabs at 8 Crabs are meatier, tastier, bigger, and less watery.

In addition, to ensure freshness, these crabs are caught, flown, prepared and delivered to customers within 12 hours. Not only does 8 Crabs have their award-winning chefs prepare the cook the fresh crabs daily to guarantee the best flavour and taste, they also have a one driver to an order policy across their 12 kitchens island-wide in order to uphold their promise of One Hour Crab Delivery. 

I'm not the biggest fan of chilli crabs (I prefer black pepper crabs) because it's so easy to get a badly done one that only gets you wondering, "is this chilli crab or egg-ketchup crab?"

But I decided to take the leap of faith and believe in their award-winning recipe, and I'm so glad I did! While they're not super spicy to give you that spicy kick of shiokness that makes you break out into a sweat, it was just the perfect blend of sweet, savoury and spicy that will probably make you want to just slurp the gravy like it's soup. 

The Sri Lankan wild caught crab is premium indeed. Their flesh so plump and succulent, and tasted fresh and sweet. But to be honest, I'm satisfied with just having the gravy and fried mantou. And my mum and I loved the gravy so much that we kept the leftover gravy in the fridge to add to our lunch the next day (I made chilli crab baked fish). 

HAHAHA!

Signature Coffee Pork Ribs (Large) - $28

Was expected pork ribs, but somehow we were given slices of pork tenderloins instead. Not complaining though, because the meat was still super tender and it's so much easier to eat without the bones. 

If you're a coffee fiend like me, then you absolutely got to try this. The coffee fragrance is strong, but not overpowering. I'm not a huge fan of pork in general, but the meat was so tender and the savoury flavour, paired with the subtle coffee bitterness, was so addictive that I could easily finish the entire container by myself if not for the calories. 

Claypot Beancurd (Large) - $24

Tofu, my love! Initially, I did feel that $24 is a little too pricey for 'just tofu' but I found out that there're so many other ingredients in the dish!

Egg tofu, chinese cabbage, snow peas, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and shrimps. How is it possible to get everything I enjoy eating in just one pot? Every ingredient just blends really well together and sits so well in the gravy, which made the soft egg tofu even silkier. YUMS!

So what are you waiting for? Check out what 8 Crabs has to offer HERE and get read to feast!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Bing Liang Bakery Mooncakes [Sponsored]

Earlier this year, I was very lucky to be able to sample a truckload of yummy CNY goodies from Bing Liang Bakery, courtesy of cnygoodies.sg (now known as bingliang.com.sg).

And now that the Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, I'm elated to find out that Bing Liang Bakery has their own line of delicious traditional baked-skin mooncakes too!

And each 4 piece-set of their mooncakes are packed in this PINK (and jade green) two-tiered drawer box that is oh-so-pretty! <3

With current pricing ranging from as low as $32 to $50 for a set of four, Bing Liang Bakery manages to bring to us good quality and delicious mooncakes that's well-packaged for gifting at an extremely competitive pricing. 

The current 6 flavours available are:

Durian (Mao Shan Wang) - $46 / 4pcs

Green Tea - $42 / 4 pcs

Pure Lotus (Plain/Single Yolk/Double Yolk) - $40 - 46 / 4pcs

White Lotus (Plain/Single Yolk/Double Yolk) - $42 - $50 / 4 pcs

(Low Sugar Option Available)

Red Bean - $32 / 4 pcs

Pandan (Plain/Single Yolk)- $40 - 42 / 4 pcs

Out of all the fancy flavours, I really have to give a special mention to the low sugar white lotus seed paste series (plain, single or double yolk) as a loyal team #eatclean member.
Well, I know a truly healthy mooncake is probably never going exist, and having a low sugar alternative is probably the best you can get. What's more, it's a healthier option that does not compromise in its taste factor.
The lotus seed paste is not overly, cloyingly sweet (because low sugar, DUH!). The texture of the paste is also very smooth and easy to eat, while the baked skin is neither too thick nor thin and gives a lovely oven-baked fragrance to cut into the sweetness of the lotus seed paste.
And as you can see in the cut-section above, it also comes packed with a generous amount of pumpkin seeds to give a nice crunchy bite to the soft paste.
YUMS!

And for those who NEED to taste-test your mooncakes before you can buy them, Bing Liang Bakery does provide free tasting session at their HQ located at 39A Jalan Pemimpin, daily from 2pm - 7pm!
Bing Liang Bakery also provides SAME DAY DELIVERY for their mooncake purchases and offers free delivery for purchases above SGD $88!
However, if you are not in a hurry to receive your mooncakes, simply opt for next day delivery and use code "YUMMY" at checkout to enjoy a 10% discount off your purchase!

For more information, visit Bing Liang Bakery website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Poon Confectionary from CNY Goodies Singapore [Sponsored]

2018 flew by in a blur and shortly after welcoming 2019, the streets (and malls) are quick to change into their firecracker red and cute piggie decorations to prepare for the arrival of the Oink Oink year. 

When it comes to Chinese New Year, the very first thing that pops into my mind is definitely all the yummy CNY goodies! What's a better reason to hop off the #eatclean ship and indulge in ALL of the fatty-yet-so-delish snacks and goodies, right? 

But one major form of deterrence for my CNY shopping, and I'm sure it's the same for many of you out there as well, is the crazy crowd! Nobody likes to be squished like a can of sardine, (sweaty) shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of strangers under the scorching hot sun at an unforgiving temperature of 33 to 34 degree Celsius, right? 

So what if I tell you, you can get all the yummy CNY goodies you fancy at the comfort of your home?

Striving to be freshly baked, nutritious and wholesome, all the CNY goodies at Poon Confectionary are freshly baked before delivery and NOT stored at all. All their products are homemade, batched baked to perfection, and their recipes have been passed down for over 3 generations! 

And now, here's a fraction of what they've got to offer that I've managed to try out! 

Hae Bee Hiam Sambal Prawn Roll - $15.50

Over the years, I've grown to prefer spicy floss roll more as compared to the "traditional" hae bee hiam rolls as the latter tends to be a lot drier and choked with bits of tough, dried out lumps here and there. But Poon Confectionary has definitely nailed their hae bee hiam rolls! The skin is thoroughly crisp, not overly oily and the filling spicy and flavourful without the dreaded dried lumpy bits. And as you can see, more than half the container is wiped out within a few days. It's that good!

 Pineapple Tart - $16.90

One thing I will always look for in a pineapple tart is for the filling to be more on the tangy side and to have obvious strands of pineapple fruit fibre. Nothing irks me more than biting into a pineapple tart filled with horribly sweet, processed pineapple jam. Although I would personally prefer the filling to be a little bit more sour (Poon Confectionary's is a mixture of both sweet and tangy), the texture of their pineapple filling is lovely! There'a also a great ratio of the fragrant, buttery crumbly tart shell to the tangy-sweet pineapple filling and each tart comes in the perfect one-mouth bite size so you need not worry about dropping crumbs all over the place when you bite into the tart. 

 Peanut Cookie - $14.90

 These cookies are like gong tng (traditional peanut candy) but less sweet and in convenient bite size so you need not worry about the mess of crumbs falling all over your clothes. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are so addictive that I almost couldn't stop popping them.

 Almond Cookie - $15.50

Very similar to the peanut cookie in terms of the melt-in-your-mouth, crumbly texture, but with a distinctive almond nut fragrance and with bits of crunchy nut pieces within the cookie, this is yet another highly addictive, once-you-pop-you-can't-stop kind of CNY goodies for me.

Love Letter (Chocolate Filling) - $15.50

Frankly speaking, this is the first time I've seen a love letter with fillings and I've really high expectation for this! But unfortunately, out of all the goodies I've tried, the love letters are my least favourite. I'll still prefer my love letter made very thin, crisp and airy, while Poon Confectionary has made theirs significantly thicker (hence more crunchy like a waffle biscuit), perhaps to hold the fillings better. The chocolate flavour of the filling were also not rich enough and didn't have much of a cocoa taste. However, if the idea of a love letter with filling still rocks your world and yet you're not a big fan of chocolate, there's also peanut butter filling for you to try out!

Understanding that most customers are not comfortable with buying CNY goodies without knowing its taste and quality, Poon Confectionary actually provides free tasting for over 30 types of goodies to all customers at their shop!
Poon Confectionary is located at 502 Macpherson Road S368204 (opposite Caltex).
Opening Hours: 1pm - 10pm daily (including weekends)
Contact No.: 9762 6523 / 9663 4314

For more information, visit their website HERE.
Quote "miacny10" at checkout for 10% off all their products!

Til then,
Mia Foo

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Food Tasting: Burger Monster [Honest Review]

If you still don't know, I'm a huge fan of BURGERS! So while this visit to the latest baby of Chicken Up is a food tasting invite, there wasn't any obligation to put up a blog post about it, so you can take this as a 100% honest review. 

But oh well, I did say I love burgers though. Like, a lot. :)

-credits to yelp.sg-

Located at a corner of Jurong East MRT Station, just below the platform at Level 1, it might be easy to miss the eatery if not for the cute Burger Monster icon on their distinctive white-blue signboard (and "mis-match" Chicken Up's chicken feet logo on the glass panel). 

All these crazy amount of food for just 5 of us (out of which 4 of us are ladies). But we were quick to concede to our impending failure and quickly call-out to our respective partners for help. HAHAHA. 

So in the end, a total of 8 pax (4 couples)... still COULDN'T finish all these food. A lonely slice of the insanely big monster burger was leftover in the end. 

With their standard, and yet still pretty big (like a McD Big Mac), sized burgers going for $5 to $6 dollars, breadrolls at $3 to $8, and other mains (fried fish & chicken etc) going at $4 to $6, this newly opened Korean burger joint has definitely scored a brownie point for offering you quality food with extremely affordable prices. 

Burger Monster also offers a wide variety of small bites and sides, ranging from $2 (Garlic Fried Rice) to $12 (Mini Lobster with Chili Crab Sauce).

To make your burgers/mains a full meal, just top up an additional $3 for fries/garlic fried rice + drink, or $5 to make your drink free flow!

There's also a condiment bar in the eatery, providing 8 different types of sauces, such as cheese, wasabi mayo and yangnyum etc, for you to try out!

But I guess their most popular dish (that's highly raved on IG) has got to be this massive, 1KG birthday cake lookalike, 22cm big Monster Burger, which comes in either Beef or Chicken Bulgogi flavour. 

Priced at just $20 for this ridiculously huge burger, you can easily feed 4 hungry men with it, no joke. I would even recommend up to 6 (ladies) with a small selection of sides to share for a more comfortable, non-tummy bursting meal. 

Couldn't try this Monster Burger out because I don't take beef, but I did cut pieces of the huge buns to try out and instantly got ADDICTED. These buns are so fluffy, and even slightly crisp at the edges. I think I must have (at least) asked the BF to "cut me a piece of your bread" at least 4 to 5 times while he's eating his two slices of the insanely oversized burger. 

Shark Burger - $6

This has got to be my favourite burger of the day! Thick fillet of fried shark meat topped with (a lot of) shredded onions, sliced tomatoes, fresh lettuce & cheese, and sandwiched between two extremely soft and fluffy buns. The shark fillet is also generously drenched with a spicy and slightly sweet (yangnyum?) sauce that probably helped/serves to cover the otherwise distinctive "fishy" smell of shark meat. And the sauce must have done a great job, because I couldn't taste that "fishy" taste of shark meat at all. The meat was also more moist and tender as compared to our usual dry and tough stir-fried shark meat. 

My only complaint is, the burger is too big to be eaten.... well, like how a burger should be eaten. It is absolutely impossible to get a bite of everything with one bite. Pretty sure all of us ate it the deconstructed-burger way. 

 Grilled Chicken Burger - $5

Even though this pales slightly in comparison to the Shark Burger, I can't deny that it is still a very good chicken burger. There wasn't any special sauce to oomph up the flavour, but the grilled chicken was thick, tender and still pretty juicy. 

And well, you can always add whatever sauce you fancy to this burger over at the condiment bar, so all is good! 

The other two mains, the Unagi Roll ($8) and Fried Seabass ($8) unfortunately didn't do very well at impressing us. I completely skipped the Unagi Roll (because I really dislike Unagi, sorry!) but both the BF and Oyhz claims that the breadroll and the unagi tasted like separated dish. I also found that the breadroll didn't really hold up very well with the unagi, sauce and all. Just a small slice of my knife and the whole unagi roll disintegrated upon itself. 

As for the Fried Seabass, it might have been because we took way too long at taking photos, so much so that it has turned cold and harden. If it's not for the fact that there's another 7 pax waiting to try a bite, I would have just stick my fork in, pick up the entire fillet and take a bite directly out if it. Slicing it was just like slicing through rubber. The meat was also dry and a little tough, probably overcooked. 

Black Ball ($7) & Mini Lobster ($12)

And now for the two dishes which were quite highly anticipated, but failed to deliver. 

The black ball was pretty much just, sotong ball made black. Not sure if they've added in squid ink or not, but... it really just taste like your standard sotong ball, except that it's black. At one point I strongly believed that something special must be hidden within the ball, but there was absolutely nothing. The white bits you see are just small chunks of sotong. 

As for the mini lobster, it's really.... tiny. All the effort of peeling the shell, only to get the meat that's equivalent to HALF the size of a shrimp. But to be fair, the chili crab sauce does taste pretty decent though. 

Burger Monster is located at 10 Jurong East Street 12 #01-01 Jurong East MRT Station

and is open daily from 11am to 10pm.

For more information, visit their facebook page HERE.

Till then,

Mia Foo

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