Medan Town

On its website, Medan Town describes itself as a "quaint 50-seater restaurant". Not sure what's so quaint about this place. It's simply a no-frills restaurant with good food. The owners of these restaurant are from Medan. 

As starters, we ordered the Tahu Goreng ($4.50). This is the first time I'm having crackers on top of tahu goreng. An addictive appetiser, the crunchy peanuts, beansprouts and the fried tofu rested on a bed of sweet and spicy sauce.

I had the Kwetiauw Bebek Dry ($6.80). Duck is a difficult meat to handle- cook it for too long and it becomes very dry. This slow-cooked duck easily shredded and was a very comforting dish with the springy kwetiauw and the duck herbal soup. I am not usually a fan of herbal soups because the taste can be rather overwhelming. I ordered it dry so that I could decide how much soup to add to the noodles. Surprisingly, the soup was light with just a mild herbal taste.

If you are looking for cheap and good food in the East, this is for you!

Medan Town 
253 Tanjong Katong Road
Tel No: 6348 9227 

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National Orchid Garden

I last visited National Orchid Garden in 2011 (click here for blog entry). Classes had just ended then and I thought it will be nice to take a walk in the orchid garden. 3 years down the road, I am back again. 

Botanic Gardens is one of my favourite places in Singapore- it's not crowded, it's spacious, it's beautiful. 

No matter which part of the Orchid Garden you are in, there is an opportunity for good photographs and the explosion of colours will be a feast for your eyes.

The VIP Orchid Garden was styled as an English Backyard. Here, you will get to see the orchid hybrids of the Gardens' orchid programme. Many state visitors and VIPs have orchids named after them.

Besides this, there are also attractions such as the Tan Hoon Siang Mist House, the Cool House etc. The Cool House is meant to look like a tropical forest where there is cool air and mist. To imagine what the Cool House is like, it is something like the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, but many times smaller.

One of my favourite orchids is the Golden Shower or the Dancing Lady Orchid. If you look closely at the orchid, it looks like a lady in a ballroom dress dancing.

Here are some of the photographs of the orchids that we saw in the garden.

Japan has beautiful lavender farms, the Netherlands has beautiful tulip farms. and Singapore has a beautiful orchid garden! At an inexpensive price of $5, you could probably spend 2 hours in there just enjoying the wonders of nature. Word of caution though- sunblock, cap and water are essential! 

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Nam Nam Noodle Bar (Suntec City Mall)

This is the second time I tried Nam Nam. If you don't want to deal with crowds, come to this branch instead of the one at Raffles City. 

We first started off with Crispy Fried Vegetarian Rolls ($4.90) to fight off some hunger pangs.

Then we proceeded with Crispy Fried Black Pepper Soft-Shell Crab ($6.90). The batter was too thick such that you couldn't really taste the soft shell crab. The black pepper taste was also nearly non-existent.

The Pho Chicken ($7.90) remains the way I remembered it- average and light.

Even though it was a weekend, there were empty tables around. Average fare.

Nam Nam Noodle Bar 
Suntec City Mall
3 Temasek Boulevard
#B1-31

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Spuds & Aprons

The last time we went to Mount Faber, we tried the desserts at Spuds & Aprons which were rather disappointing. This time, we decided to try the mains instead. 

Years back, there was still a bus service going up to Mount Faber. However, we realised that the bus service was no longer in operation and being the kiam siap people we were, we walked up instead. 

We ordered a Chilli Crab in a Tux ($13). Top marks for novelty. The spice of the chilli doesn't hit right in your face initially. But as you progress into the meal, the spice starts to become more pronounced. The potato skin was also crispy and was a perfect combination with the chilli crab. Bonus points for not having to dirty your hands!

The Tobiko Crusted Cod Fillet ($30) is a good choice for those seeking a healthier option. I have never been a fan of cod because of its fishy taste. However, that fishy taste was muted in this dish, with the cod topped with tobiko and mentaiko sauce. This came with green tea soba noodles soaked in aged ponzu sauce with fermented yuzu. I couldn't taste the yuzu in the sauce and while the combination was refreshing at the start, it started to get a little boring as the meal progressed.

Great location to look at beautiful Singapore scenery at night. Service was friendly although the food took ages to come.

Spuds & Aprons
Faber Peak
109 Mount Faber Road
#02-00

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Platypus Kitchen

I was looking for a restaurant that could fit a group of around 10 and this place was perfect. Comfortable chairs, not too noisy and serving food at affordable prices. Having gone to the Platypus Test Kitchen at Raffles Place a couple of times, I was pretty sure the standard had to be rather decent here as well. 

I ordered the Set Meal ($16.90 plus additional $1.90 for this main course) which came with a soup/salad and a drink. The Wild Mushroom Soup was pretty decent- little chunks of mushrooms in the soup but could have a stronger mushroom taste. 

For the mains, I got the Squid-Ink Scallop Ragout. Tossed in light garlic sauce, this dish was average. Despite it being light garlic sauce, the garlic taste got a little overwhelming after a while, making the seared scallops taste a little muted. The squid ink is apparently in the pasta so it won't stain your teeth.

Average fare here, but great ambience and place for meetups.

Platypus Kitchen
Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street
#03-29/29A
Tel No: 6 333 4434 

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