Having a craving for Korean food for a couple of weeks, I decided to finally head down to Han Fung Korean Restaurant yesterday for an early dinner. Fortunately for me, I arrived on the dot when the place opened for weekday evenings (Mon - Fri : 1130 - 1430, 1730 - 2300, Sat - Sun : 1100 - 2300), and promptly went through the menu. Since I was by myself, there was no way I could try their barbecue dishes, but will be making a trip back soon for that. I have heard quite a fair bit of glowing reviews on those. In the end I had to decide between my favourite SamGyeTang (Ginseng Chicken soup rice), and Seol Lang Tang (Noodles with Ox Bone Soup), and went for the latter. Even I had to admit it was a good choice, after tasting it.

There was obviously no crowd at Han Fung Korean Restaurant at that time since most people would have still been making their way off work, and I enjoyed decent, polite service. After laying out the customary side dishes, of which there were four, I sat waiting for my main dish. The side dishes were not too bad, and personally my first gauge for a good Korean restaurant in Singapore would be their kimchi. Many Korean restaurants in Singapore serve poor kimchi, but Han Fung Korean Restaurant had theirs rather fresh. The anchovies were not the best, but still sweet enough to tickle my tastebuds before I set into the main dish.

The Seol Lang Tang arrived and looked quite enticing. The soup had a milky texture and seemed the right mix of thickness. My first spoonful had me really excited, as it had the balanced creamy thin feel to it. You could also taste the ox/beef bone that the soup must have been cooked in hours with. The only downside to the dish was the low quantity of beef slices it contained - I could count in one hand the number and they were rather small, smaller than a Go playing card. However, I was enjoying the tasty soup and slurped down the noodles before dumping my bowl of rice in it to mix it up. The Han Fung Korean Restaurant lady who served me was also nice enough to suggest adding some salt if I did not find the taste right. There was no need for that, except for my habit of dipping the meat slices with salt and pepper.

So while this review is based solely on their Seol Lang Tang, which was really delicious, it was enough to make me want to go back for the barbecue dishes. My meal set me back about $18, including a drink. The portion was large enough to satisfy my hunger the rest of the day, which is what I expect from eating at Korean restaurants and paying that kind of money, and not many local Korean restaurants can do that for me. I could still taste the soup later that night and have nothing but good things to say about it. It might have been silly of me not to have tried their barbecue meats since it is their specialty, but that cannot be done alone so it will have to wait for now.

For those who also value the look and feel of the restaurant before they are inclined to visit it, there is nothing extra special about Han Fung Korean Restaurant’s setup or decor. It looks like your typical Korean restaurant that you might see anywhere along the streets of Korea, except with a much larger space. You can eat inside if you prefer the air condition and want to watch TV, but the outside sitting area was windy enough for me to enjoy my hot tasty Seol Lang Tang. The Han Fung Korean Restaurant staff were also approachable and polite. This is usually an area which completes my eating experience and fortunately it was quite positive on the first visit.

For those curious enough to make a trip to Han Fung Korean Restaurant, here is their address:

Han Fung Korean Restaurant
16 Cheong Chin Nam Road
Singapore 599740

They are located opposite (the quite empty) Bukit Timah Shopping Centre along the row of eating outlets at Cheong Chin Nam Road. Do take note of their opening hours on weekdays - I was not aware of that when reading about them elsewhere.

Coming at $1.50 per slice, Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake does not come cheap. Packing three on the go, the first thing that struck me was the really strong chocolate aroma. It was aromatic as well, and being a chocolate pig, I could feel my saliva glands going into overdrive at once. Immediately, my excitement started shaping in my head what Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake was going to taste like. And they were going to taste like heaven before they had landed in my mouth.

I had a look at the three slices of Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake in my hands, and they were a pretty sight. Something about the mix of chocolate brown and striking pandan green slices grabbed me and drew me in. It was all setting up something really grand once they were placed in your mouth, and it certainly had me really eager to chomp them all down immediately.

Unfortunately, they say that the greatest expectations can lead to absolute disappointment. And, true to the saying, Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake was a real letdown once I took my first bite. There was no doubting the strong chocolate aroma that was a real draw, but it set me up so much that what happened after when you started eating could perhaps be what junkies feel when they go cold turkey. Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake must have tried to go really light, because I could not really taste anything. Sure, there was the light chocolate and pandan mix, but maybe I expected too much, and it all tasted… ordinary.

Do not misunderstand, Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake was not bad - it was not as heavy as some of the mass produced pandan cakes you would buy from any confectionery or bakery, but there was certainly nothing special that set it apart from the rest either, except the slightly interesting mix of flavours. And when you look back at it, the price of Little Jerry’s Cookies’ Chocolate Pandan chiffon cake makes it even worth less the money given the taste of it. Nice cake overall, but at $1.50 per slice, perhaps spending it on their cookies might have been a better bet.

Missy Donut came to our Singaporean shores from Japan, after they spotted a good opportunity for the revival of donut consumption and sales in the island country. They were not wrong in their decision and pretty soon you now have four Missy Donut outlets in Singapore, all of which opened to long queues and fanfare. The donuts are made in front of all to see, and come in over 20 different tastes and designs, including special ones made to suit local tastes such as the Kaya donut. When I tried it on the first day the Bukit Panjang Plaza outlet opened, the Missy Donut donuts were really fresh, soft and as with all donuts, when eaten warm, were simply lip smacking. What I really liked about these donuts was that they were not too sweet, yet did not lack any of that sugar boost that donuts traditionally provided.

For a couple of times after that first taste, I had to participate in long queues before getting my fill of Missy Donut. Now, months after the height of the donut craze in Singapore, the queues have disappeared mostly and apart from the Plaza Singapura outlet, the traffic at the other Missy Donut branches have basically died. This is not wholly unexpected given that it was not called the donut fad for nothing. It would be interesting to see how long the chain can survive here in Singapore, given that despite having a huge array of designs, the Missy Donut selections are not the best in uniqueness and often end up looking quite bland, compared to the more interesting donuts that the Donut Factory has produced.

On top of that, the service provided by Missy Donut in the Bukit Panjang outlet is pretty standard of customer service in Singapore - unsmiling, cold and sometimes rude. The person serving you anytime looks disinterested, as if they cannot wait for you to disappear so that they could resume their chats with co-workers. The donuts made by Missy Donut also do not hold up to taste quality an hour or two after they are made, as they turn cold and hard. Now, donuts always come with a disclaimer that you should heat them up in a microwave to enjoy them soft and delicious, but if the ones from Donut Factory and Krispy Kreme can remain soft and delicious after a day without a need to reheat, then surely Missy Donut can come up with a way to do the same. They have been around since 2000 in Japan and that is quite a long time in terms of surviving in the donut business.

So, is Missy Donut worth your time? They certainly are, if you intend to consume them fresh and piping hot after they have been made and immediately after you have purchased them. Perhaps just before that movie at Golden Village in Plaza Singapura, or during a family day out in Compass Point. But they do not last well, and while they are not bad, the standards have dropped somewhat since they opened, and I am still undecided as to them being considered the second best tasting donuts available in Singapore after the Donut Factory.

I bought a six pack the other evening from Donut Factory, partly again because no one was in the queue, and picked out the following six types of donuts - Dark Chocolate Raspberry, two Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, Kaya White Chocolate, Hazelnut Chocolate and another which had white chocolate topping with chocolate mousse filling. I might have gotten the exact names wrong because honestly who really remembers the names of donuts, they just want to eat them. Apologies to the Donut Factory but it is not difficult to differentiate them when placed in front of you anyway.

Actually I had been craving to try out the Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate donut for a while since I walked by the Donut Factory branch in Suntec City. Naturally I thought the combination of peanut butter with chocolate would be fabulous. After trying it out, the donut itself was not too bad in fact it was similar to Krispy Kreme in texture and sweetness levels, but I was disappointed that you could hardly taste the peanut butter. There were just strips over the chocolate layer of course, which would explain it.

I then moved on to the donut with the Raspberry filling and it was my favourite hands down. Donut Factory got this one right and it was a simple formula really. I never forgot a similar donut I had when I was in England many years back, and have loved jam filled donuts ever since. This was not the most unique design from Donut Factory, but a clear winner in my books, and the best of the lot I bought.

The rest were really nothing to shout about and common donuts found from the various donut shops in Singapore. Most of them I just chose them for lack of something more interesting. I am not sure how many kaya based donuts or buns or confectionary that Singaporean restaurants, bakeries and cafes need to come up with before they realise that everyone’s sick of it. But I still enjoyed the Kaya White Chocolate donut from Donut Factory, mainly because it was not so sweet that you could not taste the kaya.

Overall, I would say that return servings for the Raspberry Dark Chocolate donut from Donut Factory would be on the cards for me and I should taste it when it’s fresh out of the ovens. The cafe concept at Donut Factory would be ideal for this instead of getting a pack and having them on the go as you really need to eat your donuts fresh and warm. I am not too sure about the other flavours they have - they seem too ordinary, and certainly I could do away with the queue, but Raspberry Dark Chocolate donuts from the Donut Factory is the best donut I have had in Singapore so far.

If you are looking to spend less on Valentine’s Day flowers, why not take a walk through the many gardens and parks in Singapore, where you can actually sneak a stalk of flower or two and bundle them up into a bouquet for your other half? Of course, this is a little risky but if it is just a stalk or two of roses, it should not be too much of a problem. In any case, drop by any florist in Singapore and get your three rose bouquet, which is more than sufficient to let your significant other know that you love her.

Most Singaporeans love to eat, and it should not be a surprise that this is a common and popular choice for us to spend our Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, it also means that most restaurants and eating places would be fully booked, not to mention highly expensive if you decide to bring your date out for a romantic meal. On a budget, you could actually have a sumptuous meal in a coffeeshop where there are many zi char stalls (where you can order cooked dishes just like you do in a restaurant, but at a much lower price and equally good quality). Why not show your love and dedication by preparing a meal for your Valentine’s Day date, in the comfort of your own home? It would be even cheaper and the effort taken to prepare the meal would literally seal your Valentine’s Day night!

Personally, I always prefer to drop by a restaurant for a Valentine’s Day dinner date. The important thing is a place where they have a dish on the menu which my date loves. If it is crab, I make an advance booking for Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, where they have the famous chili crab and hot fried buns which you can dip into their delicious chili gravy. If it is steak that my date prefers, then off to Dan Ryan’s Steak and Grillhouse we will go. If it happens that she has a craving for sashimi, I would actually opt for a Japanese buffet where we can have our fill of the freshest and best sashimi on offer (a favourite of ours is the coffee house restaurant at Plaza Hotel along Beach Road). All these, of course, are costly, but it is only once a year and we then restrict our spending for the most part.

Do not forget the many parks in Singapore such as the Botanic Gardens, where you can enjoy a nice day out in a picnic or gentle stroll with your date on Valentine’s Day. There are a zillion ways in which you can spend Valentine’s Day on a shoestring budget in Singapore - you just need to use some imagination and a lot of heart. After all, that is what Valentine’s Day is all about!

In a statement issued by a deputy director of the MDA, a license had been issued to the choir to perform at the festival, but only with Singaporean citizens. The reason given was that the song contents touch on domestic issues and only Singapore citizens were allowed to participate in the public performances.

If you check out the lyrics of the song (included below), you would notice that they are part of the everyday grouses of people living and working in Singapore. I do not see the need to disallow foreigners who chose to spend their lives in Singapore from airing their grievances, since many of the complaints are shared by Singaporeans in the first place. In fact, it just shows how the authorities at the MDA are a bunch of old armchair fogeys who just cannot see the funny side in life and laugh at themselves.

The choir’s founders also posted a damning verdict of the restricted license issued by MDA:

“We see the symptoms of a neurotic society. We find it irritating that foreigners - people that built this city, nurse Singaporean kids and bring in their knowledge - are not allowed to complain.” Complaints Choirs of the World

While it must be said the above has been slightly exaggerated, it does highlight the prevalent contradictions in the image that Singapore has tried hard to change in recent years - that of a more open, transparent and modern society embracing change. How open can you be when you find it hard to swallow a few light hearted complaints from foreigners living in your country?

Watch the video clip of the performance below and tell me it is not tongue firmly in cheek. The melody is not that catchy and you might need the lyrics to know what they are singing about.

Lyrics:

THE COMPLAINTS CHOIR SINGAPORE LYRICS

We get fined for almost everything
Drivers won’t ‘give chance’ when you want to ‘change lane’
The indoors are cold, the outdoors are hot;
And the humid air, it wrecks my hair
Those answering machines always make you hold
Only to hang up on you

*chorus

One impending offer is from Zuji.com.sg. At midnight tonight Jan 26, they will be having specially priced tickets to Bangkok on Thai Airways, from $137 onwards. Now this is a great deal in my opinion, as ticket prices around this time of the year during Chinese New Year usually skyrocket and unless you booked months in advance, you would likely be charged premium ticket prices now.

If more deals are made known to me, they will be published here. Meanwhile, if you think the idea of spending your Chinese New Year with a couple of Thai girls appeal to you, be on standby for the online squeeze tonight at Zuji.com.sg.

The more interesting bit of news was that out of the top 10 students in Singapore, only 2 of them were Singaporeans. It would probably surprise some and the Ministry of Education might do a little study about it, as they are generally known to over react. Certainly I would think it is no surprise that foreign students are scoring better. Most of them have flown specially to Singapore to get their educational needs. They are paying top dollar for it. If I were a parent of a foreign student, I would drill it into my child to study hard and do their best.

Most of these foreign students (especially those from Asian countries) are immensely hardworking, but this is from my own experience many years ago and there were not many then. But I believe it all stems from cultural and general attitudes, so it should have remained unchanged. And at an age when the child is still young, their thoughts would first and foremost be on studying and doing well. Unlike teens who then fly overseas for a University education - they would want to experience life from that level. The end result is that only the most focused would go on to do well in higher education.

The 2007 O Level results are impressive, but at the end of the day, not too important. It can be used to get into the college of your choice, but if you end up chasing skirts or boys at that age, it would mean nothing being in a school like Raffles Junior College.

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon of the Thai Hindu month, and devotees are to observe a day of fasting, thanksgiving and consecration where they make offerings to Lord Muruga. What draws in interested observers outside of the Hindu faith are the spectacular shows of faith by devotees who have to walk a three kilometre path of worship and thanksgiving. What you can see (partly in the picture here) are participants who carry huge decorations called kavadis which has a milk pots within. And these kavadis are often hooked onto the participants’ bodies, which can look extremely painful to the observer but devotees are known to experience no pain at all, due to their faith and belief, and this spectacle culminates on Thaipusam.

Police are on-site to redirect traffic where necessary and to maintain order as massive crowds are normally expected during the Thaipusam festivities. I had to drive by the same road this morning and while there was a slowdown, traffic was relatively smooth, even compared to normal peak hour conditions when there are no festivities. Perhaps the Land Transport Authority could look at this as an alternative to setting up ERP gantries.

It was 3 years ago when an ex-colleague first introduced Mirana Cake House’s pineapple tarts to me. I have been hooked ever since and the first year after, I tried to be smart and dropped by the outlet in the basement of Raffles Place to get a few cans. Unfortunately, they were all sold out just a few days after being placed on the shelves and it was too late to place any new orders. Needless to say it broke my heart and I resolved to call in my orders early from then on. Note also that these mouthwatering pineapple tarts are only available at Mirana Cake House’s Raffles Place outlet and nowhere else. That means you have the working crowd to deal with and they are fast I tell you.

Mirana Cake House’s pineapple tarts do not come in your traditional tart shape. They are in anonymous roundish form and have an incredibly soft and tender center. The pineapple center is also juicy and sweet enough to twinkle your taste buds, while at the same time not to the extreme that they hurt your sugar level. The light powdery exterior is also light to the touch and complement the internal pineapple jam. It is definitely way better than any pineapple tart I have tasted in my life. It is not uncommon to see me finish a whole tub full of it in one sitting!

There might still be enough time for you to put in the last orders now before Chinese New Year. Hop down to the Mirana Cake House outlet at 1 Raffles Place #B1-06 (Raffles Place MRT station) and be prepared for a slice of pineapple tart heavenliness!