Seoul garden: Still seoul good!

I had the greatest time catching up with the TK girls… and what better way to enjoy the company over lunch than at somewhere all too familiar, going way back when we donned those distinctive green pinafores... And I love our uniform! Did you know former TKGians include the likes of Halimah Yacob, Jade Seah, Felicia Chin, Suzanne Ho (CAN newscaster)? Moribus Modestus to that!


Anywayy, back to food matters… I don’t know how to explain the rants about the drop of quality and food standards in Seoul Garden, because the last time I checked, it was perfectly A. ok. More or less the familiar items when you last paid a visit; same old marinade of chicken and beef, seafood and greens, plus a few new additions to the buffet spread.

And familiarity is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s hard to describe, but going back to same place knowing that you can rely on your favourites is a comforting feeling. Who can not love the crowd pleasers that is Szechuan and char siew chicken? Chunks of meat drenched in menacingly dark sauce…rule of thumb: more dark = more sedap.

Stepping into Seoul Garden after a 2-year quarantine made me appreciate the old flavours and relish the new, especially Coffee chicken. For real son! The taste? Like chicken with a subtle lingering taste of a good cuppa. The unusual (and slightly disturbing to some) combination is surprisingly good! Who knew coffee had a place alongside chicken. Or maybe it’s an acquired taste. Or as Shaf puts it, like kopiko.

Some funky flavours for Seoul Garden to consider

Putting aside piling assignments and pesky groupmates, being a student has its perks too. For the same buffet, a student is charged a mere $15 or so per head. Just be sure too arrive before the clock strikes half past four. That’s great value considering ala carte menus in most restaurants of par. Plus it’s a buffet you can loosen your buckle to; there’s just something about bbqs and eating without restrictions or control (think of a bbq gathering where you made at least 3 rounds around the bbq pit. My point exactly). On top of that, ready-to-go western food, sushi platters, chinese cuisine side dishes, and a dessert spread with new additions to boot.

The kueh-kueh are a real treat! Too bad i didn't have a tupperware with me :I

No meal's complete without some ice-cream filling

Ana finally got the ice-machine-shredder-thingy working...

Considering the low turnout rate on weekdays at the Marina Square outlet, and hence food sits longer, everything (that we ate at least) was fresh with no sign of staleness. Just one suggestion, top up the corn ice-cream man! Other than that, we certainly enjoyed lunch+dinner=linner. Then again, the company might have made all the difference.

There's always room for ice-cream... and good times with old friends :D

BINGO and the noisy class: Finding our identity

In bio CS class last week, we were made to play ‘BINGO and the quiet signal’ to test out the teaching strategy. The game was no stranger, having played it 1001 times before but yet still had ways to amuse us. Instruction: Find someone who fits the description in the box.

And it didn’t take us (Dimas, Fina, Haslindah, myself) half a second to match the person fitting this description:

And we chorused… “Mardiana!!” Yes it’s soo you.

I also found out that Fina’s the only girl among a gang of brothers, and that makes both of us. And growing up with guys really trains you up to be one tough cookie! Am I right sista from another mother??

This one was self-confessed, and she really would have killed for some Milka right there and then. I can picture it right now… Haslindah, cold turkey style: “Pass me the chocolate... and nobody gets hurt!”


I’ve created one for Dimas since she has not been to Nepal, and has moved out of hostel…

and therefore....

Damn girl (hint of envy..), at this rate, you’ll be in Nepal in no time!

Last but not least, yours truly,

Munch on this: Munchy Donut

Out with the old, in with the new. And that was probably what Munchy Donut did.

Before the idea of freshly served donuts and donut parlours hit the local food scene, there were donuts around to keep donut-lovers occupied until their next overseas trip to Krispy Kremes or Dunkin’ Donuts. These were usually pre-fried, pre-topped and delivered to supermarkets or 7-11 to be sold. They tasted just alright, but a donut right out of the oven would be swell.

And then there was Donut Factory, which initiated a nationwide craze over donuts and in no time, a swift cascade of several other donut shops, each competing with their own range of donuts and the quirkiest name one could imagine. They knew Singaporeans wanted their donuts, and heck, they’re giving it to us.

Good ol' rainbow sprinkle and white chocolate

Donuts on a stick!

With many new kids on the block, there was a familiar brand with the facelift that probably saved its life. And this is assuming it was the Munchy Donut during my secondary school days. And then the taste-testing began…

The donuts are actually more colourful than what you see (blame a chocolate lover for buying more chocolate donuts why don’t you!). What I love about Munchy Donuts is that the toppings stay moist because they’re usually snapped up even before the next batch comes in. The dough is soft and fluffy, more like soft bread than donut though.

Choz O’nutter and Choz O’cream are chocolate-topped donuts with peanut butter and custard filling respectively. The chocolate topping taste more semi-sweet than sweet, and the bittersweet chocoloate topping should be left for true dark chocolate fans to experience the “shiok” in O’shiok.

Smart advertising!

More sweeter versions are cinnamon-topped Silly-Mon (told’ja they came up with silly names, literally) and Typhoon Oreo, both with white-chocolate base and veeery sweet. And for the conservative tastebuds, try the old school strawberry and chocolate donuts with rainbow sprinkles and nuts or lightly glazed originals.

Unlikely marriage of green-tea flavoured white chocolate with red bean filling - Putting Green - shows that Munchy Donuts are clearly putting in the effort to explore other flavours, but I’d leave that for others to try for now. Putting aside the brave attempt, they do stay true to more traditional recipes. For the crowd who seek old favourites, this is one of them donut shops.

With shops at each end - Causeway Point and Tanjong Katong (opp. Tanjong Katong Girls’) and more opening soon, it’s difficult not to get some. If this was the Munchy I once knew, they have come a long way.

Any relations between the two? Probably, coz somebody took a bite outta both of em!

Munchy Donut outlets:

226 Tanjong Katong Rd S437015 (Tel: 6344 0880)

Causeway Point (Cold storage)1 Woodlands Square#B1-22/31/32 Causeway Point S738099


Eastwood (Cold storage) 20 East Wood Road #01-07/09 East Wood Centre S486442

United Square (Cold storage) 101 Thomson Road #B1-52 S307596

Let the Good Times roll...

Talk about neglect! I didn’t think it was this long a period that I left my darling food journal in the dumps. Utter disbelief. And yet, after months of NO posts and NO pics to slaver over, there is still hope yet. Although inactive/ignored/abandoned/deserted (yes the guilt is just eating me up), the food destinations were far from.

So hello 2008… A new year, a new look, & another chapter of the good (food), the bad (..service?) and the ugly (must be how I eat).