Max Sandwich Grill And Creamery

Tampines 1 has been in operation for quite some time now and there has been many food stalls and shops supporting this new venue. One of these is Max Sandwich Grill and Creamery which takes the center portion of the basement in Tampines one.

Address: 10 Tampines Central 1 #B1-K1 Tampines 1 Singapore 520530

Price Range: $6-10 per head

The outlet itself is immediately noticeable. Big catchy sign and the fact that it occupies a centralised location makes it pretty difficult to miss. The set up itself is rather simple, its a coffee and bread specialization food joint. The seats are semi comfortable but not a place you'll want to stay for long stretches of time.

The Egghead (Beef and eggs with cheese) $6.50

I ordered the egghead which is simply bread with mashed beef mixed in with cheese and scrambled eggs. The size was noticeably small for its price and it didn't help that such a simple item required me to wait a good 10 minutes before being called to the counter to pick up my own food. The system here is definitely flawed.
Taste wise, its too salty for my liking and there really isn't much else to say. The bread is quite nice. Crunchy and breaks apart well but otherwise, nothing special.

Monsieur (Ham, cheese, spicy onions and lettuce) $6.80

The monsieur (literally "My Lord" in french) wasn't really worthy of its name. I liked it better then mine because it wasn't as salty, had a slightly spicy aftertaste and had more meat then mine but its nothing to shout about in the taste department otherwise.

Bill

The bill for this unfulfilling lunch turned out to be $13.30.

Overall Score: 4/10

Last Word:

Improvement points:
1: Improve the system of ordering, shouting customers order number for a pick up isn't the best choice.
2: Cut down on unnecessary staff. Too many staff were seen simply standing around and not doing anything.
3: Retrieval and clearing of tables is important if you want the customers to continue flowing inwards.
4: Waiting time has got to be reduced. I myself can't understand why heating a piece of bread takes such a long time, and worse, the bread was prepared way before and packed already. Waiting 10 minutes is not acceptable in this regard.
Perhaps their coffee is where their strength is but unfortunately, i have not had the chance to revisit.

Thesavi Food (Famous Jalan Kayu Prata)

What hasn't been said of this now famous prata stall? Maybe the fact that they have finally beaten off the prata stall next door who used to leech on their name to make a quick buck i suppose. Other then that, i've been eating at this place since my national service days and the food price has just continued to rise and excel in ways i can't imagine.

Location: 237/239 Jalan Kayu

Contact: 6481-1537

Jalan Kayu Prata

Prata Kosong (80 cents a piece)

Another Oily look

What is a roti prata? Its basically flour, squashed to dough form and later twirled around like some pancake or circus act in the air before being put on a flat metal cooking stove and cooked to doneness depending on the chef. So essentially, its just flour, some eggs, some oil and a little skill.

Thasevi's has been around a long long time, 48 years to be exact and they've been residing in Jalan Kayu since then. There used to be a competitor next to the stall but it has finally been beaten off. Both were fighting for the "Original Jalan Kayu Prata" title. Guess we now know who is the real one. However, with this exclusion, i can't help but notice that there's a cockiness instilled into the survivor that is ..... not pleasing at all. Rude and cocky describes it but i guess thats what winners do.

To the prata itself, their version is actually quite normal. I honestly can't find anything to justify why their prata is better then others. Maybe its the consistently small serving? Or the extremely oily and soft prata? No matter, what i'm saying is, its nothing special to me and i've had better. If my memory serves me right, the competitor that is now gone had crispier and more fragrant prata.

To its credit, Thesavi has reasonably tasty curry. Its all authentic and spicy stuff but there's a price to pay for them as well. Last i had, it was about $5 for the curry with a piece of chicken or mutton. This is a place you can easily spend $20 just eating something thats 400% to 600% less that amount.

Overall Score: 4/10

Last word:
The life saving thing about the place is that its 24 hours and people can come anytime. Other than that, its just average at best and seriously overpriced at worst. I wouldn't return since there are much better prata at decent prices with good service to round it all up.

Four Seasons Durian (AMK Hub)

Four seasons Durians made a name for themselves by pandering durians in creative new ways. Fancy a durian crepe? Or durian mochi? How does a durian cheese cake sound? Durian jam? Swiss roll? Dadar? Yes, you can find all that and more at this little place which has sinced been franchised to a few other places. AMK hub being one of them.

Location: AMK Hub 53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 B2-28

Contact: 6484-2285

Price Range: $1.50 - 3 per serving

This is where the queues start

Hard at work.

Other Food Offerings

Well, basically, i was in the vicinity and had nothing else to do at the time plus the fact that there was an undeniable fragrance of durians in the air conditioned air that is difficult to ignore. Now, the time was 9.45pm when i got there and to my utter surprise, the queue was horrendously long. Waiting time was at least half an hour for your order and another 15 minutes to just get your hands on the delectable pancakes.

I'm also surprised that so many people were willing to pay $1.50 for each pancake when the cost price is obviously 300% below that at least. But in the end, i ended up paying the same amount anyway, so i'm a dork as well i suppose. I got my hands on 10 of these pancakes and paid another $3.50 for durian puffs for a box of 4. Needless to say, i'm probably not repeating this stunt again.

That is not to say the durian pancakes were not good tasting though. The durians in the pancake were grade A stuff. Sweet and a little firm despite obviously being prepared for some time before they were used. The pancakes were made fresh because that is the reason for waiting in line for that ridiculously long waiting time. Also, the pancakes were slightly crispy yet extremely soft to the bite. Its good enough to recommend. The puffs were pretty normal to me, with the exception of it being slightly bigger but still, hardly worth the price.

For a snack, i don't know how it can command a price as high as this and still get away with it. For my part, the only reason i bought was because i was stupid enough to stand in line for 15minutes before realising it cost $1.50 per piece. By then, not buying would mean i've stood in line for nothing. You know the feeling, between a rock and a hard place.

Overall Score: 6/10

Last Word:
This, being durian, its totally up to preference on whether you really like the fruit or not. That said, i'm not paying the same price for it again because quite simply, buy your own load of durians, use ready mix pancake and you'll pretty much get the same taste at a much cheaper price and minus the waiting time to boot. Thats just what i think of course.

Snacks @ Tampines Mall

After my long absence, its time to finally post what i have had during my time away. Tampines mall houses many restaurants and snack bars which may or may not be worth your time and that is what we are going to find out.

Location: Tampines Mall Basement Level

Price range: $2-5 per stall

Xi Men Taiwan Snacks

Packet

Deep Fried Chicken Chop

A close up look

Deep Fried Button Mushrooms

Sorry i forgot the price of this stall but i think its probably between $3-4 for each item. The chicken chop/cutlet is supposed to be reminiscent of the version found in Taiwan. Personally, i've never tried the Taiwan version before so this came as a surprise. The batter was crispy and non intruding with the meat and mushrooms being surprisingly juicy despite the deep frying. The accompanying chilli powder or msg helped to enhance the taste but gets overwhelming with each bite. Health wise, prolonged exposure to this kind of food gets you a class visit with neurosurgeons and heart surgeons much earlier as well. Good for sharing and occasional bites, bad for everything else.

Tako Pachi

Box

$2.20 per box

Prawn Tako Pachi

After a Taiwanese snack, why not settle for a Japanese snack or 2? First up, Tako Pachi. Prices have soared since the last time i had this item but has the taste improved? Sadly, the answer is a big no. Its the same as it was years ago when it costs a mere $1.50 for the same quantity of items. That said, this version is still acceptable since i like my snacks hot and prawns crunchy and sweet. Although most of the taste comes from the teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise piled on it, it still served its purpose of satisfying my "little" hunger pangs.

Tori Q

Bag

Bacon and asparagus

Another charred look

The last order for the day, bacon and asparagus coated in honey and baked over a slow flame. This used to be a rather healthy dish as i remembered it with less oil and less charred surfaces. I also remembered it as a tasty little snack i could have at any time. Not anymore, apart from the the higher price, the taste has sadly declined. The asparagus was neither crunchy nor sweet, as is the bacon which seemed to lack the smoky bite it had which contrasted the greens so well previously. This was a disappointment through and through.

Overall Score: 5.5/10 (6/10 for Tako Pachi)

Last Word:
Snacks or different cultures adorn the halls but yet lacks any character whatsoever. The generic taste simply did not encourage me to come back to these snacks, as does the absolute lack of any health serving items and the ridiculous prices for such simple fare.

Ang Mo Kio Hub and S11 Kopitiam

Another post in the budget department. It was a Sunday and so i went out with my parents on a simple family dinner, hopefully this dispels the suspense of whether or not i'm actually well-to-do. Truth to the fact, i'm all Singaporean and generally struggling financially (literally).

Address: Ang Mo Kio HDB Hub and S11 next to Jubilee (You can't miss it!!)

A1 Curry Puffs

Display Box and 'Bite-section' ($1)

To say i'm not a fan of curry puffs would simply be a big lie. Put simply, throw me any kind of puffs, cream puffs, durian puffs, custard puffs etc and i'll pretty much gobble them up before you can blink. However, i miraculously did not touch anything here, my mum did all the gobbling for this 'vegetable puff'. I do know that the puffs are indeed crispy due very much to the deep frying and layered way the puff is made, but for some reason, i still prefer the conventional Old Chang Kee puffs to this.

Don Don Japanese Cuisine (S11)

Kinda just happened to hear from my mom that the food here is good, but of course, good i subjective to what or who my mom heard it from. Still, no harm trying.

Chicken Nuggets ($4)

This is honestly NOT called chicken nuggets but i've unfortunately forgotten what its truthfully called and taste wise, it tastes just like nuggets from Mcdonald's minus the crispiness. Its definitely NOT worth a try though, even at its price.

Curry Katsudon set ($6)

It looked impressive when it came. I would never have expected this many items for $6 bucks. The rice wasn't as soft as it should be, the chicken was quite tender and crispy on the outside but has nothing to rave about taste wise. The curry tasted sweet, sour and not spicy in the least, thats a good thing for me. The miso soup was very very bland and practically tasteless while the toufu was forgettable as well.

Ebi Tempura Set ($6.80)

I'll skip on the toufu and miso since its practically the same. The tempura was obviously not fresh but isn't bad to the point it couldn't be stomached. The prawn didn't taste sweet or anything vaguely near the word good to me but you can't complain about the portion size and number of prawns given the price really.

The bill

$16.80 for a filling meal for me and my sister is decent but food quality wise is just not up to standard, which is disappointing after my mom's recommendation.

Chicken Porridge and Vegetable Mee Soup.

These are what my parents had. Really simple dinner huh? Nothing special, totally Singaporean. =P

Score:

Food : 5/10
Value for Money: 5.25/10

Overall: 5.125/10

Last Word:
Well, what can i say? Its hawker fare and totally nothing about it captures my attention or taste buds. I won't say i won't be back but at least for this particular stall, its just not worth the stomach space.