IKEA 10-cents Meatballs - It's once in a lifetime!

Main queue that extends into the dining hall of IKEA Tampines

11:17 am - We arrived at IKEA Tampines and Ric joined in the queue.

11:50 am - Ric arrived at our table with 30 meatballs.

By this time, another serving counter opened to serve a 2nd queue while the 3rd queue at the Halal section grew much longer! Most dining tables were occupied and the dining hall was packed with both standing and sit down customers. Thankfully, the atmosphere is one of festive rather than chaos. It was like a carnival with the store Manager broadcasting messages of patience, welcome and thanks. 

After the food scares, the IKEA meatballs return to the restaurant menu today with this 1 day promotion.

Everybody was genuinely enjoying themselves; while some customers were busy packing away more meatballs than necessary, it seems. So much, it does become a little embarrassing...

Our plate of 20 Meatballs ($2 today, usual priced at $9.50)

We hasn't had IKEA meatballs for a while, and quite miss it especially after last week, when it was withdrawn from the shelf pending a DNA lab test to confirm that Singapore's stock has no link to the Europe-wide scandal over horsemeat in food product. Read story here.

This is our share of the promotion. And we are happy.

Alas, we prayed that the humankind will forever refrain from abusing food products and food animals.

满屋, Full House Confectionery

Mini Teochew Png Kueh ($0.40 per piece, $4 for 10 piece box)

At one end of the shop houses at Blk 95 Aljunied Ave 2, you have a spacious outlet stall from the Ang Mo Kio Nonya Kueh and Full House Confectionery that operates a small store on the other end. Today, we are patronising the latter.

We like that Full House kuehs ain't heavily flavored when compared to the ones we commonly bought from market stalls that receive its stocks from factory suppliers. Full House make their own and manages to keep prices competitive.

Their mini Png Kueh, a type of traditional steamed flour snack with infill of glutinous rice, is thin skin with rice so soft, yet does not lose its grains. Many kuehs often got sold out after lunch hour, and you have to wait for second batch of food to arrive in the later afternoon.

Deep Fried Carrot Cake, Yam Cake ($2 for any 4 pieces)

Today, i am especially impressed with their Carrot Cake. Recipe from white radish that has a refreshing tang of natural sweetness; i am pleasantly surprised to taste that in my first bite! Even though it was taken after having the more aromatic Yam Cake.

Yes, and you do not dismiss their Yam cake - distinct taste of Yam with some accidental bite of dried shrimps that goes into their making!

Kuehs on display ($2 per box)

Lucy's Penang Delights

For the smallness of Singapore, it's always amazing to discover places i've never been before - like the Geylang East Food Centre at 117 Aljunied Ave 2. Some shops in this neighborhood are clearly old school and i had loved to visit them in the future.

And there's several promising food stalls in the food centre!

Penang Kolok Mee, or Wanton Noodle ($2.50)

Penang Delights is one such that caught our attention as i spotted one lady slurping in noodles that swim in dark black sauce! Thought we got to try that!?

But i was rather taken aback by the strong hint of Nutmeg in the sauce and was fighting hard to stomach it; their regular customers clearly adore it. Nutmeg and Ampulla (or better known as balonglong fruit) are both Penang's specialty, and the stall does offer them as healthy fresh drinks on their menu. Quite fascinating. But i dare not try. Anyone?

Penang Char Kuay Teow ($3)

Now now, the fried noodle is one sure bid.

We heard the hawker choking with kitchen fumes before coming up with a plate of soft and nicely burned rice noodles, flavored by crunchy pork lard. Tasted really good but it's hard to feel gratify for the small serving size.

Hokkien Fried Noodle, Penang-Style

This is a fairly easy and tasty recipe i copied from Y3K Recipes (美厨食谱) - Issue 65 (Mar-Apr 2012), after reading it at the Singapore National Library.

Whilst trying my hands on my first Hokkien Mee, i was also clearing some instant Udon noodles and Kurobuta pork belly from the storage. The recipe turned out quite well. Even Dad came into the kitchen, jesting, "Prawn Noodles? You can fry Prawn Mee, sure?"

There was a strong whiff of prawns partly because i had taken a step further to boil the prawn heads in the 550ml of water before using it on the noodles. Come next time, i would love to repeat this step.

INGREDIENTS:
360g yellow noodles
3 pips garlic (chopped)
60g shallots (sliced)
100g prawns (shelled, deveined)
30g lean pork (sliced)
100g romain lettuce or sawi
550ml water

SEASONING:
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
Little ready sole fish powder (pre-packed)

STEPS:
Heat up oil in a wok, deep-fry shallots till crispy. Remove, drain off half-amount of oil, reserve the other half-amount in the wok.

Saute garlic, add pork slices and prawns fry till change colour. Add in noodle, water and seasoning. Fry well, cover wok for 10 mins to braise noodles.

Uncover, add in romain lettuce, turn off heat. Dish up, sprinkle fried shallots over, serve with a sambal/ or cut chilli as a side condiment.

My Lady, Finger

It felt wonderful as we watched the first fruit from my ladyfinger plants ripen and grew in size; all within a week time after it shed away its flower bud. Now it is ready for harvesting, lest it become fibrous.

I gave the ladyfinger some light stir-frying with noodles and could taste its nature sweetness and very fine vegetable fiber, right till its tip. It is amazingly good! The tastiest ladyfinger i've ever tasted.

Thanks to my Bangladeshi friend who provided the seeding some months back. The plants are now as tall as i am, and ever ready to bring forth more fruits!

Ladyfinger Yellow Flower Bud, Purple at the base.

Young Ladyfinger Fruit

And i realized how the fine hairy fruit excretes a certain pungent sense on your fingers when you stroke its surface! This maybe how the ladyfinger fruits protect it from pests and birds that may have otherwise eaten it away. Nature is clever.

Castel Cafe

Pescatora (Seafood) Pizza ($8)

If you wish to experience how it's like to be second class citizens, you should probably come to Castel Pizza with discount voucher from Deal.com. I was embarrassed in front of my guests when the waitress and kitchen displayed obvious lukewarm attitude to claimers of the vouchers...

But, well, it is no fault of the pizza. Yay, i was brought over by this delicious piece of kneaded flour topped with sea-freshness. We like that the seafood was cleverly treated with light Italian herbs and spices before using it on the pizza. Before today, it had never occurred to us that seafood goes amazingly well on a pizza.

Squid Ink Pasta ($8)

Our first serve up was actually this squid ink pasta that's equally flavorsome; but don't you find it tad too soupy!?