Anyeong Noona

Showing posts with label Tanjong Pagar. Show all posts

"Do not focus so much on the future you lose the importance of today" is probably the verse that I need to hear the most recently. I do not know the future and yet, I keep to think so much about it. I wonder if I lose my focus on enjoying the present moment. Sometimes in order to refocus back to what's important in life, you need to chill a little bit with your best buddy in tow to accompany you or listen to your random crap in life. If that's what you want to do at the moment, you may want to come to Xiao Ya Tou at Duxton Hill in Tanjong Pagar.

Xiao Ya Tou is a hipster restaurant which looks like it came straight away from the retro era of China (or Hong Kong, maybe?). The interior design of Xiao Yao Tou is like Central's but times two. I wonder if my parents used to come to this kind of restaurant when they were dating each other.

Xiao Ya Tou at Duxton Road Tanjong Pagar

Xiao Ya Tou starts serving dinner starting from 6PM. Sliders are interesting but only available after 9PM. I suppose Xiao Ya Tou offers them as accompaniment to alcohols. My dinner buddy is actually looking forward to Xiao Ya Tou's unagi benedict but unfortunately the dish is only served for Sunday brunch. Oh well, probably I will only come here for brunch on Sunday when I don't feel like laying around on my bed, which is highly unlikely. Besides the unagi benedict, Xiao Ya Tou offers other quirky dishes such as Crab and Lap Cheong Omelette (SGD 9) and Spicy Brussel Sprout (SGD 12).

Menu from Xiao Ya Tou at Duxton Road Tanjong Pagar

Checking out the utensils which looks like Blue China, while waiting for the drinks to come. Xiao Ya Tou has a pretty extensive selection of alcoholic drinks and cocktails. Some of the interesting concoctions include Milo and Yakult as the ingredients but the serving for these drinks is definitely not for two people (we are not heavy drinkers either) so yeah, too bad...

...we ended up coming back to a fix of caffeine, wherever we go. Hahaha. The chai latte (SGD 6.50) is served in the way that I like, not too sweet (I'm a fan of Chai) and my dinner buddy enjoyed her matcha latte (SGD 6.50) too. We just wish the cup can be a bit bigger with the price tag of SGD 6+.

Green tea and chai latte from Xiao Ya Tou Tanjong Pagar

We ordered one dish from the small plates section, one dish from the big plates section and one carbo dish to share amongst the two of us. The Cheezy Pork Sausage (SGD 10) are a combination of sausage, rice cake, spring onion and lettuces drenched in garlic soya sauce. Not bad at all, although anything that have rice cake inside will make me happy nonetheless.

Based on review in Burpple, one of the most order dish in Xiao Ya Tou is its XYT Ayam Percik (SGD 26), which is a cheeky rendition curry chicken by Xiao Ya Tou's chef. The curry is rich and yet, not spicy so you can definitely take it if you don't like spicy food. It taste better than it looks, we finished the whole plate of chicken. #chicoverdose

Being Indonesian, I love to devour all types of fried rice, especially those which come with fried shallots. Goes well with the ayam percik as well although on second thought, white rice is probably more suitable to pair with ayam percik as the chicken dish is quite rich and strong in flavour.

Xiao Ya Tou's address:

6 Duxton Hill, Tanjong Pagar.

Xiao Ya Tou's opening hours:

Monday and Tuesday: 11AM - 11PM

Wednesday and Thursday: 5PM - 11PM

Friday: 11AM - 12AM

Saturday: 9AM - 12AM

Sunday: 9AM - 5PM

Anyeong! It has been a while since the last time Noona updates this blog because of some technical glitch and so on. She was kinda pondering on whether she should just abandon this blog entirely but then again, it's so troublesome to create a new blog so Noona is back again now.

Recently, there have been more and more Japanese cafes opening up in Singapore, especially in the busy area of Tanjong Pagar. Tanjong Pagar is a nightmare if you visit the area on weekday lunchtime (but so is all other CBD area in Singapore). The best time to do cafehopping in Tanjong Pagar area is actually during the weekend. Noona did some exploration at the latest addition in the region, Tanjong Pagar Centre last Saturday and oh wow, the place is so quiet it makes chilling out there so enjoyable. Tanjong Pagar Centre houses the cafe that Noona wants to talk about for today, Hattendo Cafe.

Oink Noona: Hattendo Cafe, Tanjong Pagar

Hattendo Cafe specialises in cream buns and it is currently offering 5 different flavors of cream buns including custard, whipped cream (seriously?), matcha, azuki beans and chocolate. One cream bun costs SGD 2.50 while you can get five buns for the price of SGD 12.50. The chocolate cream bun seems to be the most favorite flavor because Hattendo Cafe has already run out of its chocolate cream bun by the time Noona visited the cafe at 4.30PM-ish on Saturday afternoon.

Menu from Hattendo Cafe at Tanjong Pagar Centre

Savory items are available at Hattendo Cafe too. These items are probably included to cater for the lunch crowd at Tanjong Pagar area on weekdays. Some interesting selection includes Iberian Ham with Mozzarella (SGD 8), Okonomiyaki Sausage Rosti (SGD 13) and the DIY Mason Jar Salad (SGD 7 for 1 jar).

Sandwich and salad menu from Hattendo Cafe

Occasionally, Hattendo Cafe will offer seasonal flavour like Matcha Melon Cream Bun (SGD 3). Each cream bun has been wrapped individually and kept in the fridge. The cream buns are best eaten when they are chilled. So if you don't want to eat them immediately, you have to keep them at the fridge at home. The staff behind the counter has informed us that the cream buns last for two hours outside the fridge.

Cream buns from Hattendo Cafe at Tanjong Pagar Centre

This is the serving size of the cream bun. They look rather big when displayed inside the wrapping but once you open the wrap, the cream bun is not as big as what Noona expects. The texture of the buns for the Matcha Melon Cream Bun is rather unique because it resembles the outer skin of Japanese favourite bun, Melon Pan. I am an avid fan of Melon Pan despite its high calorie content. Why everything that taste good to Noona seem to be fattening? *sigh*

Matcha melon cream bun from Hattendo Cafe

XxThe filling of the cream bun taste rather milky just like what the Japanese seem to enjoy. Noona finds the cream bun to be rather sweet, it will taste even better if Hattendo lower down the sugar level by one notch. But since Singapore is a country which love sweetness in their food, Noona does not see her suggestion happening anytime soon. Overall, Hattendo Cafe is a nice cafe to chill out on a weekend. Hmm, just wondering if the cream bun will make a perfect pairing for a cup of flat white. Maybe next time.

Custard and matcha melon cream bun from Hattendo Cafe

Hattendo is located at:

7 Wallich Street,

Tanjong Pagar Centre #01-05

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday 10AM - 9PM

Saturday and Sunday 11AM - 8PM

"I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door."

Just now Noona attended a lunch time zumba class and the instructor happened to play Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved for cooling down track. Maroon 5 used to be Noona's most beloved band and she often (shamelessly) sings their songs in KTV with some friends. Nowadays we don't really sing a lot of Maroon 5's songs anymore because we think their old albums are way better than the newer ones. Aigoo, now Noona feels like going to KTV. Time to plan for a session soon. Hahaha.

Oink Noona: Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, Tanjong Pagar

While we were humming on This Love, we have reached our Saturdate venue, Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei. Yep, we have joined the snaking queue to try the pretty new beef hamburg restaurant from Japan which located at Peck Seah Street in Tanjong Pagar area. We have reached the restaurant slightly after 5.30PM and the queue was already pretty long. Noona hopes that means this restaurant is really that good.

Free flow salad at Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, Tanjong Pagar

The queue has become more and more gruelling after 30 minutes have passed because of the humid weather of this island of Singapore. Thankfully, the restaurant provides self-service iced Hojicha for patrons who are about to faint from thirst. Noona herself has taken and gulped down three cups of iced hojicha because it was so damn hot and humid. Arghh.

Salad bar at Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, Tanjong Pagar

She was so excited when the waitress finally let her and her friend in. The set meal at Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei comes with free flow salad. Diners will be given salad bowl and you can fill up the bowl with basically what your heart desires from the salad bar. The salad bar is pretty extensive and it does not only provide vegetables like cucumber, tomato, corn, carrot, etc. It also has a variety of pasta and potato salad. Fruits are also available toward the end of the salad bar.

This bowl of salad/ pasta is actually enough to fill in Noona's stomach without having even started on the main hamburg steak. Everything which comes with the term "free-flow" is basically a blow to all kind of self-control required for a good diet. Hahaha.

Salad bowl from Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, Tanjong Pagar

After waiting for roughly around 20 minutes or so, our Beef Hamburg set meal has finally arrived. The set meal consists of a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, a shrimp tempura, two pieces of tofu, several sprouts, tartar sauce for the tempura and of course, the beef hamburg. You can choose the sauce for the hamburg. If Noona is not wrong, some of the choices for the sauce are BBQ, yakiniku, etc.

Cheese beef hamburg steak from Keisuke at Tanjong Pagar

The plate is hot so be careful not to accidentally touch the place with your bare fingers.

Beef hamburg steak set from Keisuke Bettei at Tanjong Pagar

This is basically what happened after you cut the beef hamburg open, cheese filling oozing out asking to be eaten. Taste wise, the beef hamburg is not bad at all. Noona got very very full after finishing her hamburg though up to the point she was kinda reluctant to move. #foodcoma

Cheese oozing beef hamburg steak from Keisuke Bettei

Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei is located at:

72 Peak Seah Street

Tanjong Pagar

Opening hours:

Daily 11.30AM - 2.30PM, 5.30PM - 10PM

Anyeong! Today is one of those days when Noona feels blissful she is not at home with her mum and brother because well, it's their bickering day. Oh boy. To be honest with you, staying together with other people under the same roof is challenging especially after you have tasted the feeling of staying on your own. Oh the freedom. Of course there is a con part of staying alone too especially when you are sick. Well, Noona supposes life is like that.

One of the thing that Noona enjoys from her solo-living in Singapore is how easy it is to just go take a walk in the city. Public transport is superb (despite the occasional breakdown) and safe. So in one fine day, Noona took a walk to a quiet and yet, hipster area of Duxton Hill.

If you want to know the trait of hipster area in Singapore, well for a start there must be shophouses (re: traditional houses) around and second, there must be a wall mural. Oh there's the wall mural.

Wall mural at Duxton Hill Tanjong Pagar Singapore

These particular shophouses looks so awesome. Oh right, what are shophouses? They are basically buildings from the older era which is used as house/ shop/ office. For instance, the ground floor is used as the shop, while second floor is the office and the top floor is where the owner of the shop live. These shophouses aren't allowed to be torn down by the Government so that younger generation of Singapore can see how the historical shophouses look like.

Pretty shophouses in Duxton Hill Tanjong Pagar

Nowadays, the ground floor of shophouses are usually rented to cafe, restaurant or boutique. The second and top floor of shophouses are usually leased to office (most likely start-ups) or art studio/ gym studio. Noona has a client who lease a floor in a shophouse as its office and it looks pretty cool although ventilation wise, it can be kinda hot and stuffy on a hot summer day. Make sure airconditioner is installed properly if you are renting one.

Close up look of shophouses in Duxton Hill

All exploration must end on a sweet note and that's where we ended the exploration of Duxton Hill, in one cafe called Flor Patisserie. This cafe is probably the only cafe opens until quite late at night in Duxton Hill so if you are here and feels like chillin out in a cafe, you can make your way here for some caffeine-fix and Japanese cakes. Yum!

Cake and coffee at Flor Patisserie at Duxton Hill

How to go to Duxton Hill:

Duxton Hill is situated around 10 minutes walk from Exit A of Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

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Anyeong Noona

Oink Noona: Xiao Ya Tou, Tanjong Pagar

Oink Noona: Hattendo Cafe, Tanjong Pagar

Oink Noona: Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, Tanjong Pagar

K-in-Singapore: Exploring Duxton Hill, Tanjong Pagar