Ma La Xiang Guo @ Bedok Interchange

Tried the Bedok Interchange's Ma La Xiang Guo twice to pen this review.

The concept is similar to the well-known Ri Ri Hong Ma La Xiang Guo in Chinatown. You just need to tell the stall helper what ingredients you would like, the level of spiciness and the staple to go with your xiang guo. The helper will then give you a tag and call out your number when it's ready. They also serve other Sichuan dishes like 'Baked fish (烤鱼)' and 'Water-boiled fish (水煮鱼)' which are all spicy food.

First impression of the stall puts me at ease. It looks cleaner and the ingredients neatly displayed in their fridge. I compared it to Ri Ri Hong which may be a bit unfair given that the Bedok ma la xiang guo stall is relatively new. 

What I like about the Bedok version over Ri Ri Hong is the variety of ingredients. More unique items include beef tripe, cuttlefish, pork innards and a wider variety of vegetables. Besides rice, you can also opt for Mantou which I saw many Chinese nationals ordering. Their pricing is also reasonable, like Ri Ri Hong - $1 vegetables, $2 chicken/pork and $3 seafood/beef/lamb.

My order of cuttlefish, kangkong, pork balls, beef tripe, pork belly, bean curd, enoki mushroom and a bowl of rice costs $13. Bear in mind that the Bedok version is saltier and you will definitely need some staple to go with it. Most of the time when I eat at Ri Ri Hong I don't need any rice to go with my xiang guo. Taste-wise, I think Ri Ri Hong still has that special fragrance coming from the bean paste, nonetheless, Bedok is a good alternative!

Review: Yong He Bak Chor Seafood Noodles

Tucked away in one corner of the coffeeshop, one might just missed it despite its bright and attractively taken display photos. Yong He bak chor seafood noodles is a relatively new stall in this old neighbourhood, but the description of their menu excites me.

I love my bak chor mee and I love seafood so this definitely attracts me. Their menu is simple with only 4 main course options. I always order their signature seafood bak chor mee ($5) while my mum likes to upgrade to the large prawn bak chor mee ($12).

This is what you get for their basic $5.50 seafood bak chor mee. A sweet prawn, some clams (they called it lala), braised mushrooms, braised pork, minced pork, sliced abalone, a scallop and lettuce.

While it has the usual bak chor mee ingredients, the slightly pricier price point can be justified by the seafood items. The prawn was sweet and fresh enough to suck the umami goodness from its head. Beware of the excessive pork lard if you are health conscious or not a fan of that. The only downside to this rendition of bak chor mee is the strip of braised pork which has been braised till black and dry. It is like eating a piece of bakkwa. They could have just used the normal poached sliced pork.

My mum's large prawn version. She claimed they were sea prawns and very good.

The shop is located at the coffeeshop just opposite Temasek Junior College. The coffeeshop also has a very interesting stall selling sandwiches and salad. Shall give it a try next time!

Address

Blk 18 Bedok South Road, 

Singapore 460018

Review: Ah Hua Kelong (The Bedok Marketplace)... from kelong to table top

As a huge fan of seafood, Ah Hua Kelong was high up on my must-try list when I first heard about it. I was pleased to know they had an outlet at The Bedok Marketplace in Simpang Bedok, which was a place I frequent. Their seafood are local, live and fresh from their kelong, grilled to perfection at their stall.

I got to say that after my first trip to Ah Hua Kelong, a second trip followed shortly. I have tried them twice and now I can give a partial verdict, i think. Staff was friendly and helpful, showing and explaining what are the items available that day. The two times I went, I ended up ordering sets that are not on the menu based on their recommendation.

My opinion of Ah Hua Kelong's seafood is that it is fresh and very briny. The molluscs were extremely briny, not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I don't really mind. I must say the mussels were a big surprise. I tend to avoid mussels at buffet because they are kind of tough and has a cheaper taste as compared to oysters. Ah Hua Kelong's mussels were super soft and juicy. I didn't feel sick even after eating a number of them. They really changed my opinion of mussels.

The XXL clams were nothing noteworthy except for their size. We asked for the lalas to be cooked 'well-done'. These were huge and I cannot imagine myself eating it slightly blanched like the kind in laksa. The lalas were kind of tough and chewy maybe because of the doneness. 

Next up we had the prawns and scallops. The scallops are must-try! I love the sweetness of the scallops paired with the crispy shallots. The prawns were nothing to shout about, but enjoyable when paired with the thick black soy sauce with chilli padi.

The grilled sea bass was the last to arrive. During my first trip to Ah Hua Kelong, the fish was the star of the meal because of the soft and sweet fish, charcoal-grilled to perfection. There was no unpleasant odour or fishy smell from the fish. The chinchalok condiments goes very well with the fish and helps to cleanse the palate.

We paid $89 for the above items which is a new set currently not found on their menu. The staff said it was meant for 3-4 pax but even a small eater like me could easily finish half of the seafood. I would say at most 3 pax for this set if you add on rice for each person.

If it is your first time, you might want to go for their various set, but if you would like to save space to try out the other stalls' offerings, I recommend the mussels, scallops and sea bass!

How to get there by MRT

- Alight at Tanah Merah MRT

- Walk towards Katong Flower Shop

- Cut across the playground/park to Upper Bedok Road

- Walk along Bedok Road to Jln Chempaka Kuning

Review: Unboxing Longchamp Roseau Tote

This bag is full of regrets. Given another chance, I probably would not have bought the Longchamp Roseau tote. Instead, I would have saved up for the heritage version. The difference is the material used - split cowhide vs calfskin. The split cowhide gives off a plasticky cheap look.

Another regret is the choice of the longer handle over the shorter handle. The long handle makes it look more dated than it really is. The reason why I chose the long handle version was that I prefer carrying my bags on my shoulder and freeing up my hands.

Longchamp also had the reversible version for their roseau line. While the reversible ones look more modern and young, it doesn't come with an internal pocket. This lack of security makes me decided against the reversible.

For a work bag, I would still give this bag a nod, but if you are looking for feel-good work bag, this might not be for you.

Pros:
- Affordable considered it's 'branded'
- Roomy, with expandable snap sides
- Clean look with the bamboo closure adding a personality to the bag
- Storage pocket for storing loose items
- Light-weight
- A functional bag

Cons:
- Split cowhide material has a plasticky feel to it
- Dated design
- Bamboo closure might give you some problems if you are in a rush
- Looks slouchy and flat when empty

Watch the unboxing video here:

Review: Introducing the most comfortable heeled sandals...

M.gemi has always been high on my list of to-buys, but the shipping cost to Singapore always held it back. Was it worth to ship shoes which are considered heavy items all the way here? In my mind, I made a promise that I will buy when I see THE SHOE that I really like.

Here comes The Attorno, seemingly the perfect shoe for me with it's medium height block heels and in neutral tone. M.gemi has it in 3 colours - black, spice and taupe.

I'm always looking for apparels that are versatile so that's how The Attorno caught my eye. Some of M.gemi's designs were too flashy for my liking while others too caught up in curent trend. The Attorno seemed effortlessly classic and nailing it in all technical aspect.

I chose spice, although taupe (as seen above) looks great too. If I were in the states, I'm pretty sure I will be buying both colours!

The sandals arrived in the best packaging I ever come across for online shopping. Each shoe was wrapped in foam and stuffed to protect and retained it's structure. It was then wrapped in a pretty paper before being enclosed in a neat box. When opened, the first thing you see will be a personalised note from M.gemi. How cool is that! It is no wonder the entire package weighed more than 2kg and costed me quite a bit for the shipping :( That's basically the only cons I have about this purchase.

The sandals were P.E.R.F.E.C.T. no joke. I was very surprised with The Attorno and how comfortable it felt despite it being a heeled sandals. The heels were of perfect height, just to give me the extra height without being taxing on my feet. The inner leather lining and padded soles made it so comfortable to wear. I had also no problems with the leather straps being too loose or too tight since it's adjustable.

I know some of you wanted to know how does M.gemi stack up against Everlane's loafers and flats. While the Everlane shoes that I bought were quite different in style to The Attorno, but I can safely say that M.gemi's Attorno is much more comfortable than the two Everlanes that I own. If I'm looking for my next pair of shoes, it will probably be M.gemi instead of Everlane. That said, Everlane's other products are still pretty top notch and the design of their shoes does me feel like owning one!

I wish M.gemi would offer free international shipping or sale/discounts for international customers. The shipping is crazily expensive and is holding me back from buying out all colours of The Attorno haha.

Review: Grana Denim

I have been eyeing Grana items for some time. The materials they used for their products are said to be some of the best quality. It fits the needs of minimalists yet the funky colours add some personality. If you are a fan of Everlane, Cuyana or Zady, you would love Grana.

Their jeans were the ones that caught my attention since I needed some new ones due to my growing waistline. It is made of Japanese denim, which I am clueless what's so great about it. Nevertheless, I had to get it to see it for myself. I carted it out the moment they had it back in stock. Together with the high-waist jeans, I also ordered their A-line denim skirt which was another item I happened to want.

I added a size up because I hated tight jeans. It was a wrong move because it ended up looking at bit loose at my thigh area. Nonetheless, it was still wearable and I am not sure if my usual would be comfortable enough for me.

The packaging was beautiful. Shipping was fast. Everything was neat.

Didn't quite like the huge product name and sizing but wasn't a major problem since it is on the inside. The denim felt smooth and substantial. The design of their A-line skirt was very classic and definitely worthy of anyone looking at a capsule wardrobe.

A closer look at the stitching details on the high waist jeans. 

As you can see, the high-waist jeans fitted a bit loose on me. The high-waist is true to it's name - HIGH waist. I felt that it was too much that it looked a bit forced... like someone who wanted to look taller or have the illusion of long legs and end up over-doing it. I would give it a 7/10. 2 points deducted for being too high waisted, perhaps shortening the rise by 1.5cm would be good. 1 point deducted just because I ordered it slightly large and didn't fit me exactly.

The jeans and skirt were definitely true-to-size and comfortable enough. They do have other denim products as well as silk, poplin, cotton etc. Sign up for an account using this link and get 10% off your first purchase at Grana!

Understanding Gmarket's Smile Cash, Smile Point, Gcash, Coupon and Gstamp

For Gmarket users, you would be familiar with the various payment supplements or benefits that Gmarket has. Log in to your Gaccount and you will be greeted with a overview of your points, gcash, coupon and gstamps. With so many different types of benefits, I wished they would streamline some of them or expand them to make staying loyal with Gmarket more worthwhile.

I will describe the uses of each benefit in order of their value i.e. from most valuable to least valuable.

Smile Cash
This is cash. Your refund, compensation or shipping fee differences will be returned to you via smile cash. Another way of getting smile cash is through converting your smile points (I will touch on this later).

Gcash
This is similar to Smile Cash in the sense that they are both cash. However, you can only receive Gcash through events by Gmarkets. Another difference is that while you can withdraw Smile Cash to your bank account, you can't do that for Gcash.

Smile Points
Once you reached 10,000 smile points, you can convert it to Smile Cash. They have an expiry date of two years from when you first received the points. You can receive smile points through the daily lucky draw or applying for it when you clocked certain days of attendance.

Coupons
In most instances, you will only encounter coupons during your purchase. You can either exchange for it using Gstamps (refer below), through daily lucky draw or the basic monthly coupons.

Here's where you can download your monthly coupons:

You can check the conditions, expiry date and amount of your coupon in your Gaccount:

The coupons can be applied to your purchased product either on the product page or in your cart.

Gstamps

Basically kind of useless. You can only use it to draw or exchange for coupons. Like I mentioned earlier, in most cases there will not be lack of coupons, so I seldom have to use Gstamps. They are also one of the easiest to obtain - from daily lucky day to writing product reviews.