Popin Cookin Review - Curry rice set (カレーセット)

Sorry about the picture,
I hope your necks don't crank from the angle...

Yes!!! The all new Popin Cookin Curry rice Set!!! That actually TASTES like Curry rice. Anyway, this set includes:

1) Curry sauce (Duh.)

2) Rice (Ditto)

3) 'chicken nougats'

The process in doing this is REALLY really easy. It's so easy that it's almost impossible to mess this up. I should know, just scroll down and take a look at the popin cookin Sushi I ended up with. Not good. But this? It's so straight forward that you don't even need to watch any video tutorials even if you can't read the japanese instructions on the back. well, at least my friend and I didn't have to and it ended up lookin' quite appetising. The hardest part of the whole set would most probably be moulding the nougats into...gasp! spherical balls. How difficult.

   I gotta say, Kracie really outdid themselves with this addition to the popin cookin family. This set has got to be the best tasting set amongst all of them. (The burger one was good too, but that one was just plain weird) and also, the most believable and swallowable one of them all. The curry sauce is as good as any other instant curries you can get in the supermarket. The rice tastes like rice but slightly more seasoned (Still good anyway) and the nougats, well, some of you may not like it because of its doughy texture. But it tastes SOOOO goood. The nougats are coated with rice crisps, and I thought that to be quite ingenious of them. It really did have a fried texture to it with the rice crisps, and the flavours mingled well with one another when mixed. If you ever get this set, I'd recommend trying each part out individually just for the experience, and then mixing in the curry and the rice together. They taste WONDERFUL together. really! Okay, so the texture and the lack of heat might take some time getting used to, but once you are, (If you're a seasoned popin cookin taster like me) Then you'd really really enjoy this one. I advice first timers to get this one if you're searching for something easy and magical tasting. Then you can move on to harder ones like the hamburger set and ...gasp again! Sushi.

Here's a pic of the finished product:

Yes thats right. Mini peas and carrots in the curry. 

Ahhh....I wish i had a Maximising ray gun. Then I could blast this baby into a fully sized lunch meal for one. Along with the other miniature Barbie toys so that they'd ACTUALLY be useful.

Hungry bunny over and out~

Singapore Food & Beverage Fair 2012 (美食与饮料展)

Just look at the CROWD!!!

   Alright, so the best thing about Singaporeans is that WE LOVE OUR FOOD. Okay, maybe not the best, because that just means that there's more competition for all of us. So you can tell that I was not surprised when a whole stampede of people charged right through the doors of the convention hall. This fare is not for the claustrophobic at heart. seriously. But if you're willing to stand the heat, the noise, the occasional rude uncle shoving you aside or the stepping of one's foot on your littlest toe, then why not? TWO HALLS filled with Singapore's best food? Not such a huge price to pay now is it?

THE one thing we're ALL here for

Yes. Free food. That's why half of the people there ARE there. They're the stalls bombarded with people coming for more and more of their free 'samples'. Trust me, people actually come here for lunch and they can actually get filled up with just the samples. It's even come to the stage where they don't even bother with politeness and actually listening to the sales personnel. They just TAKE and GO. and the TAKE again. OKAY, I admit, I was one of them. But the food was just soooo so good that I just had to come back for more.

Some odd wheat stuff

Now this was something that got me hooked on coming back for fifths and even sevenths. They are kinda like a wheat staple, made of soy beans and oats. This stuff, is DA BOMB. Or maybe its just the way the lady cooked it. I wouldn't have ever imagined dried soy beans could taste this good. They taste plain on their own, but with a drizzle of oil, a pinch of spices and a handful of chilies and onions, These things turn into addictive little munchies. I could eat these everyday for lunch. They just taste so warm and cosy and homey. kind of like hot chocolate in front of a fireplace kind of cosy. Home-cooked meals kind of cosy. If you ever decide to stop by the Fare, be sure to check these out.

Close up of the bean-curd-like-thing

BEWARE!

So, I feel I must warn you. NOT everything that's free tastes good. In fact, this stuff shouldn't even be allowed for the public to sample without a warning. Well, unless you like the taste of rotting garlic, of course. YES. Fermented garlic. It seems that (according to the brochure) garlic, when fermented, slightly alters in its chemical properties and therefore, one would gain more antioxidants when he or she consumes this foul thing. Pfft. As if Garlic on its own wasn't foul enough. Adding FERMENTED to the equation would do it no better. I tried it thinking that it'd be as brilliant as the other free stuff, but I immediately recoiled at the moment the thing touched my tongue. Its sweet, but not pleasant. its a very sharp, acidic sweet, like what you get with anything rotten. Imagine the sweetness of rotting onions, combined with the taste of sour putrid vomit, that leaves you with a bitter aftertaste that smells like sewage. I think I'd rather miss out the Anti-Oxidants.

POP!

 There are many interesting sights, sounds and smells to experience at the food fare, and I came across this particularly interesting piece of machinery. The machine fills in grains of rice into a small circular hole, and then compresses it while electrocuting the grains until it they fry like pop corn. And its REALLY LOUD when it does this. When the rice reaches a certain temperature, the cooked rice cracker it then sent flying out of the machine where it crashes into a container full of the other rice crackers. With a LOUD BANG. It scared me the first time as it was just a really unexpected way of making rice crackers. Here's the failed photo I tried to take of the flying disc of rice. trust me its hard. I took like ten shots and this was the best one, which isn't really exactly nice since its all blurry and stuff.

OF course, thats not all. Not even close. So here's to me saying goodbye and leaving the rest of the stuff there as surprises for you to discover. Sharksfin soup going at $5 for 3 bowls? Thai tapioca/ coconut desert? fried squid on a stick? you're just going to be spoilt for choice. 

Hungry bunny over and out~

Venue: Suntec City convention centre.  Halls 403-404

Admission is free!!! (and that's the best part.)

 

 

Ikoi Japanese restaurant review

Ikoi Japanese Restaurant

 One of the most interesting things about Japanese food is the way its prepared, and this AUTHENTIC 

Japanese restaurant is no exception. Who gets to drink soup from a teapot? or slurp down a bowl of  green tea rice? (Which is really Rice in green tea) Seriously! The minute you step into the place it feels like a transportation to a whole other country (Perhaps japan).  Ducking under the Noren Curtain hanging in the doorway, you're immediately greeted with shelves and walls full of cute japanese ornaments and pictures of other guests who've stepped through the very same path. 

     The waitresses are all in their Kimonos and you are immediately greeted with a high chorus of irasshaimase! The place is relatively small in size, but it just adds to the warm and cosy charm of a small shop in Japan. Now, the restaurant offers an all you can eat ala carte buffet, of which food items consist of everything in the Menu. I'll leave the items on the menu as a surprise, though you might have to ask the waitresses about what some of the food names mean (Since its all in japanese)

     

Mystery of the day:
Green tea? Seafood soup? WHAT IS THIS?!

The first thing they'd serve you would be a pot of what looks like green tea, which is already confusing on its own. But on a closer inspection, you'd realise its a different thing altogether. It's Seafood soup! as the waitress told us, Its a broth made of seafood and honestly, it'll be one of the best soups you'd ever taste. The flavours are clean and not overpowering like how some other seafood soups are like. One word sums it all up - Pleasant. 

Chawanmushi that's so soft you could die.

Fried everything that's nice

Okay, this I gotta say. It looks unoffensive enough, and sounds normal. Wild Japanese Yam? sure. no problem. It comes in tiny, tiny slices, topped with crisps of seaweed. Delicately pick one slice up with chopsticks and take a small chunk of it, and you will experience the strangest thing EVER. Its slimey, even though it has the texture of a chinese yellow pear. As in, the thing OOZES with slimey stuff with every bite. seriously!

Looks like the waitress blindfolded herself and poured
tea in the wrong place

What do you get when you cross Matcha, salmon slices and rice? THIS. I was actually pretty disappointed with this one. I thought it'd be more of an interesting, pleasurable experience, but this just goes to say that Things DO taste as weird as they sound. It was waaaay too salty, and bitter. The green tea mixes horribly with the rice, and there's a really weird aftertaste that stubbornly lingers on your tongue. Although I guess the risk of the adventure proved to be kind of fun. I mean, No one, and I say no one, would have ever eaten this for dinner. (Unless it was an accident of course.)

Alright, so that's the end of this review, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for today. If you ever want a nice, exotic, non-cliched restaurant to take all your rich friends to and show off, here's the place for you.  You can find this place located at a cosy corner in Hotel Miramar, Singapore. Good day to you!

Hungry bunny over and out!

Saba fish(Grilled mackerel) at Holland Village

Oily deliciousness

If you're a huge Saba fish fan, my advice to you is to head on to Holland Village's coffee shop for a nice, cheap good meal. I mean, seriously, would you look at the grease on that fish?Perfectly fried to a crisp golden brown, this dish is the best saba fish I've ever tasted that comes at a reasonable price

Chocolate frogs:Harry Potter

Okay, So i'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I've finally made the plans to see "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" with my friend and her family. They'll be staying here in Singapore until 30 september, so I'll have plenty of time to restock! The Exhibits were brilliant!! Most importantly, we got to see the actual clothing and props used by the stars themselves, and one can't help but feel the itch to touch the sleeve of Professor Snape's Cloak, or caress the silky dress worn by Emma Watson during the scene of the Yule ball. Of course, It wasn't actually allowed, but oh well, no harm done.

The Gift shop was far by THE BEST attraction since you could actually bring home the stuff, and there were so MANY things on sale that were also TOO EXPENSIVE to get. Here's a list of some of the stuff I saw sold in the shop, just in case Your country's gonna be the next in line.

1)Plain Black/White T-shirt with 'Muggle 'printed in gold
2)Quill Sets
3)Maurader's Map (It Folds out!~!)
4)All the wands
5)Assorted House printed shirts
6)Hedwig plush Puppet
7)Toy Broomstick for kids
8)Wand chopsticks (Real Cute)
9)Chocolate Frogs
10)BB every flavoured beans
11)House Scarves
12)House Beanies

And So much more. But these were the ones that really caught my eye. So, Being me, I got the chocolate frog, The Jelly beans, and The house scarf (Gryffindor, of course.)

Chocolate frogs you'd expect to jump straight out the window!

CHOCOLATE FROGS

These little critters were simply divine. Of course, No one cares much about the frogs, More importantly - Trading cards! And I got Albus Dumbledore, Lucky me!
Okay, so they tasted really good, not too bitter. And there were little chunks in the chocolate that made it have a texture similar to Toblerone chocolate.
I devoured it within seconds. Honestly.

Poor Frog got a leg amputation!

Chocolate frog Trading Cards!!

Popin' Cookin' review

What's more fun than defying the phrase, "Don't play with your food"?
Nothing. That's what. So, for those of you who have absolutely no idea what japanese sweet wonderland is, Here's the link.
Now, I'm a HUGE fan of Japanese stuff, so Me and my friends got the Sushi candy, The hamburger set, and the Nerunerunerune Ramune(soda flavoured) ones.
Of course, It's best getting together with friends who wanna have a laugh to do this. It's really more fun with people you can share this fun experience with.

Sushi

Here's how the front of the box looks like-yes it looks like
a 4 year old's play toy, but I kid you not. It's serious business.

Unlike most other reviews, I personally find this to be quite tasty. Well, let's start off by rating the individual pieces, shall we?

RICE: 
Texture: ain't too bad. If you like those kuehs from Malay cuisine, you know, the spongy one, you'd like this.

Taste: It tastes grapey, a mild sweet grapey flavour. and kinda Cakey too.






TUNA/TAMAGO:
Texture: It's like jam but firmer, very mushy, and not at all chewy as I expected from the picture.

Taste: Okay, honestly, it tastes exactly like the grape flavoured Jellies you can get in a tube.

EGG ROE:
Texture: It's exactly like Egg roe(!!!). The grape flavoured liquid enclosed in the thin skin of jelly imitates the real deal so well it's hard to tell the difference. Besides it...being...grape flavoured and not at all fishy I guess.

Taste: Grape (Yes it's all grape if you haven't realised by now) but slightly more tangy than the others.

SEAWEED:
Texture: Believe it or not, the seaweed was my FAVOURITE. It's gum (I LOVE chewy stuff), and really sticky and chewy, and if you live in a hot climate like me, It's gonna end up a black sticky melted mess if you don't deal with it soon. plus it sticks to your teeth so watch out for that. No one wants a black mess stuck in your gums.

Taste: It's slightly sour (Grape) but it doesn't make you squint your eyes in its sour-ness or anything. And I love sour stuff. really!

SOY SAUCE:
Texture: as liquid as soy sauce can get, and the colour's really real too.

Taste: It's like grape flavoured drinks.


Here are some more pictures:

Makin' the egg roe

Alright alright, I know it's not top-notch quality work, but hey-try
it yourself and see how hard it really is.

Hamburger set
Here's a video if you wanna watch it

Hamburger Set. You'll need a microwave for this.

BUN:
Texture: hmm...it's hard to describe this one. I guess it's like really really soft cookies. The ones that have been left out in the open for a very long time.

Taste: It does taste like bread, just that it's got a hint of seasoning so it's not too close to the real thing.

CHEESE:
Texture: Exactly like cheesey, just not stringy or chewy. It breaks up really easily.

Taste: As AWESOME as cheese can taste.

MEAT:
Texture: This one feels like the hamburg you get in a quarter pounder in Mcdonalds, just without the juices. It's really crumbly and not at all chewy.
Taste: Very heavily seasoned. But all in all not bad for meat that comes from powder.

FRIES:
Texture: Crunchy on the outside with something like instant mashed potato on the inside
Taste: REALLY REALLY GOOD, it's all starchy and potatoey.

COKE:
Texture: believe it or not-Fizzy!
Taste: It's not that bad, though it tastes like the liquified version of cola hard candy-and a little too sweet for my taste.

TIP: See, we didn't really have a microwave at home. So i'm here to tell you that it's actually Okay using an oven to cook the stuff. Just make sure you watch it properly so that it doesn't burn and that the plastic doesn't ruin your oven.

Here's the finished product:

YUM YUM! Burger set for one

It lost all its bubbles by the time we were done :( 

Nerunerunerune Ramune
Video link here

Some sort of alien gooey foam?

FOAM THING:

texture: Foamy. Gooey. Sticky.

Taste: Okay, It wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be really tangy and refreshing, and maybe even carbonated, but no. It's really sweet, and tart, and it does taste like soda. And when I say soda, I mean like the Japanese kinds like Calpis. not sprite Soda.

HARD ROCK CANDY:

texture: Hard. Rocky. Okay okay i'ts a joke, but it ain't wrong. It's like the texture of mints, the kind that breaks without any protest if you bite into it. It won't make that "C-Rack!" Sound, so that's good for your teeth.


taste: Sweet, and slightly tangy actually.




Seriously Get it, it's not too expensive, and I guarantee you the FUN Factor. If you live in Singapore, You can get it in Jcube and Marina Square('Cactus' lvl 2)


Hungry Bunny - Over and out.

Sea Urchin and Raw beef etc.

So... I was very much misleaded by my dear friend QQ, about this supposedly "cheap" Japanese restaurant that sells really good food. you'll know why later when you see the receipt. It was more to say an adventure rather than a pig-out moment, but I really did enjoy myself.

So anyway, here's a list of the majorly interesting food we stuffed into ourselves

First up - Sea Urchin sushi!!!!!

What is this wonder? you ask.

So, QQ and I decided on a sushi dare, and what better way to start of the day with a bit of good old sea urchin? Now, for those of you who haven't tried sea urchin, don't worry, I've researched. (actually I looked it up while we were waiting for the food to come) People like it so much because it has some sort of chemical in it that makes you dive into a deep pool of euphoria and happy-ness. Almost with the same effects as 'pot' or 'marijuana' (Gasp!)
and after reading the lot, I felt a lot better with all the great reviews and comment.

So, taking my chopstick gently in my hands, I picked a tiny piece of yellow mush and brought it really close to my nose. At least it didn't smell as bad as they said it would. In fact, I couldn't smell anything at all, though QQ was instantly repulsed. Maybe I just don't mind the smell of sea water mixed with waste. And then I ate it.
It's very VERY mushy, and if you don't like fishy foods, I definitely do not recommend you eating this (Though you are always welcomed to try anytime). It's slightly bitter, with a hint of sweet. Kinda like Mild tasting Durian. Huh, what an uncanny resemblance it has to the king of fruits, in both looks, AND taste.

I think this fruit is like the land version of the urchin. It has thorns on
the outside, smells horrible, and it's yellow and mushy.

Overall, I give it a 3 out of 10. Well, I'm sorry for you sea urchin fans out there, but I absolutely had no sense of happiness when I ate this.
Come to think of it...maybe that's why urchins have to have chemicals to make you happy, you know, so that it'd overcome the disappointment.











Second, Live shrimp/Raw beef/Scallop with Cod liver

Yum yum, nothing better than raw stuff and liver.

Okay, personally, I hate raw beef. But I ate it 'cause I thought It was the swordfish sushi we ordered (But cancelled anyway) So I was really confused when we tore the beef in half to share. Plus, it was all red and tough in the centre. I remembered thinking, "I never knew swordfish was this bloody." But anyway. I ate a tiny slice and instantly made a face. "This is the raw beef isn't it?"
"Yah..." Said QQ, and I instantly realised. How could I have been so utterly ignorant? It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be but oh well, QQ loved it so it must just be me. (1 outta 10)


Next we ate the tiny piece of Cod fish liver that sat proudly on top of the scallop. Now, QQ wasn't actually that excited about the Liver, but I insisted anyway. it WAS a sushi dare after all. So, we split it into half and ate it. It's actually really good! It tastes like Cod, but stronger, and it had a fried oily taste to it. I LOVED it. QQ said, "I didn't know Cod Liver was this good." Haha. See. I made her see the light. Then we just walloped the scallop which was as good as scallop could ever get. (8 outta 10)

Raw live shrimp? Sounds disgusting but was really nice. In fact, I preferred it raw. I'm not really that big of a fan of shrimp, but this was really nice and chewy and fresh. So, If you're ever going to try Raw prawn, get it from a good restaurant because I had one that tasted half rotten before and it was horrible. (7 outta 10, I mean, for the fresh prawn, not the rotten one)


Conch shell 

Chewy goodness

Now, Conch shells are really REALLY big, so I expected it to be a lot bigger, but it wasn't. Anyway, Conch tastes lightly sweet, and it's really chewy, like any other kind of clam. Though the great thing about it was that it didn't have that bitter, grainy part that you'd find in muscles and oysters. so that was a plus. With a spritz of lemon and strands of cucumber, you're all ready to go.
(8 outta 10)




Milk Pudding

Nothing says CUTE better than jiggly wobbly Milk pudding

What's the first thing you do when you find yourself a nice bowl of pudding?? YES - Shake it and watch it belly dance like shakira. It was very amusing.

It was nice a creamy and milky and soft, kinda like a melt in the mouth texture. The only down point of this delectable dish was that the caramel was a tad bit too bitter for the likes of two sweet-toothed teenagers. Well, the wobbling makes up for it.

(9 outta 10)

Others

Salmon Roll

Udon and Bubble tea

Roasted salmon sushi topped with onions

Nothing better than slicing mummy and wrapping her round her babies

THE FINALE MOMENT where everyone faints

Well, whatever, It was a great experience.