The Usual Place @ Jurong East Street, Singapore

Great news to all my fellow Westies, because there exists another neighbourhood gem at Jurong East. - actually it's located about a 10-minute walk from Chinese Garden MRT. Still near la hor? Since its opening in July 2015, I've been eyeing to strike this cafe off my to-try list, and I finally did so. We went to The Usual Place on a Saturday afternoon, and it was almost packed. Wah, heng sia (lucky) got seats. Their concept reminded me of another cafe in the West (Coffee: Nowhere) and the best thing? No service and GST charge! I believe they didn't sneakily add them into the prices though.

Tonkatsu Bistro by Ma Maison @ Westgate, Singapore

Wassup bruh. Recently we visited Tonkatsu - a new venture from Ma Maison, which specialises in Japanese pork cutlet (duh). As we were ushered to our seats, the staff, like most authentic Japanese restaurants, echoed our arrival. The interior, which feature both outdoor and indoor seating, was beautifully decorated with wooden furniture and Japanese paintings. Simplicity at its best. 

Griddy Gourmet Waffles @ Westgate, Singapore

Since Westgate opened its doors a few years ago, I have been frequenting Griddy Gourmet Waffles, a hidden gem specialising in waffles. Did you really think waffles are for desserts only? At Griddy, it's your standard Western cuisine. With a slight twist - just imagine having your burgers, with the burger buns replaced with savoury-sweet waffles. Ingenious.

Oh! For the wallet-conscious, their items are very, and really affordable. Most of their mains are priced around S$10 on average, plus you could add a few bucks to size up your meal with a drink and dessert waffle/chicken drumlets!

Teadot Cafe @ Westgate, Singapore [CLOSED]

With a whole lot of cafes poppin' out in the West recently, it would be a high order to catch up with this proliferation. You know what, we actually have this whole, long list of cafes to try out and strike it off the list, but it looks like we are adding more than subtracting it. Nevertheless, we got to try out Teadot cafe after deliberating for quite a while, but still decided to head on with it. 

This modern, yet dainty cafe located at Westgate attempts to reinvent the art of tea-tasting, bringing in gourmet tea drinks to people from all walks of life. Tea is the main thing there, and quite obviously, as its name suggested. It was within lunch hour, so we chose to have their lunch special - roasted chicken sandwich and tea, and a salmon rosti to go along with it.

Eggs & Berries 2 @ Westgate, Singapore

Having been there earlier this year for their brunch, I decided to visit Eggs & Berries once again. This time bringing a different date - well, my mother. Having a quirky and conceptualized name such as "Eggs & Berries" left little room for guessing, as most of their creations contain either the components of eggs or berries.

Eggs & Berries is well-known for their all-day American breakfast. Thus, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't try their breakfast dishes out. For starters, go for their Italia Eggs Benedict (single, S$14.90; doppio, S$18.90) - beautifully poached eggs complemented by a combination of English muffin, parma ham, salad greens, caviar and drizzled with hollandaise sauce. You know what's better? Perfect, runny egg yolks. (On this visit, rosti was unavailable, so they have to switch the side to hash-brown instead.)

Osaka Ohsho @ Westgate, Singapore

Boasting their fried dumpling speciality since 1969, Osaka Ohsho (which translates to "King of Gyoza in Osaka") is a destination for diners from all ways of life to savour their casual ambience and irresistible dumplings. Currently with more than 300 outlets worldwide, it has opened two right here locally at Raffles City and Westgate.

Most of their "Chipanese" (if there is a word for Japanese-Chinese fusion) dishes include, ramen, terriyaki and tempura set meals, complemented by their famous pan-fried dumplings. Do not be surprised if you found out that you are reading Mandarin off the menu, because most dishes are Chinese-inspired. As expected of the hi-tech Japanese, electronic menus are utilised to send orders to the kitchen directly, saving both manpower and time.

Poulet @ Westgate, Singapore

Poulet's fans would be thrilled to hear that the contemporary French-themed bistro has recently opened an other outlet at Westgate. Being addicted to their signature roasted chicken dishes since my first visit at their Bugis+ outlet, I found myself going back again and again, each time bringing new parties to savour their offerings.

Similar to most of their other branches, the furnishings are modern-chic and bring little hints of the al-fresco scenery in France, completed with an open kitchen concept where anyone could see the chefs in action. Just one complain regarding the ambience - their lights are too freaking bright.

Eggs & Berries @ Westgate, Singapore

Being an absolute brunch lover, I am always on the hunt for good brunch places. When Eggs & Berries opened another outlet at Westgate - the newest kid in the block of West Singapore, I knew I just had to check it out. Whilst having a weird combination of eggs and berries as their brand, they definitely made their statement when inSing featured them as the top 5 brunch places in Singapore.

So what are you waiting for? Dig in to a world of lovely eggs and berries-filled pancakes here.

Marche Movenpick @ Jem, Singapore

Unlike the typical "credit-card system" that most Marches utilise currently, the brand new Movenpick outlet at JEM serves their dishes in a la carte style, bringing about a whole new dining experience. Yet, the ambience and concept was pretty much similar, coupled with rustic furniture, miniature pots of greeneries and soothing light, that resembles the interior of a cosy country-side restaurant. Al fresco dining is also available for diners to enjoy their meals amidst the occasional night breeze.

Their rendition of fried Ravioli was surprisingly good. The exterior was nice and crisp, but unfortunately, filled with barely sufficient fillings. This dish is served with their home-made sauce, which is difficult to distinguish between cheesy and sour creamy, kinda flavour. Makes a good side to go along with their beer.

MADO @ Jem, Singapore

Nestled at the ground floor of Jem - Singapore's third largest suburban shopping mall that officially opened recently, the first local MADO prides itself with the "world's best (and real) ice cream" made with mixing high quality goat milk and "schlep" that is harvested from the hillsides of Ahirdagi. Besides a wide variety of ice creams, MADO Cafe also attracts hungry diners with its limited number of main courses and side dishes, such as Kebabs, Prawn Aglio Olio and Caravan Grilled Lamb. But what lacks in quantity, I do, however, expected them to do well with the quality.

Boon Lay Raja Restaurant @ Jurong East Central, Singapore

Amidst all the blessings and well-wishes while tossing the Prosperity Toss, or better known as 鱼生 (yu sheng) and Lo Hei, our "HUAT AH" probably came out the loudest. It was noisy and rowdy, not to even mention - messy, with bits and pieces of the rainbow-colored dish flying all over the place. But again, that was exactly what the Chinese New Year atmosphere is supposed to be.

My paternal grandma's birthday was usually held right here in this particular restaurant, but somehow this year, we had it in Moi Lum Restaurant which was located at Maxwell Road. Hence, I thought fate brought me to Boon Lay Raja Restaurant once again, when my maternal relatives selected this place for our New Year's lunch during 初一 (beginning of the year).

Established in 1979 at Boon Lay Shopping Centre, they had since moved to Jurong East Central (beside Jcube) for better convenience and to accomodate the large dinner crowds. With an extensive menu of dim sum and Cantonese cuisine, they also specialize in seafood dishes, especially shark fin's soup which is proudly presented on their signboard.

Another favourite of mine is the Crispy Roasted Chicken, which was lightly salted just enough to enhance its taste and flavour. Unlike most roasted chicken which happened to be tough and dry, their rendition was juicy and had retained the smooth texture. If you happened to drop-by during this festive season, do try out their unique creation of fried prawns and strawberry sauce.

Besides your usual weekend dinner, Boon Lay Raja is also catered for a range of functions, such as buffet caterings, wedding banquets and functions. In addition, the dishes that they present certainly appeals to the elderly, not less the younger generations though.




Boon Lay Raja Restaurant

Tel: 6563 6643
Opening Hours
Daily: 11:30 - 14:30, 16:00 - 22:30

Blk 135 Jurong Gateway Road
#02-337

Manna Story @ Jcube, Singapore

Located at the top floor of Jcube (previously - Jurong Entertainment Centre), a newly built mall which housed the second IMAX theatres locally and highly acclaimed olympic-sized ice skating rink that opened their doors earlier this year, Manna Story has made another of its nest there in the midst of cool air. Like most Korean restaurants, it boasts authentic Korean cuisine served in a homely environment. Bromance ZR, Tim and yours truly decided to have our virgin experiences (okay, that sounds pretty gay) right there.

 

On a typical Saturday night at approximately 7pm, we expected to see restaurants filled with diners, but it was barely half-filled when we got there. Upon ordering, one of the service staff served us an impressive platter of assorted appetizers, which usually in other restaurants - the most you can get is probably a maximum of 4. For the benefits of all kiasu Singaporeans, this is refillable but please do not waste.

 

My favourite was the peanuts (2nd row, most right) if you want to know. It is slightly different than the ones you would have in Chinese restaurants, this is harder and a tad more chewer. It was like popping sweets and trust me, it is addictive.

 

 

For me, I had their sizzling plate of BBQ Beef (S$13.80) with  bowl of white rice, salad and soup. Quantity-wise, it exceeded my expectations, however quality-wise, it was a little dry and hard. There is a small 20% chance you could find a piece that is juicy and tender. Other than that? Keep digging.

 

 

We ordered their promo item - Kimchi Pizza Bab (S$8.80) for sharing. Although not exactly pizza, the name simply means Kimchi rice topped with melted cheddar cheese, tomatoes and capsicum. This is good, I love how well the cheese complemented the kimchi rice. I just wished that there was more kimchi in the rice.

 

 

Curry Pork Cutlet (S$14.00) tasted like their Japanese counterpart. Thick, juicy, curry-drenched pork katsu topped with carrot and potato cubes. Do you know what I wanted to say? OM NOM NOM NOM.

 

 

Mul Naengmyeon (S$11.80) was a disappointment according to ZR. This bowl of Korean cold noodles in plain broth (or water as some might call it) is better appreciated in smaller portions, and when not consumed in chilly weathers. For me, I definitely prefer the Bibim Naengmyeon (which they don't serve here) - cold noodles with broth made from beef.

 

 

The whole dinner costed us S$59.70, including service charge and prevailing government taxes. Is it worth visiting again? Well, maybe I might.. if I ran out of food to try.




Manna Story

Opening hours
10am - 9pm

2 Jurong East Central 1

#04-19

JCube