Singapore - ToriQ

Firstly all of us @ the Makan Kings would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas (albeit belated) and a Happy New Year filled with more health, wealth and happiness than the last. We were down in Singapore a month or so ago.

When in Singapore, I never fail to visit my favourite food stall, ToriQ!!! I love ToriQ! I could eat ToriQ for breakfast, lunch and dinner!! :D

ToriQ is basically japanese "satay" or toriyaki. Basically skewered meats barbecued with teriyaki sauce. At ToriQ, if you order 3 or more sticks you can add rice and pickles for S$0.50 which is what I ALWAYS do.

Open the box and the smell just hits you. In this particular box I have Tontoro Pork, Pork with Asparagus and two sticks of Chicken Balls. Remember to ask them to pour extra sauce over everything when packing.

I just cant describe the taste. It is smoky, sweet with nice burnt flavour you get from barbecuing. It is one of my most favourite things to eat in Singapore. I must have at least one box per day everytime I visit. I even bought 5 boxes when I left!!

A box of ToriQ + some good mineral water = A GOOD MEAL ANYTIME!!

Makan Kings ratings = 9 out of 10

Cheers,
-Tofu Delivery King-

Imperial Rama @ Highlands Hotel, Genting Highlands

The whole gang (minus Wasabi King) was in Genting a week ago or so. On arriving, we decided to go to Imperial Rama for lunch. Imperial Rama is slightly hard to find. As you walk in Highlands Hotel, you will see a set of escalators going up on your right. These escalators leads to the VIP reception. Take the escalator up and immediately after you arrive at the top, Imperial Rama in on your right.

Our friend, TBS opened a bottle of Brown Brother's 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was good, not too strong tannin taste and very dry (the way I like my reds!!)

The first dish that arrive is the Prawn Tom Yam. I found this to be just ok. Some found it to be a little spicy but to me its just like any normal tom yam.

The next dish to arrive is the mango salad. This was really good!! Nice and spicy, sour and sweet. All the characteristics of a good thai mango salad. I also like the deep fried, crispy cuttlefish they serve on top of it.

"Pai Kuat Wong" came next. This dish is another good rendition of a classic chinese mealtime dish. The pork ribs were nice and firm, the sauce sweet and sticky and I did like the coleslaw served as a side. GOOD GOOD!!

A chinese meal would not be complete without prawns right? We ordered salted egg yolk prawns. Now, of all the salted egg yolk prawns I've eaten, this had got to be one of the very best!! The prawns were superbly fresh with a nice crispy crust of salted egg yolk. I throughly enjoyed every last bit of this dish!!!

Next was the "vegetable" dish. I put the word vegetable in inverted commas because this dish doesn't actually involve any greens! Oh well, majority wins right? It was braised homemade beancurd with assorted mushrooms. Not superbly good but a very well prepared dish anyhow.

The star of the whole lunch is the steamed "soon hock". The fish, which must have been swimming happily before being served to us was fresh and the chefs did a good job of not overly cooking and flavouring this superb fish! A must order.

None of us had room for dessert although we did want to try the durian tempura (which was out of stock/season) when we were there. Ketchup Queen ordered this poached pear with hasma. It looks nice enough but I did not try it.

Overall, a very very good lunch. And thanks to the gamblers in the group, it was free!!! Just need to deduct Genting points!! :D Thanks to Tofu Delivery King and TBS!!

Makan Kings ratings - 8 out 10

Cheers,
-BKT King-

Cheesecake Factory @ The Forum Shops at Caesars

Hi again! This is the continuation of the US postings. Sorry for the delayed telecast but as -BKT King- likes to point out, its better late than never!!

On my visit to Las Vegas, I popped into The Forum Shops @ Caesars and happened to chance upon the Cheesecake Factory. Although I was already full from a previous meal I decided to try at least one slice of cheesecake here.

Look at the displays!!! Soooooooooooooo many cheesecakes!! From the menu, I counted 32 types of cheesecake. You name it they have it. For more info, you can visit their website.

In the end, I decided on a very normal cheesecake, the fresh strawberry cheesecake. Now, I'm not a really big cheesecake fan but this cheesecake tasted very nice!! Very creamy with nice flavour of the cheese. The strawberries were nice and sweet, unlike the fresh ones we get back here in Malaysia!

I would have loved to try the other cheesecakes especially the Godiva cheesecake but I just didnt have room for any more food. Oh well, maybe next time!!

Makan King's rating = 7 out of 10

Cheers Mate,
-Wasabi King-