Singapore: Tapa King at Lau Pa Sat

Today I blog about a popular local fast-food chain in the Philippines - Tapa King! 

I was ranting to a friend just before I left for Singapore that I was going to miss eating longsilog. He told me that I shouldn't fuss because Tapa King has a branch at Lau Pa Sat. I was really happy when he told me about it because Lau Pa Sat is just a stone's throw away from where I work. 

So one evening last week I headed to Lau Pa Sat because I was craving for some comfort Pinoy food. I just followed my nose and found Tapa King! I think I was so obviously excited the cashier noticed it and they gave me a large helping of tapa which came with local vinegar. So I happily brought home one order of Tapa Prince (sweet) for dinner.

And some longsilog the next evening.

Aside from tapa and longganisa, they also have corned beef (Purefoods) and bangus and a lot of other yummy Pinoy stuff. 

Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Tapa King - Singapore

Lau Pa Sat (map)

Price Range: SG$5 to 7

Chinatown (Singapore)

Another favorite place of mine in Singapore is Chinatown. And just like Bugis I like it there because I can go crazy shopping and do food binges without worrying much about my budget.

Here's my (most) favorite food in Singapore. Mee-goreng (minus the chili).

And because I am matakaw I also had some sweet pork.

And Sweetie had some yummy prawns.

To burn off all the calories we ingested we walked around Chinatown and found some interesting stuff. We managed to resist shopping though and just got a magnet for our fridge.

Price range: food SG$4 and above; pasalubong stuff you can buy by bulk, magnets cost at least SG$2 or you can get 6 at SG$10, nice dresses at SG$15 and above, lots of Chinese delicacies sold per pack and by weight

Must have: Mee-goreng!

Can do without: the barbecue slathered with chili!

How to get to Chinatown: just get off at Chinatown MRT, walk around and you'll find A LOT of stuff

Makansutra Gluttons Bay (Singapore)

Makasutra Gluttons Bay reminded me a lot of a similar food place in Jakarta that we dined at about a decade ago. The place is open air and littered with chairs and tables and just a stone throw away from the bay. Food stalls line one side of the place. Then you can just select fresh meat/seafood/veggies and have it cooked your way (or choose from their menu). 

Sweetie and I hang out with his friend and chatted the evening away. I wasn't feeling so adventurous that night so I just had some steak. Sweetie had some fish and Christine got some yummy oysters. The beverage stall also made one of the best milk teas I've sampled so I had 2 glasses that night! Ummmhmmm! Nomnomnom.

Price range: approx. SG$4 per dish, the steak was around SG$12 and beverages cost around SG$1.30

Must try: the oysters and the iced tea with milk

Lakwatsera's Rating: definitely a great place to hang out in

Makansutra Gluttons Bay (map)

Raffles Avenue, Esplanade Mall

Singapore

Bugis Junction (Singapore)

One of my favorite places in Singapore is Bugis Junction.

At the ground level there are a lot of stalls selling anek-anek (a.k.a. girl stuff) like trinkets, shawls, watches, bags etc. and unique finds. I remember buying a lot of stuff from the stalls there, an apple trinket, cool spoon & fork earrings and many more. I also always end up buying shirts for my boys at the boutiques and enjoy window shopping for clothes at the upper level stores (I try to resist buying for myself!).

When I'm done shopping I just usually head over to the food court and choose whatever I fancy. There's Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Italian and other cuisines. Last time I was there with Sweetie I had pasta since we already had Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Thai food and my tummy was already acting up heh.

Here's the pasta I had.

And Sweetie's pepper-something dish.

Price range: for shopping, depends what you want to buy, trinkets go for as low as a dollar; food would cost you at least SG$5 a dish, depending on what you want to eat, beverages at SG$1.30 a glass

Lakwatsera's Rating: favorite place of mine, I usually go every time I manage to go to Singapore and oftentimes cross to Bugis Night Market for additional pasalubong shopping

To get here: get off at Bugis MRT

Mos Burger (Singapore)

Some friends based in Singapore have been recommending Mos Burger to me. I never had the time to try it out in the past though, but luckily Sweetie and I chanced upon it during our trip. We were already tired and hungry and a bit lost (was looking for Pepper Lunch again) when we passed by the shop at the basement 1 of Ngee Ann City.

I would say that Mos Burger's burgers is on a different level. It's not your usual fast-food burger fix. I ordered for the Mos cheeseburger and was surprised that it had salsa (or whatever it was) in it. It was yummy!

Sweetie, on the other hand, tried out the rice burger with scallops (limited time availability). He said that it was "interesting" and was okay. I was unfortunately too weirded out to try it out haha.

Their beverage cup reminded me of Twitter :)

Food price range: SG$2 and up

Must try: the bestseller Mos Burger cheeseburger (I'll probably try out other burgers next time)

The Lakwatsera's Rating: I'll definitely swing by Mos Burger again when I get the chance to go back to Singapore. I'm actually craving for a cheeseburger now.

Mos Burger
B1 Ngee Ann City
Orchard Road,
Singapore

Victoria Street Hawker Center

One of the things I made sure that Sweetie would try out was to dine at a Singapore hawker center. Hawker Center is the term they use for "food court". Hawker centers can be found in a lot of places in Singapore and is an open place (no aircon). You will also find a good variety of food, Chinese to Indian, mostly spicy. You can also choose from a wide array of beverages, most of it fresh. I certainly love the water chestnut drink (tastes like our local gulaman drink) and teh tarik (iced tea with milk).

Here's what we had after hearing mass at the Cathedral of Good Shepherd -

Some sweet pork

Chicken with vegetables

We failed to get some hainanese chicken, THE must eat food in Singapore. I tried it though in past trips (when I was still NOT allergic to chicken) and it's yummy. Locally Henry's Place at Burgos Circle serves this yummy dish too.

Food price range: SG$3 to $7 depending on the serving size

Must have: hainanese chicken, there's a wide variety of food anyway so just choose whatever you like, it won't disappoint; also get some of those water chestnut drinks