Molly Malone's set lunch

Ultimate SGD25 nett lunchtime fix at Molly Malone's. Comes with soup, main, dessert and drink

Since the onset of my pregnancy, I have developed an aversion to fish and hate its smell.

Things have since improved in recent weeks. I no longer cringe at the thought of eating fish and even managed to round up my kakis recently for lunch at one of our all time favorite fish and chips joints- Molly Malone's.

Molly Malone's is an Irish pub tucked along the corner of Circular Road. It has dark woody interiors which reek of stale smoke. Ang Mohs like to congregate there for their beer fix (even during lunchtime!) I've been a fan of their fish and chips for more than 8 years and am pleased to report that the quality of their food has not changed a single bit.

In a bid to attract the lunchtime crowd to dine in their pub, Molly's has come up with a SGD25 nett sett lunch promotion which comes with a soup of the day, fish and chips, dessert and soft drink/coffee/tea. We all ordered a set for ourselves each.

Typical of pub food, portions are super generous. The cream of cauliflower soup served that day was thick and delicious. Being small eaters, most of the ladies in our party were half full after this course and could not finish their main course of fish and chips- which is a great pity.

I really dig the fish and chips from Mollys, which represents the holy grail of deep fried food to me Eaten piping hot from the fryer and doused with a generous layer of tartar or chili sauce, the crisp batter and flakes of fork tender fish taste exceptional when downed with a gulp of ice cold beer or 7-up. Mollys also does a wicked rendition of thick cut chips, which come smokin hot and crisp on the outside.

Dessert that day was a pretty slice of tiramisu. Everyone was pretty stuffed by then but managed to polish off their plates (girls just love their desserts). It wasn't the best tiramisu we had eaten but was a fitting end to a perfect meal.- save for the spotty service.

Molly's has evolved into an lunchtime institution in Raffles Place that I have grown to embrace over the years. I hope it continues to keep up its winning formula so that die hard fish n chip aficionados like myself can have our fix when we need it.

Molly Malone's Irish Pub
56 Circular Road
Tel: 6536 2029

Royce has been dethroned!

I'm no chocolate connoisseur. However, there are days when Cadbury chocolate just doesn't make the cut. For days when I crave something more, I usually reach for a box of Royce nama chocolate.

Over the Chinese New Year celebrations, we played host to some friends. After dinner, a guest furtively shoved a packet of these into my hands and urged me to try them asap. She then proceeded to explain how she had magically chanced upon these delish creations at an obscure sweet shop tucked in Parco Bugis. After some egging from the cute Japanese boss, she bought a packet to try.

The rest is history.

I apprehensively unwrapped the packet and helped myself to a piece. Appearance wise, the cocoa dusted sphere looked small and unassuming. After popping it into my mouth and biting into the chocolate, I was impressed by its smooth finish, which left a pleasant nutty bittersweet aftertaste on my tongue. As I ventured on to make out the remaining flavors, I was surprised to discover the addition of cheese! The resulting blend of bittersweet and savory was bizarre yet so orgasmic-ally good. I couldn't resist taking a second and third helping. Soon the whole packet was empty.

And the rest is history.

I wonder why I don't get this "shiok" factor from high end ang moh chocolates like Hediard, Godiva and Laurent Bernard. Perhaps my tastebuds are still not sophisticated enough.

Kung Fu Paradise- no kick

Bedok Point just opened some months ago. Given the densely populated surroundings of Bedok estate, this mall comes as a welcome relief of sorts to heartlanders from the mid income group who do not mind forking out a little extra moolah for air conditioned dining in the East.

As a food themed mall, easily 80% of its occupants comprise of food outlets,.The usual suspects like Sushi Tei, Killiney Kopitiam, Old Chang Kee, Four Leaves and Yoshinoya dominate. However, also evident are a handful of new entrants like Gong Cha, Paradise Inn, Mr Chicken Rice and Ayam Penyat Ria.

One new entrant which particularly stands out is Kungfu Paradise (a relatively fresh addition to Paradise Group's growing chain of restaurants) strategically located just by the main entrance of the building.

Kungfu Paradise's dining concept is tailored for the young, with its cute moniker, hip chairs, eager young servers in kakis, funky chopsticks and glossy Cafe Cartel-like menu. Captivated by the excellent copywriting in the menu and broad range of Asian and Western dishes, Hubby and I decided to give the restaurant a go.

Check out the chair!

After settling in and admiring the decor, we decided to order a lemongrass drink, a chicken chop noodle (for myself), a lemon chicken rice (for hubby) and a seafood platter to share. We were famished and really looking forward to our meal.

The lemongrass drink failed to stir our tastebuds. Its flavor was weak and unimpressive. We much prefer Baba King's version.

When the seafood platter arrived, we tucked in with gusto. Of the 3 sides featured (calamari rings, wedges and cheesesticks), the wedges and calamari rings were first to disappear.


Couldn't really make out the freshness of the seafood since everything was fried to a crisp. It wasn't the best seafood platter we had eaten but was satisfying nonetheless. The accompanying sauces of cheese, salsa and cheese were a nice touch but tasted convoluted when matched with the wrong side.

Our lemon chicken rice and the chicken chop noodle arrived in quick succession.

My chicken chop noodles

Hubby's lemon chicken rice

Upon closer inspection, we realized that our battered chicken pieces had probably been mass fried and smothered with different sauces and marinades prior to serving. After awhile, the chicken pieces tasted the same. Whilst the runny egg went really well with the noodles and rice, we couldn't help but feel let down by the quick fix method of food preparation and absence of vegetables, which looked like forlorn side garnishes with little nutritional value.

Even for fast food lovers like Hubby and myself, the overdose of deep fried oily food was too much for us to bear. We do not remember feeling this forlorn after a meal at KFC or Macs . It would have been good if the server who took our orders had forewarned us beforehand- perhaps we had just ordered the wrong combination of dishes?

In any case, Hubby and I will not be coming back to Kungfu Paradise again. For the price we paid, we were disappointed with the value and wish the eatery put more love into their cooking rather than advertising.

Food News

Interesting stuff has been happening around the world...here are some of the noteworthy ones this week

1. Malaysia's No 1 Char Siew is coming to Singapore. Kay Lee's - watch out!
2. Oyster Bar boss at Customs House turns violent on customers?
3. Interesting eats at Cluny Court
4. 1 for 1 dinner buffet at Greenhouse, Ritz Carlton for ladies on Weds nights
5. Food for a dollar in New York- v good photography..makes me feel like doing a Singapore version