SINGAPORE: My Guide to Visiting Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant

Singapore: My Guide to Visiting Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant

Why visit Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice:

1. It's the hawker that made the hainanese chicken rice famous.

2. It's the authentic and original hainanese chicken rice that Singaporeans love. By tasting the original hainanese chicken rice, you can compare with other versions of hainanese chicken rice available at nearby hawker stalls.

3. It won against Gordon Ramsay and the recently held Singtel Hawker Heroes Challenge.

Check out my post "SINGAPORE: Singtel Hawker Heroes v. Gordon Ramsay: A Visit to the Hawker Heroes Challenge Winners"

It's located between along Joo Chiat Road between Joo Chiat Community Club....

... and Katong Junction.

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Restaurant hours.
Take note that all branches are closed on Mondays.

A view of the inside of the restaurant

The menu

The two of us ordered a half chicken at 14 SGD and chicken rice at 3.80 SGD each

The chicken is so tender it melts in your mouth.
The serving is large for 2 people. It's actually good for 3 people.

My tip:

If you're unable to visit this place or would want to bring home a taste of Singapore to your home, I recommend purchasing Prima Taste hainanese chicken rice premix at any Cold Storage supermarket in Singapore located on the shelves of Marinades and Sauces. The taste of this premix is as authentic as the of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. Photo is shown below.

Photo taken from Prima Taste website
The cost at Cold Storage is 7.40 SGD per box

SINGAPORE: My Guide to Visiting 328 Katong Laksa

SINGAPORE: My Guide to Visiting 328 Katong Laksa

Why visit 328 Katong Laksa:

1. It's the hawker that made laksa famous.

2. It's the authentic and original laksa that Singaporeans love. By tasting the original laksa, you can compare with other versions of laksa made available at nearby hawker stalls.

3. It won against Gordon Ramsay and the recently held Singtel Hawker Heroes Challenge.

Check out my post "SINGAPORE: Singtel Hawker Heroes v. Gordon Ramsay: A Visit to the Hawker Heroes Challenge Winners"

You can find 328 Katong Laksa at the corner of East Coast Road and Ceylon Road

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Outside dining area at the corner of East Coast Road and Ceylon Road

Air-conditioned dining areas are also available

Where you order and where the laksa is prepared

The cook preparing our laksa

They offer different sizes of laksa servings

We ordered the small laksa at 4.50 SGD each

The content of laksa as advertised

The actual content of the laksa

You can see the consistency and the quantity of coconut milk in the laksa sauce

Other meals offered by 328 Katong Laksa

My tip:

If you're unable to visit this place or would want to bring home a taste of Singapore to your home, I recommend purchasing Prima Taste laksa premix at any Cold Storage supermarket in Singapore located on the shelves of Marinades and Sauces. The taste of this premix is as authentic as the laksa of 328 Katong Laksa. Photo is shown below.

Photo taken from Prima Taste website
The cost at Cold Storage is 7.40 SGD per box

SINGAPORE: Singtel Hawker Heroes v. Gordon Ramsay: A Visit to the Hawker Heroes Challenge Winners

SINGAPORE: Singtel Hawker Heroes v. Gordon Ramsay: 

A Visit to the Hawker Heroes Challenge Winners

The Singtel Hawker Heroes Challenge is an event held last July 7, 2013, sponsored by Singtel where they invited Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef fame (and himself a 14 Michelin-starred chef) to compete with the top Hawker Heroes of Singapore.

The top 3 Hawker Heroes chosen for this challenge were Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken for their Hainanese Chicken Rice, 328 Katong Laksa for their Laksa, and Jumbo Seafood Restaurant for their Chili Crab.

Gordon Ramsay arrived 2 days before the challenge to get tips on how to cook the 3 dishes. On the day of the challenge, about a thousand diners sampled the dishes in the 3 categories and compared the Hawker heroes recipe with Gordon Ramsay's version of the hainanese chicken rice, laksa and chili crab. They voted by SMS and the winners were Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice and 328 Katong Laksa.

In my recent trip to Singapore, I decided to visit these two hawkers to rediscover the famous and authentic taste of Laksa and Hainanese Chicken Rice. I traveled to Singapore several times but my first taste of these two dishes were usually in nearby hawker stalls. I never got to taste it from the original hawkers that made these two dishes famous.

My tip: Visit the branches of 328 Katong Laksa and Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Joo Chiat Road. They are within walking distance from each other. So you save time doing this food tour.

Location:

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 A   328 Katong Laksa

Check out my post "My Guide to Visiting 328 Katong Laksa"

 B   Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Check out my post My Guide to Visiting Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant"

SINGAPORE: My Short Guide on How to Tour Gardens by the Bay

SINGAPORE: My Short Guide on How to Tour Gardens by the Bay

IF YOU HAVE ONLY 1 HOUR: YOU CAN DO THE AUDIO TRAM TOUR OF THE OUTDOOR GARDENS

Cost of this itinerary: 7 SGD (5 SGD for adult tram tour ticket + 2 SGD for the roundtrip shuttle)

WHY DO THE AUDIO TRAM TOUR:

1. The audio tram tour will introduce you to the different areas of Gardens by the Bay and pinpoint the highlights of the place.

2. It's a short 18-minute tour so if you don't have a lot of time to explore Gardens by the bay, you can see the whole layout of the place and the highlights.

HOW TO DO THIS ITINERARY:

FIRST: Use the MRT and alight at Bayfront MRT Station.

SECOND: After alighting at the Bayfront MRT Station, walk towards the exit that goes towards Gardens by the Bay. When you reach the exit, walk towards your left towards the shuttle station to enter Gardens by the Bay.

After alighting from the MRT, this is the path going towards Gardens by the Bay. Either you climb up the stairs at the end of the path and to your left or take the lift. 

The lift from the Bayfront MRT station

THIRD: Take the Shuttle. Shuttle fee is SG$ 2.00 for 2 trips. Don't get off the 1st stop, which is the Conservatories Station. Get off at the 2nd stop which is the Visitor Center Station. Buy tickets to the Audio Tram Tour.

This is the path going towards the shuttle service. You turn left to reach the shuttle service station

My tips:  

1. It's best to take the shuttle rather than walk because of the heat and humidity in Singapore. 

2. You can only use the shuttle from 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM daily so make sure to visit the park around this time to make sure that the shuttle is available. 

3. Be prepared to walk to the entrance of Gardens by the Bay when a thunderstorm occurs. They stop the shuttle service when there's a thunderstorm

FOURTH: Do the 18-minute tram tour with commentary that will go around the outdoor gardens.

My tip: You can only do this tour from 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM on weekdays, and 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM on weekends, holidays and eve of holidays. So plan your trip accordingly and find out the Holidays in Singapore.

FIFTH: When you end the tram tour, ride the shuttle in the same area where you get off the tram tour to exit Gardens by the Bay. Since your shuttle fee is for 2 trips, you can use the second ride to get out of Gardens by the Bay. Then walk towards the entrance of the Bayfront MRT station and ride the MRT to your other destination.

Shuttle service station at the Visitor Center

Route of this itinerary:

This photo is taken from the Gardens by the Bay website
The purple lines show the route of the Tram Tour
Check out Gardens by the Bay map

IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST 4 HOURS: YOU CAN DO THE AUDIO TRAM TOUR AND SEE THE OUTDOOR GARDENS, THEN VISIT THE TWO COOLED CONSERVATORIES: THE CLOUD FOREST AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 

Cost of this itinerary: 30 SGD (28 SGD for tickets for both the flower dome and cloud forest + 2 SGD for the roundtrip shuttle)

GET GARDENS BY THE BAY DISCOUNTED TICKETS HERE

HOW TO DO THIS ITINERARY:

DO THE FIRST TO FOURTH INSTRUCTION SHOWN ABOVE, THEN DO THE FOLLOWING:

FIFTH: When you end the tram tour, get off the Conservatories Station instead of the Visitor Center Station so you can visit the cooled conservatories.

SIXTH: Buy tickets for both the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. Visit the Cloud Forest First. We spent 1 1/2 hours exploring the Cloud Forest

Why see the Cloud Forest: You see exotic plants that only thrive in high mountains. So if you don't plan to climb a mountain in the near future, this is the only opportunity you may have to see these plants and experience the plants' natural habitat. The Cloud Forest mimics the cold weather conditions of the high mountains

The man-made mountain where most of the plants were planted.

The path that people take to go around the mountain

The height that the path reaches

The fog shows how cold the Cloud forest is

SEVENTH: Enter the Flower Dome. We spent 30 minutes at the Flower Dome.

Why see the Flower Dome: To see exotic plants all over the world. This is the "zoo" version of flowers. 

EIGHTH: After exiting the Flower Dome, you can take the shuttle at the Conservatories Station to go to the Bayfront Shuttle Station, which is short walking distance to the Bayfront MRT station.

GET GARDENS BY THE BAY DISCOUNTED TICKETS HERE

Adidas Outlet Store at C5, Taguig: Is it Worth the Trip?

Adidas Outlet Store at C5, Taguig: Is it Worth the Trip?

I love my Adidas Supernova Glide 2. It has the perfect cushion for my feet. I haven't found any other running shoe that fits me so well, that made running or walking so comfortable. I survive day-long walking tours during our trips without feeling any foot pain. Thanks to the Adidas Supernova Glide.

I bought mine at 50% off (around 2500 pesos) last January 2012 at an Adidas Store at Ali Mall. I thought that was cheap so I've been looking for the same discount ever since. I didn't want to shell out 5000-6000 pesos for a shoe so I tried scouting for  a discounted Supernova Glide at the different Adidas stores I chanced upon. But I was unsuccessful. 

Then my husband brought me to this great Adidas outlet store at C5, Taguig. He's been telling me about it but I didn't think it was worth the trip to go all the way to C5, especially since I only frequent the Quezon City area which I felt was too far from this outlet store. But this time, I was with my husband when he made a side trip to this store before our dinner date. So I decided to browse around the store and look for my Supernova Glide.

Lo and behold, I found my Supernova Glide. It's not even an old Supernova Glide 2 like my old one but a newer version which is a Supernova Glide 4, released only last 2012. The price I got it is at 70% off or only at 1798.5 pesos (original price is 5995 pesos). 

For those who do not think it's' worth going all the way to C5 Taguig to visit, I disagree. With the possibility of getting large discounts for a wide selection of  relatively newer edition of Adidas shoes, it's worth the hassle and the traffic of going all the way to this store. The store is 2 floors, with the men's selection at the ground floor and the women's and kids' selections at the 2nd floor.

My receipt shows that I bought the Supernova Glide 4 at 1798.50 pesos only.

My brand new Supernova Glide 4 in the box showing its original price.

The latest edition Supernova Glide 5 in Singapore priced at SG $199.00 (or 6875 pesos)

 

My tip: 

If you know the exact model of the shoes you want, you can call before you go to find out if there's a size for you.

Adidas Outlet Store C-5 Taguig (at Petron Gas Station C5 northbound lane)
Address: Corner of C-5 and Diego Silang Avenue, Brgy Ususan, Taguig

Contact numbers: +632 8289296
Store Hours: 10:00 AM -10:00 PM Daily

How to get there:

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