The Hungry Bunny

Manna Korea remains one of the longest standing Korean restaurants in Singapore. Before everything Korean was made fashionable by the hallyu wave that hit our shores like a tsunami. Dining at Manna Korea at its original Telok Ayer Street locale when I was a little girl with my family marked my virgin foray into Korean cuisine. It didn't quite make an impact as you'd have thought, even if we were enthralled by the seemingly endless and limitless banchan.  They've now a satellite stall at the Asia Square Food Garden , and it serves up one-bubbling-pot meals that are a hit with diners looking for a low-frills Korean food fix. While convenient and no-fuss, the food was significantly lackluster compared to the fare served at its Telok Ayer branch. The Kimchi Jjigae was barely passable, as the soup base was severely lacking in depth and sweetness, even if it packed enough heat. That said, it's probably quite a comforting choice for a thundery rainy day. The Chicken ...

Have I mentioned before that I hate eating at food courts? I do. In fact, I try to avoid them as much as possible. The stuff offered at food courts are usually sub-par but cost twice as much as their hawker centre counterparts. Total waste of calories and total waste of money. But, eating is a communal thing and sometimes, you gotta go with where the pack wants to go. So, when my friends suggested heading to the food court at Vivocity, I tagged along. Ah well, it's sometimes the company you enjoy than the food you eat, isn't it? I thought sticking to something safe like fish soup would do the trick, and besides, this stall looked like it had quite the queue. Boy was I wrong. The Fish Soup ($4.50), with just a handful of fish slices (4-5 of them thin ones), was incredibly miserly and miserable a portion. The soup was practically an MSG-bomb and the fish so treated with milk (to remove any fishy odour) that there were unappetiz...

With the Marina Bay area being developed into the next prime business district, there have been a slew of new food options. Asia Square Tower , a new-ish office building with retail and F&B outlets, has just launched a novel-concept food court. Instead of the usual food court stalls, they've managed to convince big-ish-name restaurants to set up stall fronts here. The loft-like food court, located on the second floor, boasts an airy, roof-garden feel, and notable names like Imperial Treasure Windows on HK, western franchises like Canadian burger chain Triple O's and Astons Specialties, Asian favourites like Toastbox and Manna Korea, and for those looking to eat light and healthy, Fresh+ Salads and The Soup Spoon. Because of its proximity to the office, I'll definitely be back in this food court.  I've always liked the food at Imperial Treasure , so I was delighted to find that they've got a stall serving cha chan teng cuisine here. With the North-East m...

I make it point to call Jal out for lunch or coffee every time I'm at the High Court. His office is directly opposite the High Court so it's really convenient to meet up. Plus, Funan, which is full of coffee joints and restaurants, is just right around the corner of both his office and the High Court. Today, I managed to get a hold of him during the lunch hour so we headed to the food court for lunch. From the Malay stall, Jal got the Ayam Penyet ($6.50). Although the sambal was kickass, the chicken was dry and tough and tasteless on the inside, even if the skin was crisp, fatty and devilishly delicious. This needed a lot of the sweetish fiery sambal to get through. Oh well, it is food court standard afterall. From the chicken rice stall, I got the Chicken Macaroni Soup ($4), a piping hot bowl of homestyled comfort food. I was feeling under the weather and this slightly MSG-tinged chicken broth hit the spot. It was delicate, light and just the right amount of flavour....

I'd accompanied the Fiance to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for his father's cataract surgery, and went for a quick bite at Kopitiam while waiting for him to come out of the operating theatre. Kopitiam operates the food court at SGH, and the variety of food stalls and cuisine is really quite extensive. The quality is generally above average as well, so it's not uncommon for the food court to be packed to the brim come mealtime. The queue at the yong tau foo stall is possibly one of the longest, and for good reason. It's light, healthy and fresh, depending on what ingredients you pick into your bowl. Mine had fish balls, bouncy fish cakes, freshly made fish dumplings, a battered and fried hard boiled egg, beancurd skin, chilis stuffed with fish meat, and lady's fingers ($4.20). The clear soup base was full of the essence of yellow soy beans, and my only gripe about this dish was that the soup base tipped towards the salty end of the flavour scale. ...

The Fiance and i usually make our own plans for lunch to go out with our colleagues and friends, but every once a blue moon, we'll actually meet up for lunch. We agreed that we'd meet at China Square Food Court because it's quite the middle ground between our offices. Although a number of food stalls in this scaled-down food court has been replaced, the stall selling Korean food has been consistently popular. And no, it's not because of the K-Pop wave that's causing every prepubescent schoolgirl's heart to go a-flutter. It's really due to the serving of fresh and authentic Korean cuisine that's gotten repeat customers. We shared a Tofu Soup ($6 without rice, $6.50 with rice), steaming hot, spicy and rich. Classic Korean comfort food for a cold, damp, drizzle-filled day. Silken plain clear beancurd is mixed with a little seafood (prawns, squid and clams) and kimchi. The Fiance thought the Kimchi was pretty good. Fresh, piquant and spicy....

We were running errands at Chinatown when hunger pangs suddenly struck. We headed to the basement food court of People's Park Complex and landed in front of Song Hua Teochew Noodles , which serves a variety of noodles. This stall was apparently featured on season 2 of the Makan Places Lost & Found TV show. Any kind of TV endorsement is generally an indication of quality food, so we decided to give it a try and got the Wanton Noodles ($3). As it turned out, we made the right choice, the noodles were springy, the thickly sliced bbq pork was sweet, smoky and tender, the wantons was silky and robust and the sauce was spicy and savoury. Song Hua Teochew Noodles People's Park Complex #B1

Friends will know that I'm not a fan of food courts in general. The food is usually substandard and too pricey compared to authentic hawker fare. Food, to me, has to be worth it. Be it the money or the calories. This is why I don't mind paying dozens of dollars for 5 tiny cubes of melt-in-your-mouth wagyu, but I complain about spending $1.20 on dried-out bbq chicken wings. So it was a surprise when I came across this stall at Suntec Food Republic that sells relatively authentic versions of Cantonese herbal boiled soups. I got the Old Cucumber and Pork Ribs Soup ($4). Although it was a tad oily, it still had that homebrewed taste, delicate and light. Guan Chee HK Roasted Duck Suntec Convention Centre Food Republic #01-125B Tel: 6820 7172

After dinner at Sushi Tei, I was in the mood for some herbal soup, so we popped by the food court beside Sushi Tei at Raffles City Shopping Centre. If you love soup, and want something quick and simple (and cheap), you should consider the herbal soups (usually at the roasted meats stall) available at most of the Food Junction chain of food courts. Just don't expect exquisite broths and fall-off-the-bone tender meats, the soup does cost merely 5 dollars. There is a relatively wide variety of herbal soups at the roasted meats stall, and I got the Old Cucumber Soup with Pork Ribs ($5). The soup was clear, lightly flavoured, and was a sizable portion, albeit a little oily. The pork ribs was a little tough and could have benefited from a longer steam in the oven.  Roasted Meats Stall Food Junction Raffles City Shopping Centre 3rd floor