Holy Shoot It's Halal?!

[Muslim Owned] I’m a simple person. I see shakshouka, I order shakshouka! 🤫

No but seriously, this is one of those dishes that is good to have at any part of the day. Alto Café’s Shakshouka doesn’t stray far off from what makes it already great, but it is evidently tailored for people who love spicy food because when I say I was soaked in beads of perspiration after this… 🤣

It is flavourful, savoury, and tart enough to make your lips pucker. And it’s garnished with some cilantro and feta cheese. Of course, not forgetting the staple onsen/poached egg that is nestled in the centre of the dish. This was all in all a great dish.

You get three pieces of toasted sourdough, which you can dip with the stew. Otherwise, they make for great balms from the spiciness. It dials down the heat by quite a bit…at least speaking from a purely personal experience! 😅 (7.5/10)

P.S. This outlet of Alto Café closes at 5pm daily!

⁣[Halal] Posting about hidden gems always makes me semi-nervous because I’m oddly territorial about them…like I want them all to myself for as long as possible. Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way though - otherwise, I’ll edit this caption at once, and we’ll never have to talk about it again! 💀😂⠀
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Okay, but jokes aside, I was fated to find love in this stall’s Maggi Goreng. The first time that me and my friend paid it a visit, it honestly left us feeling far from impressed. It was average fare at best. But by an arrow of chance, we both decided on a whim to come back here and hoooooooo boy. The subsequent visits have just been back-to-back greatness. 🤤⠀
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What I loved about this? Let’s see…first of all, they’re generous with the fried chicken - they don’t overdo it with the bones. Then their noodles – springy, not soggy, and got a good bite (literally bite) to them. Thirdly, I have my Maggi Goreng less spicy; they really nail it everytime…God bless them. Above all though, this HITS with the dish’s signature salty flavour. 👏🏽⠀
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I just have one gripe - they tend to be inconsistent with the eggs…2 out of 5 times, it won’t come looking picture-perfect like this. 😂 But I can live with that!⠀
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Takeaway of this story: It sometimes pays to give things another shot. ❤ (8.7/10)

[Muslim-Owned] A fairly delicious burger, even though it doesn’t really strike me as anything remarkable in taste. The cheese sauce packs a punch in flavour though, making it the highlight of this one. 🥴 A word of advice - please do not get this to go. I made the mistake of doing that and the beef got pretty soggy and slimy towards the centre. 😪

The service was pretty dope though. The guy at the cashier was super chummy, casual and had a pretty good sense of humour. I walked away with a pretty excellent impression of the place, to be honest! (7.3/10)

[Halal, Eatup, Available on Burpple Beyond] For those new to Nashville Hot Chicken, the story behind this revolves around the girlfriend of a man who was so inflamed that she made him devilishly spicy chicken for him as a form of payback. The gag is that the man found the spicy chicken so good that he turned it into a business venture. 🤪

The spiciness intensifies exponentially with every tier. The difference between Medium Hot and Extra Hot is your mouth feeling like it’s engulfed in flames. So choose your level (or challenge if you will) wisely. 😱

Spicy food veterans would know that there are numerous types of burns that the heat brings. For the Extra Hot, it takes a few bites to set off the spice singe. Move up one tier to Insanely Hot, and it’s a different case. It doesn’t immediately singe your mouth, but once it slids down your esophagus, that’s when all Hell will break loose. I think I drank too much Ice Lemon Tea during the Eatup because the heat wouldn’t let up! 😭 If you’re prone to getting indigestion, I will stress again - choose your spice level wisely!

If you’re able to get past the burn, you’d realise just how lip-smackingly good the fried chicken here is. The flesh is succulent, moist and juicy. The skin, crisped enough till it gets grooves that trap the dry spice rub. It’s greasy, spicy greatness that will leave your body in shambles, but will strengthen your resistance to spicy foods. 🤤🤯

Thank you so much Burpple for extending the Eatup invitation to me! 😛

[Pending Halal Certificate, Tasting] If you’re loving the beef lan zhou la mian trend that has been making waves around Singapore AND you live in the West, then you’re truly in luck. Tongue Tip Lanzhou Beef Noodles has recently opened a new outlet in Jurong Point! 😍

Here were some of the things we had during the tasting:
- Signature Beef Noodles ($8.90, $10.90)
- Sauerkraut (Suan Cai) Beef Noodles ($9.90, $11.90)
- Mala Spicy Beef Noodles ($9.50, $11.50)
- Dry Beef Noodles ($8.90, $10.90)
- Chicken Fillet Noodles ($7.50, $9.50)

Out of all these dishes which are all just as delectable, I am loving the last two the most. I don’t try to hide the fact that I am #TeamDryNoodles more than anything. 😂 Its quality is very redolent to that of a simple, humble meal. It’s kind of like rice with soy sauce and a fried egg – it’s not much, but it is inexplicably delicious and holds its own. The noodles with some chili oil? That’s really all I will ever need.

Other than that, I did really like how supple yet meaty the beef slices were after they’ve been soaked in the soup. That was something that caught me by surprise. 😧

Some things to take note of:
- The spiciness of the dishes are a little toned down
- All soup dishes are not suitable to vegetarians as it is made with beef stock.
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Thank you @burpple for the invitation to this Eatup! ❤️

[Halal] I was awake at 3am one night last week and I was feeling hungry. Now, I could have settled for the usual McDonald’s or perhaps even one of those 24-hour eating houses.

But I was up for something different – and my brother suggested Swensen’s at Changi Airport as it is in operation 24 hours daily and their breakfast hours run from 3am to 11am. In a spur of the moment, with the swelling of a YOLO mentality for whatever reason, I agreed to it. 🤣

The Eggs Benedict was actually pretty decent! Nothing much to point out except that the eggs were poached beautifully, which kind of surprised me…? Probably because the past few times I’ve had it elsewhere, the yolk was semi-hardened. So hey! I actually quite enjoyed that brunch-supper (or brupper, if there exists such a term). 😋 (7.3/10)

I was craving for some late night snack the other time, and what a better option than some crispy, Cheese Egg pratas?! 👅 This place is a hit and miss honestly, but among all the nearby alternatives, this one has me whipped the most – they do crispy pratas and they use stretchy type of cheese instead of the melty, processed ones. (7.4/10)

A tip for when you’re coming here: Do NOT get their plain or egg pratas. They’ll serve you the pre-made ones. 🙁

[Muslim Owned] This one was pretty good as well. I really liked the zing of spice that the chili brought to the fries – it’s a lot more prominent than some ones from other places. 🤪 But the portion is really substantial though - a little daunting for one person. You have been warned. 🤧✊🏽

[Muslim Owned] A pretty good burger – beef patty cooked to medium, accompanied by truffle mayo, caramelised onions and sliced cheese. All these made for an umami flavour bomb that detonates and engulfs your palate. And it’s only $6.50 - this is really a wallet-friendly price that you won’t get at many places. In a nutshell, this burger sounds like one of the most wonderful, heavenly things, doesn’t it?

That’s what I thought. While everything was delicious and satisfying, I couldn’t help but feel like it seems to be shy of an oomph to it. Could it be that there is a lack of love or passion that went into this? My guess is as good as yours. That inexplicable feeling still bugs me till this day. (7.8/10)

[Pending MUIS Halal Cert, 100% Halal Ingredients] One look at this and you already know that the beef patty is pretty dry. This was the case with the original Fatburger I had, albeit understandably as they have taken the liberty of using 100% halal-certified ingredients in their preparation and cooking. For those who are still unsure With that limitation in hand, it is difficult to replicate the experience of eating a burger from a diner in the USA, the country that Fatburgers hail from. 😟

Taste-wise, it leans towards that of the classic American diner-style burger. Even if you’ve never had one, you can probably work out a rough idea of the flavours from numerous visuals that showcase one. The brioche bun was pretty great though - thick and delicate to the touch as well as squeeze. It was probably the best part of the burger…and that’s all I’ll say. 😗 (7/10)

[Muslim-Owned] I know that Burgs is famed for their pocket-friendly prices, but really the only reason my meal was $10 was because I decided to indulge. 😭 Posing no restriction on myself, I went ahead and got their Truffle Mushroom Beef Burger and traded up the sides for a more decadent choice, their Cuban Cheese Fries.

I’ve reviewed Burgs before so I won’t delve into this that much. First of all, the potency of the truffle in their signature truffle fries was absolutely on point. In contrast, I know of plenty of other F&B establishments that boast a truffled item in their menu, but sadly do not manage to hit the mark on the perceived quality. 😧

Secondly, their Cuban Cheese Fries were EXCELLENT! The combination of pulled beef brisket and spiced nacho cheese aided in releasing endorphins and dopamine. 😭🤪 Pretty dramatic, but I won’t lie - it brought me so much joy hahaha.

Came here on a Tuesday afternoon and it wasn’t too crowded. I recall seeing snaking queues the last time I was here! It got to the point where one of the guys had to announce to everyone that there was a waiting time just to ORDER. 🤣 (8.3/10)

[Muslim Owned] It’s been awhile since I had this, but I do remember thinking it wasn’t exactly wow-worthy. And that’s probably because it lacked complexity but it wasn’t packing a punch in its limited arsenal of savoury flavours.

But it was moderately delicious as it isn’t a dish that prides on very precise choices of ingredients. I mean, a shashuka is pretty similar to a Stu Surprise if you ask me - using ingredients in your kitchen pantry to whip up a delicious dish. It’s just...for $14, you know…it’d be great to have some unique flair to it. 🤔 (7/10)