Crowning The Best Pineapple Tarts

I was invited by the team at Pickat SG together with fellow food bloggers: SG Food on Foot, Keropokman, The Chosen Glutton and Miss TamChiak, to make the biggest decision of 2014's Chinese New Year (CNY). That is to crown the best Pineapple Tart of 2014. 

 Chinese New Year is not only the time for visiting relatives, it also a time to feast and enjoy each other's company. Popular snacks such as Bak Kwa, prawn rolls and sweets are the regular ones found in everyone's house which is of the same branding. But pineapple tarts are the ones that everyone have trouble buying because there are too many brands in the market. So Pickat SG decided to find out which was the best.

Before we did the tasting, dinner was catered for with a small buffet table. Food was catered by Neo Garden Catering (supposedly the number 1 caterer in Singapore)

Buffet Table

 

Bee Hoon

Top: Cereal Fish

Bottom: Mixture of Vegetables (mushrooms, carrot, broccoli and maize)

Curry Chicken

Top: Spring Roll

Bottom: Breaded prawns

Overall food was great and tasty. Special mention to the chicken curry which was thick and super tasty. 

Then we "Lao Yu Sheng", which is a CNY tradition. We would toss the ingredients together and say auspicious things at the same time. It symbolizes receiving the good things in the new year. The higher you toss, the better it is.

Yu Sheng set from NTUC

Yu Sheng (Before)

Yu Sheng (After)

 After tossing and eating the Yu Sheng, it was down to the main task: Looking for the best among the rest. Tasting the 20 brands of pineapple tarts wasn't easy to say the least, especially after a buffet meal. Some were really sweet, some were really big and squarish. It sort of reminded me of my ramen competition which I had to down as many bowls as possible in 1 hour. Although there was no time limit for this, some pineapple tarts were really dry which made it difficult to swallow.

We gave scores for 5 criterias: Taste (Ta), texture (Te), fragrance (Fr), appearance (Ap), packaging (Pa) using 1(worst) to 5 (excellent) Anyway, introducing the 20 "contestants" and my personal verdicts:

$25

Ta: 3

Te: 2

Fr: 3

Ap: 3

Pa: 3

$16.80

Ta: 3

Te: 5

Fr: 4

Ap: 3

Pa: 4

$23.80

Ta: 3

Te: 4

Fr: 4

Ap: 1

Pa:5

Additional comments: Too big

$12.80

Ta: 5

Te: 3

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 2

$11.80

Ta: 4

Te: 4

Fr: 2

Ap: 2

Pa: 3

$22.80

Ta: 1

Te: 2

Fr: 2

Ap: 1

Pa: 4

$15.80

Ta: 5

Te: 4

Fr: 4

Ap: 3

Pa: 4

Additional comments: Tastes like mini "po luo" bun

$15

Ta: 2

Te: 2

Fr: 3

Ap: 4

Pa: 2

$25

Ta: 2

Te: 3

Fr: 3

Ap: 1

Pa: 4

$15.20

Ta: 4

Te: 3

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 2

$17.40

Ta: 3

Te: 2

Fr: 3

Ap: 1

Pa: 5

Additional comments: Not as great as their famous durian mooncake

$18.80

Ta: 4

Te:  3

Fr: 3

Ap: 1

Pa: 4

$20.80

Ta: 4

Te: 3

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 2

$23

Ta: 3

Te: 4

Fr: 3

Ap: 3

Pa: 3

$23

Ta: 4

Te: 3

Fr: 4

Ap: 5

Pa: 4

Additional Comments: These were really good too.

$15.50

Ta: 3

Te: 3

Fr: 2

Ap: 2

Pa: 2

$25.80

Ta: 5

Te: 5

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 3

$20.80

Ta: 3

Te: 2

Fr: 2

Ap: 2

Pa: 3

$18.80

Ta: 4

Te: 4

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 5

$25

Ta: 3

Te: 3

Fr: 2

Ap: 2

Pa: 2

$23.80

Ta: 3

Te: 4

Fr: 4

Ap: 1

Pa: 5

$16.80

Ta:

Te:

Fr:

Ap:

Pa:

 Additional Comments: Love how it's easy to eat and nicely flaky

$28.80

Ta: 4

Te: 1

Fr: 3

Ap: 2

Pa: 5

Additional comments: Innovative packaging

After tasting, we were given 3 coins for us to choose the top 3 we liked. And announcing the top 3 winners -

1st: Bake Inc.

2nd: Le Cafe Confectionery & Pastry

3rd: Mr Bean

All tarts can be found at Takashimaya Atrium, hurry, you only have 1 day left.

It was an enjoyable event and the first that I went as a food blogger. It was nice meeting the other bloggers who have started way earlier than me too. Thanks to Pickat SG for the invite. 

Download Pickat SG now and follow me (ahungrysingaporean)

Facbook page: Pickat SG (Facebook)

AppStore: http://bit.ly/1890dZ0

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1caksBg

Bak Kut Teh Places

I like to eat Bak Kut Teh, especially the herbal type. I also like the meat to be slightly fat. Recently I came across 3 Bak Kut Teh stalls so here's my short review.

Chanced upon this Bak Kut Teh stall in Kovan. There were many articles on their wall and I came to find out that this restaurant was actually opened by ex convicts. Here is my review of the place:

Preserved Vegetables 

Comments: Tastes not bad. Not too overwhelming salty and easy to eat. 

Bak Kut Teh

Comments: At first look I thought it would be peppery type but after tasting the soup, it turned out to be herbal type which was my favorite type. The meat is soft and separates from the bone easily. Soup is re-fillable so don't hesitate to top up. 

Braised Pork Knuckle

Comments: One of my favorite dishes when eating Bak Kut Teh as one of my motto when eating is "if it's not fat, it ain't nice". Anyway I really loved the pork knuckle. The fat "melts" in your mouth as it's really soft. The meat is also tender and not overcooked. Would like a thicker sauce but overall still nice. 

Pork Liver

Comments: The liver is quite soft and the soup is full of flavor. They probably did the liver in a different pot, because the smell and taste would probably kill the main soup taste.

Overall Review: Great place for Bak Kut Teh. Really tasty and fatty meat. They only accept cash.

Like Them Here: Xin Shun Fa

Details of the place: 257 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799458 / 949 Upper Serangoon Road (5 mins walk from Kovan Mrt)

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2nd stall is the famous Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh. I have never tried the original stall before but I tried the branch at Tanjong Katong road and I did not like it. Here's my review of why I did not like it.

Signature Spare & Pork Ribs Combo Soup $7.50

Comments: Peppery soup, with not much flavour. The meat was very tough too. Plus it was very small, with needing to constant top up the soup.

You Tiao $2

Comments: Normal soft dough fritters

Big Intestines $6

Comments: Was tasty but also quite tough and chewy.

Pig Trotters $8

Comments: Tough, not fat, not much flavor.

Preserved Vegetables $2.50

Comments: So-so only, not preserved enough.

Website: Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh

Details of the place: Outlets

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Then we have Hwa Ji Bak Kut Teh at Boon Tat Street. A small restaurant that is always pack on weekdays cos of the nearby office crowd. Here's my small review:

Signature Bak Kut Teh $7.50

Comments: Very peppery soup. 4 pieces of pork ribs which is quite pathetic, cos it's bite size.

Braised Pig's Trotter $7

Comments: Fat enough and the meat is really tender. Has a great taste to it as the meat is full of flavour.

Braised Intestines $6

Comments: Looked very messy and the intestines were really quite skinny. 

Details of the place: 31 Boon Tat Street, Eagles Center

Pickat V1.9

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. I first posted this app called Pickat SG 6 months ago. After 6 months, I'm still using it to dish out reviews of places or take note of places reviewed by other people.

1) New Interface For Picking

Basically "picking" has been made easier.
1. Choose your theme.
2. Rate the place, Liked or So-So
3. Post pictures using the camera icon on the bottom left corner (up to 4).
4. Write a review.
5. Share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter)

2) Coupon Features

Coupon redemption process has been enhanced and is now made easier for users to download and redeem promotion. Below shows the latest coupon (Department of Caffeine) on offer. Redeem the coupon by downloading it and redeem it at the merchant ONLY.

3) My Places Integration *NEW Feature

Consolidation list of places users have been to. Easier for users to browse and share the places they have been to, picked before or bookmark for future reference. Users are also able to edit the list (delete the POI).

My Recent Picks

4.  Merchants Collaboration

·   Department of caffeine (D.O.C)

(*Exclusive to Pickat Users:  15% off food bill (exclude drinks) per person with minimum spending of $20*)

Department of Caffeine has one of the nicest brunch around. Always packed, so do remember to make a reservation before going. 

Don't wait. Quick click the link below to download the app, start enjoying the discounts and start picking too.

AppStore: http://bit.ly/1890dZ0

GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1caksBg

5.  Follow Me

Last but not least, do remember to follow me in the app.

You may search for ahungrysingaporean. I dish out daily review of food places.