Singapore (Thread 19)

[prettynvain]

we love no signboard restaurant. pag nagpupunta kami sg, hubby's friend will bring us there always. si hubby kase mahilig sa prawns at crabs. while ako hindi.  kasi allergic ako sa prawns 

[Grayce]

no signboard is expensive. pero for us na-justify naman yung presyo ng crab nila. their crabs are big and meaty (not flower crabs). the chili sauce is really good with a nice peanut taste. sauce pa lang ulam na (perfect with mantou).  if you want really good quality chili crab, i'd recommend no signboard. kung namamahalan kayo, go to Jumbo restaurant.  sa Jumbo di ganon kasarap yung sauce pero malaki at meaty naman din yung crab.
i really dont recommend makansutra. ito ang tourist trap talaga. mahal ang food at di naman ganon kasarap. the chili crab here eh yung mapayat na flower crab. at maasim yung sauce nila.
yung mga alam kong masarap na chili crab eh medyo out of the way. kinda effort puntahan eh. pero if you are feeling adventurous, you can try House of Seafood sa Joo Chiat. or yung nasa ieatishootipost.sg na Eng Seng Restaurant.

happy eating!

i agree with no signboard. we love their geylang and esplanade branch. malaki ang crabs and generous ang servings lalo na sa cereal prawns. and i don't like jumbo as well, mas masarap sa no signboard IMO.

melben is another good place to eat chili crabs but more on bihon type yung specialty nila. and kailangan din cya dayuhin as the location is not in the city area.

Sis, madaming bad review about no signboard sa hungry go where site (Singapore food review portal). 

I have eaten sa no signboard and we paid 60SGD for one platter of buttered shrimp and steamed fish and 3 cups of rich, 2 cans of beer and 1 can of coke.  Also included in the bill is wet tissue and the boiled nuts and other mini appetizers.  If you want to eat pepper or chili crabs, sa chinatown ka nlang or sa makansutra. 

No signboard is very expensive, locals do not eat there.  Only tourists. 

im sorry but the reviews on hungry go where aren't really that accurate and nakakairita cya basahin to be honest kasi it reflects the pagiging reklamador to the max ng mga locals dito. tsaka normal sa mga restos here just like crystal jade and din tai fung na chargeable rin ang mga wipes, nuts, tea etc unlike dyan satin na libre lang naman cya and generally speaking, chili crab here is pricey naman talaga as the crabs are from sri lanka pa madalas. eating at chinatown for a chili crab is like finding a four leaf clover not unless you really know where to go there.

sa makansutra naman, ok lang mga satay etc but NOT chili crabs and the like, sorry. in fairness to makansutra mas makatarungan presyo ng pagkain nya kaysa sa lau pa sat.

[xtine]

We actually do not eat at no signboard as per our singaporean friend says Irivin'd better.  Have tried the chili crabs in that one of the restos in chinatown.  It was good as it somewhat tasted similar to Irvin's before (river valley).  I cannot recall the name but it was along the food street.

With makansutra, i think we were hungry when we ate there with our tourist friends and didn't notice if chili crabs were indeed spectacular. 

[xtine]

With the wet tissue and the nuts and appetizers, customers can decline and say "no need" so that it won't charged to their bill.  For wipes that costs SGD0.50 its okay but when in expensive restos like Din Tai Fung (best dimsum as it has won michelin stars) we opt to use our wet tissues and decline on the wipes so that they will not charge us for it.

[Grayce]

^^irvin's at clarke quay already moved to jalan leban/upper thomson. was able to try their salted egg crab, ok naman cya that's their specialty if im not mistaken.

re: din tai fung, sorry pero hindi rin ako masyado nasasarapan and it depends on the branch rin kung masarap yung xiao long pao nya. their xiao long pao at wisma atria branch super nadisappoint ako, ang kapal ng balat! their branch at HK (according to hubby) is wayyyy much better. the xiao long pao at paradise dynasty is so much better IMO.

[aruba]

mga sis, question lang... will be in SG sa Nov. 16-21. we will stay first 3days sa friend's house. remAining days sa hotel. ok lang ba sa Immigration ideclare sa bahay ng friend magsstay or kailangan may hotel booking? kailangan ba may letter of invitation pa from my friend? TIA!

[lengskiii]

Hi mga sis!

Pupunta kami ng SG this Friday! Saan ba maganda magpapalit ng money? Sa SG ba or dito sa Phils? If sa SG, saan maganda ang rates? Salamat!

Excited na ako!

[xtine]

Dito nalang kayo magpapalit.  What my visiting friends usually do is they exchange around 100usd each visitor in changi airport just to get by until tom as on the following day, i will bring them to mustafa to buy pasalubong and exchange usd to sgd.  Look for mustafa website for the foreign exchange. 

[Grayce]

^^do check lucky plaza. Atleast convenient puntahan since its at orchard area already. Madaming pwede pagpalitan dun you just need to look around to compare the rates

Re: mustafa, ingat sa pagbili ng food dyan or drinks. One time a friend went there tapos yung binili nilang softdrinks wala nang fizz pagbukas nila. They found out lang pagbalik na ng hotel

[xtine]

For food, we never buy in mustafa.  Its somewhat dirty and no decent place to eat but in tables outside the centre.  We'd go to city square mall if we're within the area.

IMO mustafa is ideal if exchanging huge amount of USD and PHP.  My friends would collectively exchange theirs in mustafa kasi medyo malaki ang diff kesa sa lucky plaza.

I once exchanged my USD in orchard for 1usd = 1.25 pero sa mustafa nasa 1usd = 1.27.  I regretted kasi 500 usd ang exchange ko.  I was just passing by mustafa to buy something when i noticed the exchange rate. 

People go to mustafa for pasalubong such as imported chocolates.  For toiletries and chocolates it has the widest range and cheapest pa. 

For the cheapest keychains and abubot, chinatown is my bet because Bugis village is a tourist trap.  Anything in bugis street you will find in Chinatown only cheaper.

[Grayce]

^agree with chinatown. Dami din mga trinkets dun na you wont see anywhere else and mura like those marble stamps wherein you can have your chinese name engraved

Re: mustafa, Even with toiletries sumasablay cya kaya better to double check everything before leaving. Mas ok pa mamili ng murang toiletries sa chinatown or sa venus sa toa payoh or ang mo kio.

[yapeegurl]

CH3, kami twice pa lang nag No Signboard. Nasarapan kami sa Chili Crab talaga. And sa lobster salad. Ito ang favorite namin dito. Pero mahina ang $200 for 3 adults.

[kayesl]

^ pia!! kamusta legoland? super enjoy ba si K?  nakapag-outlet pa ba kayo?  next month Hello Kitty naman kami ni ela.


mag-4yrs na kami dito sa SG pero never pa akong nakatapak sa loob ng Mustafa. LOL.  sa labas lang noon pero na-chicken out akong pumasok.  pag meron din kaming turistang kasama, i just take them to grocery stores. reason ko, gagastos lang para sadyain ang mustafa, eh nasa likod lang namin shop and save at sheng siong.  yung matitipid sa pasalubong eh gastos din sa pamasahe.
gustong gusto din namin chinatown. daming trinkets na mura pampasalubong. at maraming bakkwa shops na pede din ipasalubong at fave ng daughter ko.

[lengskiii]

Thanks mga sis for the replies! Makakatulong ito. May idea ba kayo kung ano yung weather ngayon sa Singapore? Ayon kasi sa mga weather sites maulan daw? Kinakabahan ako for our USS trip.

[yapeegurl]

^ate, ay grabe! Mas naenjoy niya ito than Disneyland! More on pang boys kasi ang rides. Car, airplane, train. Lahat iyan gusto ni kyle. Si Disneyland hindi siya nag aaya bumalik. Pero etong si Legoland bukang bibig til now! Ang sarap niyang ibalik doon. Sayang at hindi kami nagpapalit to anual pass. Same price lang pala ng day pass. Kainis!

Ako naman ate ang hindi madalas sa Chinatown. Paran MRT station lang ang nadadaanan ko pero hindi ako nakakalibot doon.

Sa Mustafa nakapunta na ako pero 2 years ago ata ang last. Madaling araw kami pumupunta para less you know.. haha

[Grayce]

^buti ka pa nakatapak ka na ng mustafa lol. ako never pa hahaha im scurrrrred of the smell! id rather eat at the nice indian restos around the area kaysa sa pumunta dun e wala naman akong agenda dun and after my friend's experience there e no reason talaga to go there and $200 for 3 pax sa no signboard? lakas nyo kumain! samin ang $200 5 tao na, then one time our bill went up to almost $400 pero 4 na crab ata ang inorder namin nun tapos mga 7-8 kami. lahat boys ako lang ang girl.

si chinatown from time to time we go there kasi naghohoard kami ng toiletries and minsan kitchen stuff na rin.

madami pa bang ginagawa sa legoland? or more than half open na?

^^maulan dito kasi monsoon season here. better to bring an umbrella when going here.

[yapeegurl]

^Madami pa ginagawa sa Legoland. In 2014 they will open the Legoland Hotel (gusto ko ito!). Marami pa din mga restaurant na soon to open. And sa theme park marami pa ongoing construction. Nevertheless, nag enjoy si K sobra!

[prettynvain]

where to buy ba yung I love SG na tshirts? yung cheap lang kasi mga pambigay lang daw ng mga kapatid ko sa prof at teacher nila kasi absent sila ng 4days dahil sa family trip to sg sa 23. eh marami-raming bibilhin nila for sure eh. kaya we need to find the cheap one lang. dati kasi may nabilhan ako pero maganda yung tela kaya mahal and along orchard ko lang nabili yun.

[xtine]

^Chinatown.  Merong mga 3 ata for SGD10.

[prettynvain]

^thanks sis! dun lang ba? kasi chinatown nila eh sa first day, baka maubusan agad ng budget sa ibang days..  mura na nga if 3 for sgd10. thanks!