Category: Singapore

At $2.50, ActiveSG is Singapore’s cheapest pay-per-use GYM!

With 19 ActiveSG gyms island-wide, it is easily accessible no matter where you live. To top the icing on the cake, when you sign up for a free ActiveSG membership, $100 in credit will be credited into your account upon verification. That equates to 40 free visits to the gym – isn’t this awesome?

You must be thinking, how does a $2.50 gym compare to others, it must be inferior in some way right? What I can tell you is that the gym is fully equipped and is not lacking in any way. The only drawback is that not all the 19 gyms have the same equipment. The gym we visited was the one at Bedok and here is how it looks!

Cardio Machines

They have the usual cardio machines such as the treadmill, elliptical trainer, exercise bikes and Stairmaster.

The most unique cardio machine goes to SpeedFit which is a curved self powered running treadmill. When I went on it, I did not expect it to be so uncontrollable. Every moment on this treadmill felt dangerous and exciting! It felt like I was going to lose my balance and fall off the machine at any time!

Strength Machines

They have various weight machines to strengthen your muscles! Get ready to make faces while you lift! 

My favorite strength machine is this rope pulling machine. It may seem like something that is easy and fun to do but it sure was tough!

Training accessories

Various weights are available and you can stack them till you are satisfied!

Dumbbells, kettlebells, exercise balls, bars and medicine balls(not in the pictures) are all readily available for you use.

Studio

Vent your frustrations on a punching bag.

Become a monkey!

Make your own waves!

Whether you are a gym junkie or newbie, ActiveSG gym will not disappoint you. While the 19 gyms do differ with what equipment they have, all are adequately stocked. Also what more can you ask for when the price per entry is so cheap at only $2.50!

Hours: Each gym has their own hours

Website: https://www.myactivesg.com/Facilities/Gyms

Price: $2.50 per entry, membership per month available

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Quality Western Food by Common Grill @ Hougang

Common Grill by Collins serves quality western food at relatively affordable prices. Situated at a coffee shop in Hougang, the stall even has its own cordoned off area just for the stall which makes you feel like you are eating at a restaurant.

The menu is beautifully put together and the information is compiled nicely so it’s easy to order. Step 1 – Protein, Step 2 – Carb, Step 3 – Sides and Step 4 – Sauce. 

We ordered the Garlic Bread at $3.50 as our extra side. The taste of the buttery garlic was strong and the french baguette was toasted nicely.

As usual, I always liked to try different things all at once. Thus I settled for the Mixed Grill at $15 which consisted of a sausage, chicken and pork. The sausage did not taste anything out of the ordinary. The pork was tender and juicy even though I thought it looked a little dry. Lastly, the chicken was grilled nicely and was rather flavorful.

My carb was sweet potato fries. They were heavenly! The outer coating was a little crispy, the insides were soft and the seasoning was on point. Very yummy!

My sides were eggplant and sunny side egg. The eggplant was oily and flavorful and the sunny side egg was a sunny side egg. Haha.

Lastly, I chose Italian herb as my sauce. It was ok but I wished I could have tried more of them.

Our second main was the Angus Sirloin at $15 . We requested for the cook to be medium. The beef was very tender and juicy even though it was more well done then what we would usually go for which was medium rare. The seasoning of the beef was also done perfectly where it was not overpowering.

The carb was spaghetti aglio olio. The seasoning was abundant but not too excessive where it was too salty or too spicy. It was good!

The sides were a sunny side Egg and a 62 °c Egg. Basically, it is a poached egg but cooked at that exact temperature. Just for interest, I did a quick google search on poached eggs and it seems like the number 63 popped up the most. The texture was pretty good, the white was soft and gooey and the yolk was runny.

The sauce chosen was the same as the above.

Overall, I liked the food at Common Grill – restaurant quality at an affordable price. Out of the two mains, I preferred the Angus Sirloin, my favorite carb was the Sweet Potato Fries and the best side for me was the eggplant. If you eat there, tell me your favorite dish in the comments section below!

Hours: 11am – 9:30pm

Website: www.collins.sg

Address: BLK 21 HOUGANG ST 51, #01-51 HOUGANG GREEN SHOPPING MALL, S(538719)

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Abang Gemuk serves yummy western food at Ang Mo Kio

Image credit: Abang Gemuk

Abang Gemuk opened on the 1st of October and when we visited it just 2 weeks after the opening, the coffee shop was packed with people waiting for their food! 

So many choices to choose from and at such an affordable price! After thinking for a long time we settled on trying Gemuk Grill which seems to be their signature dish and Black Pepper Chicken Chop. We had originally wanted to get the Half Chicken but unfortunately they did not have it that day.

We were told that the waiting time was 1.5 hours and it did come as a shock as we did see many tables waiting for their food but We didn’t know it would be this long. But since we were already there, we decided to wait.

Because we expected a 1.5 hours wait, it was an exciting moment when the food arrived within 45 mins.

Both dishes were pretty similar with the sauce and side dishes being the same. The only difference was that the Gemuk Grill had lamb and beef on top of the chicken. The sauce was thick and savory and the lamb and beef were tender to eat. But my favorite was the chicken! The skin was charred to perfection and we loved how the slight bitterness of the skin goes well with the sauce.

The sides were generous in portion. The fries were fried and seasoned well, the coleslaw was tasty and the bun was soft and fluffy.

Overall, the experience was a positive one. Yes the wait time was quite long but I’m sure this is just due to the store being relatively new, the food more than makes up for that. We would definitely visit again!

Hours: 11:30 am – 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm, closed on mondays

Website: https://www.facebook.com/abanggemukbyfattybombom/

Address: 446 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 #01-1653 Singapore 560446

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Seng Kee 119 Steam Fish Head @ Chinatown

Walking into Chinatown Complex, you will be greeted with a wide selection of hawker food. If you were already having a hard time choosing what to eat, it will still be a difficult choice to make even when you narrow it down to that specific dish. Take “Steam Fish Head” for instance, one of Chinatown Complex’s reputable dishes. Not only are there a few stalls selling fish heads but most of them are almost side by side.

Out of all the steam fish head stalls,  Seng Kee 119 Steam Fish Head  seems to stand out only because of their claims of being the “pioneer stall that originated the steamed fish head in hot sauce”. They also have newspaper articles on their signboards. With all this publicity and hype, we decided to try it for ourselves.

For $15, this is what you get – a plate with lots of bean sauce, lots of lard and of course, a very meaty fish head. The sauce was heavenly. It was salty and not too spicy, thick with a gravy-like texture and it had a lot of beans. The fish did have a lot of bones but it shouldn’t be that difficult to eat if you are careful. The meat had a light and silky texture and there was a lot of meat considering it is the head of a fish. Lastly, we loved how much lard they gave. However, if you really like lard and want more lard, you can’t request it – why!!!! 

Besides trying the fish head, we tried their oyster omelet as well. The omelet was crispy on the edges with a chewy center and the oysters tasted really fresh.

Our third dish was sambal kangkong with cuttlefish. The the sambal sauce was very delicious, it was a little on the sweet s

Our third dish was sambal kangkong with cuttlefish. The sambal sauce was very delicious, it was a little on the sweet side and it wasn’t too spicy. The cuttlefish pieces were given generously and they had a chewy texture which complimented the soft kangkong. 

We came here for the fish head and it did live up to its reputation. What surprised us was that the other dishes were equally as delicious. The next time you are in Chinatown, make sure to try  Seng Kee 119 Steam Fish Head!

Hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm. 4:30pm – 10:30pm

Address:  #02-190/200/207, 335 Smith St, Singapore 050335

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Hokkaido-ya @ Vivocity

Hokkaido-ya is managed and owned by  Japanese restaurant chain, Sushi Tei. The restaurant serves Hokkaido-inspired dishes mainly in three categories : donmono, noodles and salad. 

What makes this restaurant unique is the use of a kiosk to order and pay for food. While this method is not something new, it is not yet common in Singapore. The menu was categorized nicely, instructions given were clear and easy to follow and payment was brisk. It was easy for us to use but there were two older ladies roughly in their 50s or 60s who asked us for help. Maybe it would be helpful if a staff member could be on standby to help those who need it.

Aburi salmon mentai don – $10.99

We loved the generous use of mentaiko sauce in this dish with lightly grilled salmon and the pieces of cucumber provided a good contrast by providing a refreshing bite.

Aburi mentai bara chirashi don – $14.90

Same with the dish above, they were generou with the mentaiko sauce. I was impressed by the use of texture with the addition of tempura bits. The prawn and salmon tasted very fresh and the egg was light and fluffy.

We loved the decor of the place. The food was affordable given the quality. However, we just wished that the portions were bigger!! Perhaps, they could give options of small, medium or large sizes, we wouldn’t mind paying more to get more food.

If you’re passing through Vivocity, do stop by Hokkaido-ya! Have a go at ordering food from a machine!

Hours: 11:30am – 10pm

Website: https://www.facebook.com/hokkaidoyasg/

Contact: 6376 8387

Address: 1 HarbourFront Walk, #02-153 VivoCity, Singapore 098585

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