Expensive Family Ala carte Dinner @ Chui Huay Lim Restaurant on 19Jan2014

1522085_10152141967069494_1407531500_n

teochew cold crab

had an expensive very average food at chui huay lim on 19.1.2014.

i did a family dinner there with my brother & sister & ordered ala carte as i had jumbo$ expiring in jan2014, better redeem. 🙂

the the prices gone up. roast suckling pig was S$168, now S$198! cold crab was S$28, now S$30. 1/2duck & 1 whole puning chicken were S$28 now S$32. pork trotter jelly & hae chor were S$8, now S$10.

teochew cold crab

teochew cold crab

cold crab was the best, bursting with roe & meat filled the whole shell. 🙂

ter kar tan (pig trotter jelly)

ter kar tan (pig trotter jelly)

ter kar tan (pig trotter jelly) was good too. 🙂

roast suckling pig

roast suckling pig

crackling skin of the roast suckling pig was good . but the meat was overcooked & tough!

lor arh (soy sauce duck)

lor arh (soy sauce duck)

the 1/2 lor arh (soy sauce duck) was good but no better than muliangzai liang kee, and imperial treasure teochew restaurant was simply superior in comparison, and i think my own lor arh also more flavourful.

pining chicken

pining chicken

puning chicken was really poor, and i ordered 1 whole chicken as we had 11pax! waste of money, any chicken rice stall would offer better chicken. my wife said my own homecooked chicken was better!

spinach tofu with shimeji mushrooms

spinach tofu with shimeji mushrooms

tecohew  dried scallop chinese cabbage dish

tecohew dried scallop chinese cabbage dish

teochew cha kuay teow

teochew cha kuay teow

the teochew mixed vegetables with dried scallops & the broccoli spinach tofu with shimeji mushrooms were good, and the teochew plain char kuay teow with chye poh was super, very good wok hae! there were 2 vegetarians among us by practice.they didn’t take the scallop but were ok with & enjoyed the dish. 🙂

i did not order any fish & prawns as they were very expensive. red garoupa was S$11/100g & tread fin tail was S$8/100g. i think most restaurants would do garoupa at S$8/100g or S$9/100g!

overall, i thought chui huay lim had turned very expensive for very average food. much better to do lee kui (ah hoi), muliangzai liang kee & swa gardens etc which have comparable food at lower prices. i still have jumbo$ though but will probably go to jumbo outlets rather than chui huay lim.

c.h.e.f andy

Advertisement

Good Quality Lunch Kaiseki @ Hachi on 17Jan2014

kobachi (amuse bouche)

kobachi (amuse bouche)

had a good quality lunch omakase at hachi with my wife on 17.1.2014. see also the excellent dinner omakase on 9.11.2013. 🙂

omakase is like a chef’s table, no menu but usually follows the course preparations for kaiseki. the chef selects the “freshest” ingredients of the day, checks whether you have dietary restrictions & supposedly dishes out an excellent meal to you…well they usually do..

we ordered the S$68pax lunch omakase & the S$88pax ohmi wagyu omakase.

#1 we had a very good amuse bouche of tofu toped with ikura & yuzu jelly.

sensai platter

sensai platter

sashimi moriawase (shima aji, tai, hamachi)

sashimi moriawase (shima aji, tai, hamachi)

#2 next we had a sensai (前菜) dish = tofu, sweet black beans, tasty egg plant, some vegetables & nice barley miso.

#3 a sashimi platter of shim aji, tai & hamachi followed. they were sweet & fresh, but not comparable with the sashimi in the superb kuriya dining lunch kaiseki we had on 16.11.2013.

miso soup with mochi & chicken

miso soup with mochi & chicken

7746_10152137194219494_1203201074_n 1016149_10152137194269494_565799320_n

tempura

tempura

gohan (rice) set

gohan (rice) set

my wife took the lunch omakase.

#4 a tasty miso flavourful & intense was served, with chicken & kochi.

#5 then came a large oyster sashimi (S$12 ala carte). this was similar to what we had for the dinner omakase & it was very good. 🙂

#6 next was tempura, good quality batter, and #7 the gohan set.

ohmi wagyu tataki

ohmi wagyu tataki

shabu ohmi wagyu

shabu ohmi wagyu

shabu ohmi wagyu

shabu ohmi wagyu

grilled ohmi wagyu

grilled ohmi wagyu

grilled ohmi wagyu

grilled ohmi wagyu

wagyu gohan set

wagyu gohan set

1522096_10152137194579494_1368668396_n 1601256_10152137194639494_1848309521_n

for my ohmi wavy omakase, i had #4 ohmi wagyu tataki. it was good, very sweet & tasty.

#5 i liked the shabu ohmi wagyu as well. its like the korean bulgogi or gyudon sliced beef but good quality & w/o the overpowering teriyaki sauce. 🙂

#6 there was also the grilled ohmi wagyu steak. the wagyu was not very marbled, but still very enjoyable & my wife preferred less marbled wagyu.

#7 the gohan set had wagyu tips, small chopped pieces. a very nice rice indeed. i though maybe i could try this dish at home actually to complete a good meal. 🙂

kuro goma (black sesame) ice cream

kuro goma (black sesame) ice cream

#8 we had the black sesame ice cream – must say i was getting tired of this or the macha ice cream & would have preferred yuzu flavour instead. 🙂

i would still rate kuriya dining’s S$58 kaiseki lunch over hachi’s S$68 omakase but not by much really, so i would go back for both. if one has a fix for ohmi wagyu i guess the wagyu omakase (which i do) is an excellent choice, otherwise the S$20 upgrade to tokusen sashimi at kuriya dining would be the one i go for.

c.h.e.f andy