salad

there are 2 november birthdays among our group of close RI friends.

Unagi donburi set meal for 2 people for $49.90

one of us bought a groupon deal & arranged a 8pax lunch at santaro by gion at amara hotel tangjong pagar on 18.11.2016. ^^

he also arranged the cake & gifts. 🙂

salad

we took the unagi don set – S$49.90 for 2pax.

we were lucky today we had a private room by ourselves.

first was a refreshing salad. 🙂 good.

potato salad

& a potato salad with tuna rillette. ok.

chawanmushi

also a chawanmushi.

chawanmushi

chawanmushi was competent. but it was plain not crabmeat or ikura so just dashi for flavours. texture was good, nothing special though.

adegashi tofu

adegashi tofu likewise. not too bad

adegashi tofu

crispy tofu soft inside, nice sauce, garnished with radish, scallions & nori (seaweed).

sashimi moriawase

sashimi moriawase was ok – tuna, salmon, hotate, atlantic surf clam. quite decent.

tempura

tempura was competent. crispy. my second best dish for this lunch.

tempura

prawns & veg. i would say about ichiban boshi standard, not as good as sun with moon.

sishamo

sishamo karaage.

sishamo

quite ok. fresh fish. good batter. sishamo just not my favourite.

tori tonkatsu

the best dish for me was the tori katsu.

tori tonkatsu

the plate was shared by 2pax.

chicken cutlet was tasty, crispy. chicken was tender.

unagi don

unagi don was so so.

unagi don

unagi was pretty ok. the don (rice) though was quite poor.

not sushi vinegared rice, plain rice & no tasty sauce.

yogurt

yogurt dessert not much to say i guess.

food spread & quantity was pretty good, many dishes.

food standard & taste quite mediocre. with the groupon promotion, pax lunch was just S$25nett. we paid S$3++ pax for the ocha but i guess you can don’t order tea.

birthday cake from flor patissierie

service was quite good. we had a room by ourselves, and the servers took photos for us & also brought the cake & serving plates etc.

we had a good time among close friends. for one, the birthday gift was 2 bottles of wine. for the other, we decided to get him some electronic stuff, so the organiser was going to the IT show the following week to get something.

as always, a great time with old buddies…this time with the added entertainment of musing over the biggest con in american history.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

bakuteh

my OPS primary school classmate bought 4pax lunch at tuan yuan bakuteh today on 23.11.2016. ^^

pu er tea 普洱茶 S$6

we had a pot of pu er tea 普洱茶. maybe 铁观音still the more common tea for bakuteh if i am dining with my sis. i am ok with pu er tea 普洱茶 myself, like in any chinese restaurant.

Tuan Yuan 团缘 bakuteh restaurant

Tuan Yuan 团缘 signifies reunion & fate, the philosophy of the owner mr gwee song how who owns ya hua bakuteh. this one is a new venture by his children. 🙂

service buzzer

they have the service buzzer.

& according to sethlui.com, they also have a mobile app “TuanYuan” on appstore & playstore, where you can order in advance. i am yet to try, certainly good service oriented philosophy & innovations.

bakuteh

what stood out was the soup.

really tasty, the natural meat sweetness!

this one not so peppery which i like also. apparently you can order 3 different pepper level for the soup on the mobile app!

the prime ribs were good too. texture & bite just right, not so soft like falling apart.

i still prefer the texture of the large prime rib at rong cheng though. i have not been there for a while so not sure how it is now.

kidney

the kidney soup was good.

tasty kidney just the right doneness & texture. 🙂

liver

liver soup was good too.

pig trotters

pig trotters was i guess competent. but not among the best i had. will try again next time when i go.

chye sim

the chye sim was a bit off.

a bit “siap”, not so crunchy. it was blanched, maybe slightly over.

side dishes

the sides were quite standard – taukee or knots, chye buay & peanuts.

i forgot to take photo but what deserved a special mention was the you tiao 油条.

i never take you tiao 油条 at bkt. they are invariably precut, left on bowls ready to serve & oily, dry & not crispy.

these ones here the boss mr gwee told us they made themselves, & truly it was not oily, very crispy & yet fluffy.

one of the best you tiao 油条, better even than many market specialised you tiao 油条stalls.

tang yuan 汤圆 － 三代同堂

the boss offered us complimentary tang yuan 汤圆 mochi dumpling dessert. it was supposed to signify 3 generations together 三代同堂, with the smaller & differently coloured mochi dumplings.

ok for me, nothing special. i don’t think it was better than the frozen mochi dumplings i had from giant.

another thing, the service at tuan yuan was really superb!

the son, his wife all came to chat with us.

the owner mr gwee himself came couple times, & to offer the free mochi dumplings.

& the servers kept offering to top up the soup & also top up the tea.

prices here not cheap. my OPS friend paid. i didn’t ask how much, but i estimate around S$65 for 4pax???

but if food & service are good, i will go back & i guess most folks do too.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TUAN YUAN

lor arh – braised duck 

had a S$20 birthday voucher to use at guild house.

went with sis for the teochew muay buffet at cafe on the ridge at jent ridge guild house on 22.11.2016. ^^

kent ridge guild house

krgh ambience is pretty ok for a cafe.

teochew muay buffet – kent ridge guild house 

they made use of the covered outdoor area for the teochew muay buffet display.

lor arh – braised duck station 

first thing i go for was the lor arh – braised duck! 🙂

braised duck, kong bak, pig skin 

it was pretty good. good texture & flavour, not especially “pang” so not better than my own braised duck la…

kong bak, pig skin, taupok 

kong bak, pig skin & taupok all good. basically texture was great & the same braising sauce. 🙂

teochew muay buffet items 

there were quite a good spread of buffet items.

abve photo you have pig trotters, ngoh hiang, steamed pork, otah, chicken feet, taukee chap chai.

stemed minced pork & otah 

steamed minced prok & otah ok, average.

teochew muay buffet items 

chicken feet, taukee chap chai good. pig trotters quite good. ngoh hiang pretty ok.

teochew muay buffet items 

the prawns were good. normally i wouldn’t go much for prawns in buffet but these ones were tasty. 🙂

chicken & peppers passable but can skip.

fish can skip also.

egg quite good.

teochew muay buffet items 

sis like all the side dishes.

they were all good actually – peanuts, gluten, luncheon meat, fermented beancurd, salted egg, & the best of all the pickled lettuce.

bringing back our childhood days! ^^

chilled sotong, marinated raw cockles, pig trotters 

there was also chilled sotong, & marinated raw cockles.

chilled sotong 

chilled sotong was ok, quite good actually especially with the “kek you”桔油, some tangaine sauce.

marinated raw cockles 

the raw cockles were really nice. maybe i should have taken some more, but nowadays a bit wary.

pig trotters 

we had another serving of pig trotters.

popiah 

& tried/shared the popiah. it was ok but cannot c/w my friend’s wife’s popiah la…

nonya dessert 

i had just a little to try, 2 tbsp. quite ok.

fruits 

fruits were very sweet, both water melon & rock melon.

rock melon especially had that special fragrant flavour. very good!

talam cendol & kueh salat

i had 1/2 of each of the talam cendol & kueh salat also. pretty ok!

the buffet was S$14.90+pax, no service charge but got GST.

so about S$32 for 2pax. just S$12 after the S$20 voucher.

anyway the buffet is really pretty good for S$16nett pax.

there are so many very expensive & so so teochew muay places & the plate of duck etc alone would cost S$15. & here in nice cafe environment & can take more if desired.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cafe on the Ridge @ Kent Rudge Guild House

Address:

9 Kent Ridge Dr, Singapore 119241

Contact:

zi char dishes

my OPS primary school classmate bought 8pax dinner at banana leaf seafood this evening on 21.11.2016. ^^

the host came kind of late, so we were at liberty to order the food. 🙂

banana leaf seafood bbq stall @ kopitiam blk 450 clementi ave 3

banana leaf seafood bbq stall @ kopitiam blk 450 clementi ave 3

banana leaf seafood bbq stall is located at kopitiam blk 450 clementi ave 3.

according to one friend, the stall selling pig trotters also good.

no photography!!!

there was a sign – no photography!!!

though we were taking photos with impunity throughout dinner.

no outside food understandable…anyhow we also took some ming ang pastry after dinner…

satay

the satay was pretty good here also.

satay

satay was tasty. chicken satay was tender. beef/mutton satay ok, just slightly tough.

satay 

another friend paid separately for satay, she said about $15 for 20 satays & 2 ketupat. 🙂

otah

we ordered prawn & fish otah.

otah

otah was ok for me. some friends said not so good.

cannot really c/w the thick chunky otah at restaurants, & some cheaper burnt leaf otah also very good, but otherwise ok for me.

lala – little neck clams

lala to me was non-descript.

lala – little neck clams

sauce not anything, not spicy no specia flavours (like curry leaves)…clams not succulent.

my own manila clams with curry leaves

no comparison with my own manila clams leh…..

har jeon gai – prawn paste chicken

some friends liked the har jeon gai – prawn paste chicken here.

for me it was quite ordinary. not great.

fried kang kong

fried kang kong was ok.

thai kailan

thai kailan quite ok too.

chilli bbq sotong

the bbq sotong so so for me. maybe it was just chilli sotong & baked in the leaf.

no bbq flavours.

chilli bbq stingray

the bbq stingray was excellent!

chilli bbq stingray

very tasty, tender, juicy.

and chilli very good & great complements to the bbq fish.

dinner for 8pax, 7 dishes was S$112. pretty ok…

ming ann pastry from JB

ming ann pastry from JB

ming ann egg tart

a friend brought some ming ang pastry & egg tarts from JB…we had that after dinner…

i guess as long as you eat your fair share of food purchase at the kopitiam, they let you consume outside food.

wimi coconut ice cream dessert

after dinner a friend suggested we have the wimi ice cream dessert.

coconut ice cream dessert – S$5

the $5 serving came with a choice of 2 ice creams, plus 3 toppings, all served in a coconut & also a free coconut water drink.

i didn’t try it.

it looks pretty look for a $5 dessert, nice combo.

a pleasant evening with old friends of 51years…great bonding..

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

#1 uni ikura on king crab + botan ebi with corn veloute 

wife bought 3pax dinner at hachi this evening on 20.11.2016. ^^

never fail to have the best kaiseki, best dinner experience here….we had so many best here. 🙂

kaiseki menu 

for us this place is better than or equal to most of the ryokan kaiseki we had in japan.

really excellent stuff & always thrill the palate, everytime la….

#1 uni ikura on king crab + botan ebi with corn veloute 

the sensai 前菜came with 2 delicacies.

#1 uni ikura on king crab 

a generous serving on uni & ikura atop a tarabagani (king crab) with apple vinegar jelly.

uni superb & ikura was like my daughter said – taste of the sea.

strangely though i though the king crab wasn’t that sweet, or not as sweet as i expected (like the lobster was). wife & daughter thought it was great, so maybe just me.

#1 botan ebi with corn veloute 

the botan ebi was wonderful, as expected.

the corn veloute felt more like a chawanmushi than a soup, very nice la!

#2 uni isobe age 

the uni isobe age was very good this evening.

excellent isobe age (a seaweed flavoured fritter) to complement the very sweet & fresh uni.

on a bed of edamame mousse.

#2 uni isobe age + kinoko mushroom consomme 

there was a kinoko mushroom consomme, but really that was non-descript.

not that it was not good or tasty. but it was ordinary by comparison.

jaan’s amuse bouche 2 – cepe mushroom tea 

how i miss jaan…& the “out-of-this-world” cepe mushroom tea!

#3 canadian oyster with ponzu jelly 

the large canadian oyster, quite a permanent fixture in both lunch & dinner kaiseki.

always good, plump & great combined with the ponzu jelly.

#3 canadian oyster with ponzu jelly 

daughter & i both commented that the oyster this evening not as sweet as what we had previously. still excellent la… 🙂

#4 sashimi moriawase 

we had a great chef’s selection of sashimi.

though i wouldn’t mind if we had some shell fish like akagai, hotate, or some uni or botan ebi…haha! can always be better….

#4 sashimi moriawase

every fish was very sweet – bonito, chutoro, kampachi, hirame, a grouper (tai??), & kinmedai.

all wonderful!

a hirame millefeuille dish (complimentary)

we were served a complimentary dish – don’t see it in the menu la..

the server saod layer hirame with nori (seaweed)..

a hirame millefeuille dish (complimentary)

don’t see the millefeuille layers here, just hirame stacked together – 4 slices..

this hirame (flounder) very sweet & no residue…usually hirame has residue..

there was some sauce…the entire dish very tasty..

#5 grilled lobster done to perfection 

the lightly grilled lobster was fantastic!

so sweet, so tasty, perfection la!

ash & elm’s superb grilled lobster with foam 

the lobster was as good as the superb grilled lobster at ash & elm’s 100gourmet dinner on 26.8.2016. ^^

#5 grilled lobster done to perfection

& the serving tray!

never seen one so beautiful! the maple were encased in glass, the lobster & the tiny fish fritters displayed on top! 🙂

some tiny fish fritters 

very nice tiny fish fritters to go with the lobster.

#6 truffle miso cod + A5 ohmi wagyu 

wife doesn’t take saba. the chef knows well so served her a truffle miso cod. quite excellent!

#6 pacific saury (saba) 

daughter & i had our saba.

it was very very good! just could not match the cod la…

#6 A5 ohmi wagyu 

& the A5 ohmi wagyu was just resplendent la! the bestest!

#6 pacific saury (saba)+ A5 ohmi wagyu

was having a conversation with the young chef, a friendly young man, came over from the hachi izakaya side we were yet to try.

he was talking about A6, A7, A8 wagyu that are only available in japan.

not sure he is right though. never heard of A6, A7, A8 wagyu. always thought A5 was the highest grade. couldn’t find anything on google. can be though that they are in japanese & google only turns out overseas info which only list A5 as highest grade.

#7 uni + hotate + chutoro sushi

wife got her hotate sushi.

chutoro + saba + uni sushi

daughter & i had saba sushi, along with uni & chutoro.

chutoro + saba + uni sushi 

they were all just so good la………

#8 lemon jelly with kuromame + black sesame ice cream

for dessert, we had the lemon jelly with kuromame. japanese sweetened black beans always so nice, & perfect with the jelly.

lemon jelly with kuromame + black sesame ice cream

the black sesame in a macha cone also very nice.

this a place we enjoy & will come back repeatedly.

though dinner kaiseki is expensive c/w with the excellent value lunch kaiseki, it was very good so well worth the price.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ngoh hiang 

met 2 friends to discuss some things.

we met at toa payoh lor 8 food centre 11.30am on 21.11.2016. ^^

sin sin prawn crackers 

my friend decided to buy ngoh hiang from sin sin prawn crackers.

ngoh hiang 

they had a good spread very neatly laid out.

bee hoon

noodles was plain, and went quit well with the ngoh hiang + chilli.

ngoh hiang 

chilli was kind of sour, but i am pretty ok with it. in fact i had a second plate of chilli.

ngoh hiang was pretty good. quite many items (6 maybe?) for S$13.

i would think though that the ngoh hiang at kim san keng junction 8 locality was better in presentation, chilli & also the food items.

*******

but for me, the indian rojak at ayer rajah food centre was the best, “trumped” all these la… lol! ^^

four seasons cendol 

after that 2 of us had four seasons cendol.

the other friend opted for four seasons cheng tng. same owners but different stalls.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sin Sin Prawn Crackers @ Toa Payoh Lor 8 FC

ADDRESS

#01-46 Blk 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Market & Food Centre, 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, 310210

OPENING HOURS

Daily: 11:00 – 15:00

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

went to mei chin road food centre in the morning on 17.11.2016.

wanted to have mmepok tar at xin lu (新路) fishball noodles. did not have that for a while.

but it was closed. though today is thursday, not monday.

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

saw this hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 opposite. have not tried it before so gave it a try la…

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

it was good. price was good too.

i had 5 pieces for S$2. but my veg was S$0.60, & the cuttlefish, a humongous piece, was S$1.50, so total S$4.10. they wrote there small $0.60, medium S$1, large $1.50.

i was ok with it la.

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

cilli & sweet sauce were all good.

i had a pig skin, a teochew fish cake, a taupok, a fried dumpling & a green chilli – 5 pieces.

unlike the ytf stall at kopitiam @ SGH, the fish meat in the taupok & chilli was generous, not meagre.

i like all of them.

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

soup was tasty too, with some complimentary taukee & seaweed.

don’t eat ytf much but this a stall i like. will come back again.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

Address:

#02-18 MEI CHIN ROAD MARKET, 159 MEI CHIN ROAD, 140159

cali wings

not sure how i ended up with 2 groupons for cafe cali.

Groupon S$15.90 3-course meal for cafe cali

maybe itchy fingers & press wrongly??

anyway, found out it is expiring on 20.11.2016.

luckily able to get my sis to come for lunch on 19.11.2016. ^^

cafe cali @ park avenue rochester

i parked across the street from park avenue rochester hotel.

parking still S$0.50 for 1/2 hr, not bad la…

restaurant seating ambience not so great, like a cheap place, but cheap ok la…as long as good. lol! 🙂

cali wings

the other choices did not attract us.

so we ordered 2 cali wings for appetizer. good choice!

presentation was restaurant standard.

the wings also restaurant standard, better than har jeon gai in most of the zi char places.

salad quite nice too, refreshing, and a bit of bearnaise? went pretty well with the wings too.

striploin steak

for the mains, i had wanted to try both the steak & the wagyu burger.

sis thought we should order another dish that is not beef, so we picked pan-fried salmon.

this striploin medium rare standard better than i expected.

i was thinking like coffeeshop or food court or even aston’s, but this was good restaurant standard.

striploin steak

not sure what steak?

not the very tasty wagyu steak of course, but it was sweet.

striploin steak

and tender enuf. some tougher parts & mostly no residue.

not a top steak, but not lousy steak also, and done well la! 🙂

pan-seared salmon

the pan-seared salmon also restaurant standard, both in presentation, taste & treatment.

pan-seared salmon

crispy skin, a good steak, a good potato mash, sauce, very competent la!

pan-seared salmon

moist, good standard. just salmon steak not my favourite la,,,

vanilla ice cream

ice cream, not much to say.

x’mas decor at cali cafe

cafe entrance was in disarray!

doing x’mas decor during business hours while guests were entering & leaving?

service was polite ok but not enthused, not forthcoming nor particularly helpful.

they don’t serve plain water, only bottled water, not a good idea in my opinion but that is the restaurant’s prerogative. seems strange for the market positioning, which is basically cafe, though the food was pretty good by cafe standards.

for S$15.90 nett, i guess the groupon deal was pretty good for this standard of food la…

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++