ice shavings-cendol & soursop

after our scrumptious 4pax lunch at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) at smith street, we decided walk over to chinatown point for dessert.

ice shavings-cendol & soursop

we settled down at Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 at basement 2.

Egg Pudding (with Ginger)=炖鸡蛋(姜汁)

one friend wanted to try the egg pudding (with ginger)=炖鸡蛋(姜汁).

i don’t remember eating this before. it was pretty good for trying. though after i took the ice shavings, i didn’t really have any urge to take any more.

ice shavings-cendol & soursop

we ordered 2 ice shavings – cendol & soursop.

they were both excellent, but we were partial to the cendol.

soursop was very good, though it was like S$5.50++, like 3x times the price at ice kachang stalls at hawker centres.

ice shavings-cendol

the cendol was excellent. we were provided a bottle of gula melaka. it was very fragrant, tasty & intense. the ice shaving had taste of thick coconut milk, and the red beans, jelly, atap chee (palm fruits) were provided on the side. a friend paid, i think it should come to S$17.

it was expensive, but no more than black balls, or drinking coffee at a cafe. & it was very enjoyable.

c.h.e.f andy

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Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品

6 scrumptious dishes

my OPS buddy bought a really scrumptious 4pax lunch today at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) at 23 smith street on 21.1.2017. ^^

my friend ordered 6 delectable dishes. i not sure which of them, except for the dumplings, were dongbei cuisine東北菜. they seemed to be mostly sichuan cuisine.. lol! 🙂

fried julienned potato 土豆丝

fried julienned potato 土豆丝, a very popular sichuan dish.

today we tried the sour, spicy taste.

for me the normal taste is better, but texture of this dish is always excellent, very crunchy, not soft not deepfried. the slight sour taste was also quite good, though not the taste i am used to for this dish. 🙂

saliva chicken 口水鸡

the saliva chicken 口水鸡 was very good.

crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao’s spicy chicken 口水鸡

i think better than the one i usually had at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

saliva chicken 口水鸡

chicken was very sweet & tender, and the mala sauce very fragrant, making the dish really saliva inducing, even as i think about it while typing this post. haha! ^^

claypot ribbon fish

there was this new dish claypot ribbon fish. both my friend & i wanted to try.

the soup was excellent, a bit oily but very very tasty. one friend picked this as his best dish for this lunch.

claypot ribbon fish

i was considering the (braised ribbon fish with pork rib dish) on the menu vs this one.

because it’s a tasty soup more than a braising sauce, the fish itself is a nicely fried sweet fresh fish but not that tasty. both my friend & i added the sauce from the braised big intestine & that made the fish more tasty.

there were also some nice 凉粉 bean sticks in the soup.

mala poached sliced fish 水煮鱼

the mala poached sliced fish 水煮鱼 is a favourite dish of mine.

one friend correctly pointed out that the fish itself (felt like sutchi overcooked) was too soft in texture. but the friend who bought lunch & i were both enjoying this dish. the key about mala 麻辣 for me is it made the dish very “pang”, fragrant 香. & the wonderful flavours came out the more you take the dish, fish vegetables, bean curd skin & all.

braised big intestines

the best dish for this lunch for me was the braised big intestines.

this dish was so very scrumptious. intestine texture was perfect, a very savoury taste & wonderful tasty sauce & vegetables.

dumplings

the dumplings were very ok.

we tried the sour veg 酸菜 version. the server said this酸菜different form the 酸菜鱼, which uses a salted veg.

6 scrumptious dishes

this was a very enjoyable lunch for me, overeat for sure, but i liked every dish.

lunch came to S$71nett for 6 dishes for 4pax. there is no GST & the restaurant gave my friend 10% discounts so no service charge.

i would be quite happy to pay S$71+ for this lunch. i am sure to come back here again!

c.h.e.f andy

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东北胖妈春饼店Northeast Mom Spring Pancake 

egg tarts

daughter bought egg tarts from tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 at hollandv this morning on 19.1.2017. ^^

she went at 10am+ on a thursday, and no queue. 🙂

tai cheung pastry 泰昌饼家

tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 is a popular pastry chain in hong kong selling the popular egg tarts since 1954, which the former hong kong governor, chris patten, famously proclaimed “the best in the world”…lol!^^

currently it comes under the tao heung group, one of the mid-price restaurant groups i frequent in hong kong.

egg tarts

following was what i recorded on my blog for a hong kong trip in 2013–

• we came down from the escalator at Lyndhurst Terrace & found the famous Tai Cheung egg tart shop, apparently a Chris Patten favourite. 🙂 we each took a HK$3.50 egg tart each. it was good. egg tart not something I particularly fancied or craved for but I enjoyed it all the same. 🙂

i tried it again at the outlet next to the trickeye mesuem at victoria peak just before a very pleasant peak circle walk in our jan 2016 trip & recorded –

• 1 level down there was tai cheong 泰昌饼家, a brand of tao heung group. this the one where the stall at lyndhurst terrace the last british governor chris patten claimed had the best egg tarts in hong kong. trust the guy to know what is a good egg tart? we tried the egg tart. i have done this more than once at tai cheong 泰昌饼家 including the one at lyndhurst terrace but it was still so-so for me, a little too sweet & nothing c/w the burnt portuguese egg tart.

So basically i am not a fan la…

& c/w portuguese egg tarts, like natas (portuguese egg tarts) at pasteis de belem in lisbon, i think the latter is better la…

anyway today there was no natas to compare.  i put one egg tart to the tabletop oven & baked for 3mins. it was very good actually, the pastry was crispy & flaky & tasted good, and the custard was not too sweet. a bit better than i expected as i was not expecting to like it a lot for a start. so i think pretty ok. just that i wouldn’t take too many, like 1 or max 2.

& c/w my friends pineapple tarts & almond cookies, my friend’s a lot more satisfying for me la…i have been eating them everyday!

c.h.e.f andy

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tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 at hollandv

thai style fish head S$25

family decided to go out for 4pax dinner.

didn’t want to venture far. went to forture restaurant at old holland road to enjoy their thai style fish head this evening on 17.1.2017. ^^

thai style fish head S$25

we have been taking the thai style fish head curry for donkey years, from the time it was S$15 to now S$25 for the same dish.

the most recent time we enjoyed the wonderful thai style curry fish head here was on 12.9.2016. ^^

now fish head curry dishes mostly S$25 anyway & this one is “them” good la! 🙂

fish head very fresh, large & meaty for 1/2 fish head, lots of vegetables & perfect tangy, tasty thai styled curry. so far i think this is the best curry fish head i/we had.

hotplate tofu S$10

we ordered the hotplate tofu.

i don’t remember taking this dish here before but daughter had.

it was good, tasty, nicely done egg tofu, well infused with the gravy & some prawns. very good! this dish i will order again.

cuttlefish kang kong S$10

also ordered the cuttlefish kang kong.

this dish only the sauce a bit not our favourite, a bit sweet & gluey. otherwise the cuttlefish was good & so was the kang kong.

S$49.50nett for 4 dishes inc fish head for 4pax

seafood horfun S$4

we ended off with a small horfun. most of us low carbs so it was quite enough.

good wok hae this evening. this dish can be inconsistent. for this evening it was good.

dinner for 4 dishes 4pax including S$25 fish head was S$49.50. pretty good. this like a go to place for us, almost like homecooked comfort food.

c.h.e.f andy

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Forture Seafood

Address:

radish pastry 

3 of us OPS friends decided to have afternoon snack at paradise dynasty at OneKM mall on 17.1.2017. ^^

they have 50% off dumsum & ramen & desserts 3pm to 5.15pm. 🙂

peanuts & chestnut appetizer

the appetizer here, peanuts & chestnuts, quite nice so we took it.

i think it’s about $2 & chinese tea like S$1.50pax.

radish pastry 

we ordered 3 dimsum.

the radish pastry was nice. very competent, fluffy pastry, sweet, tasty radish fillings.

xioalongbao 小笼包 

xioalongbao 小笼包 here average. quite ok but other places like crystal jade, imperial treasures etc are better.

skin was ok, thin & held up not breaking easily, the soup was sweet but not as tasty as other places.

even the soup in the 生煎包 at 祥源记xiang yuan ji (405 jln besar on 1.12.2016) were much sweeter, tastier.

spicy dumplings 抄手 

the spicy dumplings 抄手 here very good, the slight mala 麻辣sauce, smooth, great tasting dumplings.

chashu ramen 

the braised pork belly lamian, was quite good, but like my friend said, a long distant behind a good japanese chashumen. the pork belly texture, taste very different, far from a good chashumen standard.

bean paste pancake 豆沙饼 

one friend ordered the bean paste pancake 豆沙饼.

not my favourite dessert, but they do it very well here, crispy skin, not too sweet red bean paste, very good really…

3 dimsum + ramen + dessert + tea & appetiser all added up to S$28…as i said previously one of the best value-for-money dimsum (12.8.2016)!

cendol @ old town white coffee

after the dimsum tea session, we adjourned to old town white coffee for cendol, more like no other place to go for cendol around here (but later we found ther’s another one incik tan or something claiming penang food…we should try that next time).

cendol @ old town white coffee – S$3.90

this S$3.90 ok only not really good.

it maybe thicker than some hawker centres, but zero match to four seasons at toa payoh lor 8.

the gula melaka was totally inferior, looked thick but did not have the “pang” intense flavours, coconut milk too. i think this place 2 times more than enough for me.

c.h.e.f andy

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chefs appetizer platter

wife & i had lunch with my niece & her hubby at joie by dozo today on 15.1.2017. ^^

they brought along their son, now 15months old. such a cute baby, and so well behaved. a full 2hr+ lunch & he did not cry & scream. and was enjoying every dish in the 6-course set lunch. haha! ^^

first time 3 of us in this restaurant. only my niece had been here with friends before.

my family have frequented dozo since early 2000. my eldest daughter had her 21st birthday lunch party at dozo. i was quite surprised to see yan the proprietor again in such a long while since dozo times, and he was first to recognize me (or perhaps he saw my reservation name..haha!).

we sat in a room with view of the roofttop garden outside

we got seated in a room looking out on the rooftop garden.

lemon sorbet palate cleanser

had a lemon sorbet drink to get us started. bringing back good memories of dozo.

the menu at joie, as at dozo, is the familiar 6-course set lunch (& 7-course set dinner).

we started with the chef’s appetizer platter (top photo).

very nice indeed. the “cured salmon” centrepiece very interesting texture. wife thought it was like carrot juice with some gelatine, later confirmed by yan that it was konnyaku, which has gel properties. the cracker was nice & so was the raspberry thing which burst in your mouth!

button mushrooms gratin

server said the button mushrooms gratin was the favourite dish here. wife & i ordered that.

button mushrooms gratin

served like escargot dish, it was quite excellent. the mozzarella gratin was great.

bailing mushroom paper hotpot

niece got the bailing mushroom hotpot. looked nice, i probably try that next time.

charcoal tempura – yam, eggplant, banana, apple with japanese goma dressing

niece’s hubby took the charcoal tempura.

i tried a small portion. it was quite nice, better than it looked & i expected, especially with the japanese goma (sesame) sauce.

infusion of cepes & truffle

the infusion of cepes & mushrooms is another must-order item here.

i had that. it came with the same truffle piece that you are supposed to place on your tongue to savour the truffle scent. brought back wonderful memories of dozo.

clear tomato soup with spinach dumpling

wife ordered the clear tomato soup. it had chickpeas & there was a spinach dumpling. quite nice soup.

pumpkin veloute

the pumpkin veloute looked ok. niece’s hubby ordered that.

pumpkin veloute

i quite like pumpkin soup. wife doesn’t like though.

grilled monkey head mushroom “steak” on pu ye

coming to the main, the must-order dish is the grilled monkey head mushroom “steak”. wife, i & niece’s hubby ordered that.

it was very good, the “steak” was quite excellent, and the dip sauce was excellent.

duo of spinach & pumpkin ravioli

niece ordered the duo of spinach & ravioli.

it looked great too. i will probably order that next time. 🙂

hawaiian blue

for the drink, i had hawaiian blue.

it’s a mocktail with laichee. i ordered it as this drink was not available at dozo previously.

apple melody

wife ordered apple melody.

it was quite nice, though wife didn’t quite like.

all 5 desserts 

yan ordered all 5 desserts for us to share. a great gesture.

chocolate mousse 

i liked the liquid chocolate the most. great taste & excellent texture too.

truffle creme brulee

& i liked the truffle creme brulee too, and normally i do not. so the truffle made all the difference.

yogurt pudding

the yogurt pudding was quite exciting also.

again great texture, slight sour taste, combined well.

red wine poached pear with lime sorbet 

i guess for me the poached pear was the least interesting of the desserts.

chocolate lava cake

& they had a beautiful chocolate lava or fondant cake as well.

just that like wife said, chocolate lava a common dessert so not so exciting, but this one tasted quite wonderful. 🙂

the 6-course lunch was S$38.80pax. so lunch was S$182nett for 4 pax. we had an extra free dessert, so we tried all 5 desserts on the menu. plus they gave an extra chocolate lava dessert also for the baby. must say the service here quite the extra mile category. ^^

it certainly was the best vegetarian i had, but as yan said, we don’t have to treat vegetarian as vegetarian. instead just another style or offering, like yesterday chinese, today jap, another day joie by dozo…

anyway we enjoyed the lunch very much, & a large part of it watching my grand nephew manouvre to get him feasting on every dish.

c.h.e.f andy

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Joie by Dozo

baguette & olive oil

my RI friend bought an exquisite lunch at la ventana @ dempsey today on 12jan2017. ^^

this friend not easy to meet up. i enjoyed his company & looked forward to the lunch.

the outside looked a bit untended outside. inside ambience was great. 🙂

breadstick & hummus

there was the crispy breadstick & hummus.

& they also served the warm bread basket – some baguette & olive oil. baguette was good.

tapas – anchovy bruschetta, croquette, a marinated panfried mackarel etc

my friend recommended the S$48 3-course set lunch.

for appetizer, there was a gaspacho, tapas & something else i cannot remember.

friend recommended tapas & we both ordered that.

it was very good! ^^

nice anchovy bruschetta, a marinated pangrilled mackarel??, a nice croquette (or both were croquette?), a potato dish? & grilled jalapeno pepper.

one thing about the service – for a place like this, strange that the server did not explain the dishes they served.

iberico pork & crayfish

for the main course we both had iberico pork & crayfish. i think there was a salmon main option.

this was a really delectable dish. the iberico steak was served slightly pink which i liked.

my friend cannot take pork medium rare, so the restaurant took back & made it well done & served to him nicely presented again. that was good, commendable!

iberico pork & crayfish

i enjoyed this dish! as i did the tapas appetizer.

the inerico pork steak was excellent & not as fatty as the iberico collar that i do.

the crayfish was quite a fair size helping. it was not overwhelming but was more than competent, so overall it was quite a great pairing.

cheesecake tart with strawberry sorbet

server recommended creme brulee, said it’s most popular.

creme caramel stuff really not my preferred dessert. if it was a good pannacotta i meight take.

friend recommended cheese cake, and it was very good. it was done the japanese cheese cake way – very light cheese. it was good!

fruit sorbet

my friend took the fruit sorbet. so nice! i am sure great too, refreshing.

we had a wonderful time, nice food & conversation, great company. something to look back & reminiscence.

my car was in the garage for maintenance, and my friend did not have a car at his disposal last minute so he cabbed to my place to fetch me for lunch. after lunch we cabbed back.

c.h.e.f andy

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La Ventana @ Dempsey

roast london duck – S$25 

went with my OPs friend to royal london duck @ manadarin gallery for 4pax dinner this evening on 10.1.2017. ^^

it was also my OPS friend who bought dinner last time & introduced me to this place on 4.10.2016.

some dishes 

the 4 of us were meeting to discuss our upcoming trip to hong kong.

we already booked our airtickets & looking to confirm the hotel & the location to book. 🙂

roast london duck – S$25

for the dinner, i ordered the roast london duck, must order item.

didn’t disappoint, good as before, though my friend thought duck has shrunk, not as ig serving as the previous time.

haha! it is the “duck of the draw” la…^^

duck was as good as ya wang in JB

& maybe better than canton paradise,

but having tried it second time, clearly it was NOT as good as Tunglok signatures at orchade parade hotel.

crispy charcoal pepper duck meat buns 

the crispy charcoal pepper duck buns we did not tried before.

it’s like crispy char siew pao is a new take on char siew pao, and this one added charcoal & pepper duck to the inventiveness.

crispy charcoal pepper duck meat buns 

& this was very good! banyak bagus la! 🙂

pepper duck filling very tasty & crispy bun was great as texture enhancement to the dish.

char siew – S$16.80

my friends thought the char siew NOT so great this time.

not flavourful, some parts no charring, overall just didn’t taste that great.

& the pricing is totally out of whack! most places would serve char siew like S$9-S$12.

so we refused to order the siew yoke – roast pork because of the price.

& at this price, i won’t order this again if i come back.

xo carrot cake – S$5.80

the xo carrot cake was competent, not my favourite but ok. 🙂

kek tai (innards) porridge 状元及第粥 – S$8.80

the kek tai (innards) porridge 状元及第粥 ok. price ok too.

the porridge not as smooth & tasty as i expected, since the last time the plain porridge was very tasty.

also like quite small bowl although ingredients were quite ok, maybe that’s what counted.

hk poached kailan – S$9.80

took the hk poached kailan.

already knew that poached treatment don’t have wok hae like the simple garlic fried, but it can be very nice, crunchy, tasty.

this time it was quite mediocre, which i guess means poor. my helper can do this dish a lot better la…

dinner 4pax was S$95. other than the char siew price & the mediocre kailan, nothing much to compain actually.

D13 durians from sin kian choon 

a friend bought D13 durians from sin kian choon @ tiong bahru at S$12/kg.

so after dinner we went to bukit merah view food centre & eat durians.

D13 durians from sin kian choon 

it was quite good, but not anywhere near the best D13 i had previously, mostly bought by this friend from sin kian choon, and couple times from ah seng.

had a great time with close friends this evening.

c.h.e.f andy

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$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

went to sheng shiong at tanglin halt to get something.

last time i made a post on weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 was on 22.6.2016.

weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

saw a shorter queue atweiyi laksa 唯一辣沙@tanglin halt food centre, so decided to get in line.

started queue at 11.21am. today queued 13mins only on tuesday 10.1.2017. ^^

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

i ordered menu No 6 (chicken, cockles, taupok) S$5, thick beehoon mee.

the stall holder gave me 2 slices 1/2prawns. that should be N05. i think he made mistake.

anyway it looked like no difference. i got a lot of cockles & chicken still PLUS the prawn, maybe a little less taupok?? anyway not complaining.

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

i think weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 is still my favourite laksa.

recently i had sungei road laksa on 1.12.2016.

still good i guess, but really this weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 much more savoury & intense gravy, very much my liking.

& i like curry chicken noodles better. but i guess they are just different food. i like both.

c.h.e.f andy

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Weiyi Laksa 唯一辣沙 @ Tanglin Halt Food Centre

4 dishes for 3pax lunch

went recently to a-one claypot house at starvista with 2 friends for lunch on 29.12.2016.

ok food & price ok with the groupon vouchers.

i had one more S$50 groupon expiring shortly on 13.1.2017.

so today went again with sis & bil on 9.1.2017. ^^

we ordered 4 dishes. lunch was S$61, so S$11 after S$50 groupon which i paid S$26. so lunch 4 dishes for 3pax was S$37. ok la…

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

sis decided on the dried scallop sliced fish porridge. healthy!

unfortunately it was NOT nice. the cuttlefish porridge 艇仔粥last time very much better, but bil cannot take cuttlefish or squid.

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

porridge not sweet despite dried scallops, unlike the  艇仔粥, and this porridge wrong texture so w/o the sweetness it is quite poor porridge.

my helper & i can do porridge much better than this.

lotus roots vegetables – S$12.90

the lotus roots vegetarian dish was good. very tasty.

fried kailan S$11.90

so was the fried kailan topped with fried silver fish.

fried kailan S$11.90

an excellent vegetable dish really, even better that fragrant garden’s fried kai lan in temrs of wok hae & taste.

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot rice was good, flavourful.

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

& the soft bones pork ribs were excellent, very tasty.

it may not be a special dish, but immensely edible. goof stuff!

the worst dish for me was the sliced fish porridge. rest were ok. S$37 for 4dishes boleh da!

c.h.e.f andy

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A-0ne Claypot @ Starvista

ter kar ton – trotter jelly S$16

had 11pax family dinner with brother, sil & family, and sis & bil at fragrant garden this evening on 8.1.2017. ^^

was introduced to this place recently by my OPS classmate who bought 9pax dinner on 30.12.2016.

very enjoyable & cost S$240 for 9pax.

this evening we came at 6pm on a sunday. this a good timing. traffic is horrendous on weekdays. & 6pm is perfect! there were already few tables but basically, everything went smoothly. in fact the food was served just too fast! we were done like in 50mins!

ter kar ton – trotter jelly good as usual.

hae chor – S$18

so was the hae chor. very competent.

these 2 dishes though not like the favourites for my family.

braised duck – S$20

braised duck – S$20

braised duck was quite good here.

lor was “pang” – fragrant, and duck was tender.

no better than my own braised duck though!

oyster omelette – S$20

oyster omelette was good, great wok hae, nice flavour & had good oyster flavour, fresh large plump oysters.

steamed halibut – S$59.50

steamed halibut – S$59.50

fell in love with the steamed halibut during last dinner.

ordered. a bit smaller fish this evening. in any case it goes by weight, so this was S$59.50 whereas the dinner my OPS friend bought it was S$70.

it was enough anyway. everyone loved it & my brother & others had several helpings.

claypot pomfret soup – S$76

claypot pomfret soup – S$76

the claypot fish soup also very good.

i will order it again next time.

soup was very sweet & fish was fresh & large, excellent this!

between the 2 great dishes, i still like the halibut more.

& this claypot pomfret soup i cam make easily la…the halibut? not sure where to buy yet???

crab tofu with brocoli – S$20

crab tofu dish very good. very tasty this!

crab tofu with brocoli – S$20

the stock, flavours, texture of tofu all excellent.

my own tofu prawns

maybe i will do my tofu prawn this way, use egg tofu & do it in large portions.

fried kailan – S$15

fried kai lan was good. good wok hae, but i had even better kailan next day at A-one claypot house at starvista.

teochew stewed vegetables – S$20

the teochew stewed vegetables was very good.

my family, wife, 2 daughters etc all loved it.

teochew chai poh fried kuay teow – S$12

teochew chai poh fried kuay teow – S$12

& so the teochew chai poh kuay teow.

excellent wok hae.

maybe i will try to cook this.

orh nee – S$20

my niece immediately kee chiu for orh nee.

this time i ordered S$20 orh nee. looked great with pumpkin, ginkyo nuts & fried shallots but not like normal orh nee.

orh nee – S$20

until you mixed it.

very “pang” flavourful not too sweet, very smooth, the perfect orh nee la…maybe got lard???

very enjoyable dinner for my family. everyone very happy with the dishes & enjoyed a great makan & get together.

dinner was S$334 for 11pax.

c.h.e.f andy

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