Monthly Archives: August 2017

S$13/kg D13 Durians @ Sin Kian Choon Jln Membina on 17Aug2017

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D13 durians

so after the delicious lunch at zai shun, we went to sin kian choon to pick up the D13 durians WT reserved earlier on 17.8.2017. ^^

MSW too expensive for us. today it was S$22/kg, at least not S$35/kg or S$38/kg madness!

we got 4 D13 durians (S$13/kg) for S$69. the first durian was huge but very few seeds like 6-7 seeds. luckily the smaller durians had quite many seeds. anyway mike “por” back some durians for us later.

WT knew the stall proprietor mike very well, so he went to vacuum pack the boxes himself as mike was busy. we came away with 1 box & another smaller box, quite enough for us 4pax. WM bought the same amount for himself also.

D13 durians 

like the last time, we went to bukit merah view food centre & ate the durians there.

the durians were ok – quite tasty, some meat a bit thin & not creamy enough, some also a bit wet, and taste not the best we had.

D13 durians on 11aug2017

in fact, looking at the photos of durians we had a week ago, after our lunch at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) , that occasion the D13 were quite superb!

D13 durians on 11aug2017 

the taste was fabulous that time. and you can see the durians were dry “jiao jiao” in fact, and also thicker fresh & thus more creamy as well.

there are many durian sellers in singapore. sin kian choon is quite fine especially as WT knows them so well. it makes a difference!

durians are far too ex this year so i didn’t get to eat much after the excellent durians i had at the beginning of 2017. ^^

anyway for me, it is NOT a must-have but it is fun to eat together with bros & good friends.

of course the mainstay here is their fruits. today all the boxes of pakistani mangoes were sold out. i bought 3 boxes of blueberries (3 for S$6) and also 2×2 rose apples (each 2pack is S$3)..

c.h.e.f andy

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Sin Kian Choon
Address:
18 Jalan Membina #01-08, Singapore 164018
Contact:
6473 6377

Delicious Sharks Cartilage @ Zai Shun 载顺 Zi Char on 17Aug2017

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steamed tangy taujeon sharks cartilage

today my OPS bros decided to go zai shun for lunch on 17.8.2017. WT bought 4pax lunch. ^^

HC & I came specially for the sharks cartilage. actually we all did.

the last time my OPS bro brought me here for 2pax lunch on 4.4.2017, i fell in love with this sharks cartilage!

this was so good. the sauce was taujeon and a bit tangy, i suspect lime. it was so nice especially with the gelatinous sharks cartilage. of course there was a lot of larpok, crispy lard!

i think i maybe able to make this sauce. maybe i will try it on song fish head 松鱼头, or maybe the red snapper fish i did not cook last evening….

zai shoon

zai shoon

we were there about 11.25am.

parking was ok. the coffeeshop was ok, not too crowded & no queue at zai shun.

we considered ordering fish (which is good here), but since we were ordering the sharks cartilage, & the egg bittergourd was a must-order item for all of us, we decided to try other dishes.

carrot soup

carrot soup

WT who bought lunch ordered the carrot soup. they had pork ribs & also dry cuttlefish for stock. a clear & quite tasty soup.

dongpo rou 东坡肉

the dongpo rou 东坡肉 we all have not tried.

it was done pretty well. skin & fat very gelatinous, the meat was moist & tender not sinewy.

dongpo rou 东坡肉

the serving was huge. each of us took a huge piece, and still there were 2 pieces left. so we were feeling satiated not because it was not great, but because it was a huge serving…

dongpo rou 东坡肉

the sauce was very tasty too though oily, and i enjoyed the one piece i had very much though the subsequent piece a bit more than i needed.

haebeehiam

haebeehiam WT’s favourite. he said when he go ye shanghai he also ordered this item. 🙂

egg bittergourd with salted egg

and the egg bittergourd with salted egg  was the other must-order dish here. HC said he didn’t take bittergourd until he tried here.

indeed it was a very tasty dish.

i will cook this & the taujeon fish (no sharks cartilage) & also the belly pork dish (maybe i will do the dried mustard leaves belly pork 梅菜扣肉 instead) for my OPS friends next week.

after lunch, we went to sin kian choon to pick up D13 durians, then went to bukit merah view food centre to makan. haha! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

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Zai Shun 载顺 Zi Char

Address:

253 Jurong East Street 24, #01-205, Singapore 600253

Contact:

6560 8594

Opening Hours: 

Wednesday 10AM–10PM
Thursday 7AM–10PM
Friday 7AM–10PM
Saturday 7AM–10PM
Sunday 7AM–10PM
Monday 7AM–10PM
Tuesday 7AM–3PM

Enjoyable10pax RI Bros Homecooked Dinner on 15Aug2017

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roast duck

did a 10pax dinner for my RI bros on 15.8.2017. ^^

this a recreation of some of the dishes we enjoyed during our recent 2day 1night makan, massage, karaoke trip to sutera mall, skudai in JB 24-25.7.2017. ^^

& one of the key dishes was-

Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭! 🙂

9 dinner dishes

i cooked 9 dishes + chicken rice for 10pax. 🙂 as in above photos-

1 whole chicken 白斩鸡with chili & ginger sauce
2 roast duck (my first attempt) – sutera mall
3 char siew – sutera mall
4 braised pig trotters (i just used tai hua braising sauce) – sutera mall
5 claypot tanhoon prawns
6 claypot rice
7 wok fried manila clams  – sutera mall
8 fried spinach
9 fried kang kong

2 bros came earlier to help…i got them nicely settled down with nice cup of coffee but they got bored with the movie.

but they did stop me from cooking 2 other dishes we had at sutera mall as we had too mcuh food – steamed salted fish minced pork & nonya sauce steamed red snapper.

9 dinner dishes

all dishes were excellent, except for the flower lala aka manila clams. tell this later.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

my chicken rice & poached chicken 白斩鸡 i think among the best, even with so many good chicken rice hawkers all over.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

poached chicken 白斩鸡 was smooth 滑, tender, moist sweet, & so lovely to see & behold.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

i boiled in a chicken bone stock for 12mins (covered), then poached fire off for 25mins, then quenched in ice water, then fridge.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

and after deboning, added 2 tbsp of fish sauce. so chicken is tasty by its own.

chili, ginger sauce, dark sauce mix

& of course so much better with my chilli, ginger sauce & dark sauce mixture.

chili very “laku”, big bowl totally wiped clean.

simple chili recipe = 6 red chili, 2 chili padi, 1tbsp flat sugar (or if lesser then 2tsp), 5 tsp garlic, 2cm ginger, 1/2cup intense chicken stock ,1/3tsp salt, and blend.

giner sauce i just finely chopped 5cm bentong ginger & added 4tbsp olive oil..didn’t want to blend as i wanted the texture not ginger juice.

chicken rice

the rice of course was a key ingredient for chicken rice. my friend BT absolutely loved it. but he was the singular vote for chicken rice vs claypot rice..all others include myself claypot rice.

rice recipe= fried chicken fat, 2cm ginger, 3 shallots, 1tbsp chopped garlic, & 3 cups rice till fragrant, then add 3 cups (rice cups) intense chicken stock to the rice cooker mark. 🙂

roast duck

so my roast duck was the most exciting thing for me about this dinner…ok la my bros were more exciting.. 🙂

roast duck

this my guinea duck for the guinea pigs, my virgin roast duck, first time ever i making a roast duck.

all because of sutera mall – Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭! 🙂

roast duck

will blog the recipe later.

but basically i made a marinade for the cavity, then a honey, rock sugar, white vinegar bath & baste the duck (holding vertically by neck) like 20times.

then cooled & in the fridge for 2 days to dry the skin, then 1hr 10mins at 200degC (i am going to do 1hr at 250degC next time).

roast duck

the duck was much better than i dared to expect. (i kept a drumstick portion for my wife & children later)

while i could not produce the same crispy skin, the duck was flavourful & moist & tender. the last 2 i knew when deboning that it was moist & tender.

in fact everyone preferred the duck to the char siew.

my char siew this evening was not as good as the best one i did on 8.8.2017. 

last time i had 250g-300g. today i had 600g (i kept 1/3 for my wife & children). this time the adjusted marinade less tasty. also i had too much marinade on the pork when roasting so charring not enough & i did 5mins longer 30mins instead 25mins & the meat is more cooked. it is important to keep to 25mins!

still i think it was pretty good. still very tasty, & meat texture was ok, though it should be more tender if 25mins.

anyway for char siew, Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 bar is just too high, and i am never going to meet that, so i am quite happy with the char siew i made. 🙂

braised trotters 元蹄

my braised trotters 元蹄 was also pretty good standard.

i would think better than most hawkers in singapore, but not quite in the league of  restaurant standard like Restoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城. for one thing, their braising brown sauce always better.

braised trotters 元蹄

for me to shortcut & save work, i just used tai hua braising sauce (with star anise, cinnamon bar, cloves, & one whole bulb of peeled garlic cloves), cooked, covered, watched for 2.5hrs. so a easy to do dish.

braised trotters 元蹄

totally gelatinous & my friends who took the lean parts said it was moist, tender & tasty too, not dry & sinewy.

my claypot rice always good & requires no introduction la. lol! ^^

claypot chicken rice

very tasty & flavourful with nice smokey aroma, of course with 3/4 chicken, 1 wine chicken sausage & 1 liver sausage & 7 mushrooms, and a slice of salted fish to make it such a tasty pot.

claypot tanhoon prawns

& my friends loved the tanhoon prawns…especially YKK & CL…as CL said so infused with flavours.

claypot tanhoon prawns

this really a very easy dish to make. the key is a very tasty stock.

so i fried chicken fat, ginger, cut chili padi, bunch of coriander, last 3tsp chopped garlic & 2-2tsp coarse black pepper (to taste) & added my intense chicken stock & some oyster sauce…a very tasty stock. so just to cook the marinated prawns just right, not overcooked.

claypot tanhoon prawns

when serving boiled the stock, added in 3 rools of tanhoon, off fire, added back the prawns, tossed thoroughly, garnished with coriander & bring to table covered. voila!

fried spinach

fried kang kong

the fried spinach & kang kong was simple as i was chatting with CJ.

just fry chili padi with a bit more oil so vegetable not “siap”, add the stems & garlic, oyster sauce, then add the leaves, and that’s it. don’t add water.

so vegetables would be very tasty, look green & lush & still crunchy.

manila clams

my wok fried manila clams was a huge waste.

cannot get manila clams at my regular sheng shiong at tanglin halt. went chinatown on sunday & bought 1 kg & add water, ice, change water for 2 days in fridge. clams mostly opened up & looked ok. bro YKK thought they were dead.

anyway cooked my usual butter, curry leaves, ginger, chili padi, orange peel, oyster sauce. tasted the sauce it was tasty.

but a bit worried about the clams, a few of us tried it.  there was no smell, but somehow the texture was not the fresh, succulent, bouncy texture. psychological? maybe not…anyway better not to eat it.

next time when i buy manila clams will just ask whoever can come over on the day to come for dinner. 🙂

my bros brought prosceco, red wine, cut pineapple (super sweet), cut guava, magnum ice cream, australian crusted almonds, some peanut candy.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Spicy Black Bean Sauce Song Fish head 松鱼头 @ Hong Kong Street Old Chun Kee on 13Aug2017 

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spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头  

went to hong kong street chun kee at level 2 of commonwealth crescent food centre. unfortunately stall was closed.

so did the next best thing, went to hong kong street old chun kee and ordered the S$16 spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 on 13.8.2017. ^^

hong kong street old chun kee 

this hong kong street old chun kee not bad too. just that it was no comparison with the excellent fish head at hk Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记.

spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 

here sauce was wetter, more liquid.

fish head was smaller (maybe depends on the day) & fish head not like hk Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记 which was really, really fresh.

perhaps it was just today…but i would always go to hk Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记 to eat this fish.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Hong Kong Street Old Chun Kee

Address:
117 Commonwealth Drive, 140117
Contact:

Good Standard Kaisen Don 海鮮丼 @ Bonta Bonta Japan Food Town on 13Aug2017

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kaisen don 海鮮丼

did a few errands this morning on 13.8.2017.

then family decided to meet at japan food town for lunch. we decided to have 5pax kaisen don 海鮮丼 set lunches at bonta bonta.

kaisen don set lunches

we ordered 3 sets with uni, negitoro, maguro & ika.

wife ordered a uni negitoro don & daughter a maguro, salmon, ika don.

we also got free 2 pieces maguro or salmon sashimi for registering on j passport asia. and for today chef gave 10% discounts.

the maguro/salmon was mediocre quality, quite far from not comparable with what i had at tsukiji sushi takewaka. so imo daughter’s maguro salmon ika don not so good.

our uni negitoro don though was quite good. anyhow everyone liked the kaisen don 海鮮丼 here. 🙂

bonta bonta

5pax lunch was S$86 after 10% discount, quite ok price for the food.

c.h.e.f andy

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Bonta Bonta Sushi/Sashimi (65)62623207

Address:

4F Wisma Atria , 435 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238877

Contact:

japanfoodtown.sg

Opening Hours:

Weekdays 11:30-23:00

Weekends 11:00-23:00

OPS Friend Hosted 11pax Delicious Birthday Dinner @ Tunglok Seafood Orchard Central on 10Aug2017

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salmon belly sashimi

my OPS friend HH hosted a birthday dinner for 11pax OPS friends at tunglok seafood, orchard central on 10.8.2017. ^^

2 other OPS friends, CH & FM also have their birthdays in august! 🙂

it’s an ala carte buffet, menu here. 

sashimi & sushi platter

my friends ordered some starters – small octopus, maki & salmon sashimi.

sashimi & sushi platter

salmon sashimi quite good, very fresh & sweet. maki & octopus were ok average…

salmon belly sashimi

later we ordered more salmon sashimi, & they came with the more fatty cuts of salmon sashimi. very nice! 🙂

sharksfin soup

the sharksfin soup with fishmaw quite ok too. stock was sweet & tasty, not too gluey, overall a tasty soup.

jelly fish & cucumber salad

we had the jelly fish, quite refreshing. 🙂

deepfried fish skin

& the deepfried fish skin, done well too…

saliva chicken 口水鸡

the saliva chicken 口水鸡 was sub-par.

nothing like the excellent saliva chicken 口水鸡  eg at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao. 

the saliva chicken 口水鸡we had the next day at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) the next day was also better!

garlic sauce sliced pork with cucumber

the garlic sauce sliced pork with cucumber was average also, garlic sauce was quite nice.

quite different from what a good 蒜泥白肉 should look like (above photo) 

prawn dragon beard fritter

prawn fritter was ok with the thai sweet sauce.

mussles in thai sweet chilli

the mussels were ok, quite nice with the thai sweet sauce.

drunken prawns

drunken prawns was quite good standard. nice herb flavoured soup & fresh, firm & bouncy prawns.

cereal prawns

the first piece of cereal prawns i had was a bit soft, so not impressed at first. i took a couple more & they were in fact pretty good.

chili sotong

the chili sotong was a late order. turned out that it was done quite excellently, not overcooked not rubbery…

deepfried egg plant in batter with pork floss

the deepfried egg plant was also done nicely, crispy batter.

egg plants & french beans

the french beans & egg plants were ok.

chilli crab

diners allowed one order of chili crab.

the chili sauce was not spicy & a bit sweet, like more to cater for tourist.

chilli crab

many friends lazy to eat crab with hands, so we didn’t take much of the crab dish. kind of wasted…one friend lamenting that no pepper crab on the menu..anyway can only order this dish once!

buns for chilli crab sauce

we all had our 馒头 to eat with the chili crab sauce!

red tilapia nonya steamed

the red tilapia nonya steamed  was among the best dishes. tilapia is quite fishy & a bit soil taste. so the tangy, slight spicy nonya sauce went very well with the fish. 🙂

2 deepfried seabass 油浸金目鲈

we also had the deepfried seabass油浸金目鲈. usually it is 油浸筍殼魚but the seabass did well too. the oil soaked deepfrying made the fish 脆 crunchy quite flavourful & the light soy sauce was quite a matching condiment.

beef in satay sauce

one dish i didn’t like much was the beef in satay sauce. a bit sweet & for me, spoiled the taste of beef.

spinach

the superior stock for the spinach was quite excellent, very sweet & tasty…

yeemeen 伊府面

the yeemeen = fuyu noodles also not bad, plain & simple & very tasty too. again the stock for braising did the trick.

ice jelly dessert

龟苓膏 guilinggao

we ordered 2 dessert for each pax – the ice jelly & the 龟苓膏.

both were competent…quite refreshing, so didn’t mind the dessert..

paradiso from swissbake hollandv

 i got 2 cakes for the birthday girl.

black gold from flor patisserie

actually i had wanted to get the cake from flor. but i called the day before (too late), needed 2 days to order a large cake. flor only offer 6” cake at all their outlets unless pre-ordered.

so i decided to get their newest cake, the black gold, a chocolate mousse cake, at taka outlet for birthday girl to bring home. she & her daughters like chocolate cakes.

and for convenience, i got from swissbake at hollandv the paradiso, their best selling cake, to be shared after dinner. paradiso has more texture and so popular for most people. the chocolate mousse would be an excellent cake for chocolate lovers! 🙂

all had a wonderful evening with old friends – sharing delicious food, fun & feeling good!

c.h.e.f andy

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TungLok Seafood @ Orchard Central

Address:
181 Orchard Rd, #11-05 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896
Located in: Orchard Central
Contact:
6834 4888
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat
  • 11:30AM–3PM
  • 6–10:30PM
Sunday
  • 10AM–3PM
  • 6–10:30PM

 

Simply Great Dishes @東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) on 11Aug2017

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dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠

my OPS bro bought 4pax lunch today @東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) on 11Aug2017. ^^

we had most delicious lunch here on 21.1.2017.  🙂 

i have always wanted to come back, so today is my second time. we arranged to go to  duck master 鸭师傅 at peoples park complex, place order for the S$15 roast duck, then have lunch here, and collect the duck after lunch.

quite a perfect plan, i must say… ^^

东北lunch dishes

i ordered quite similar dishes as we did last time. 🙂

the dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠  is the best dish here, so we have to die die order that.

i must try cooking this wonderful dish liao!

potato strips 土豆丝

we had the potato strips 土豆丝. server recommended the 麻辣 style as she said it was more 爽口 tasty!

very niced julienned potatoes.  perfect texture , great taste.

saliva chicken 口水鸡

the saliva chicken 口水鸡  is very nice. far better than what we had at tunglok seafood last evening.

saliva chicken 口水鸡

麻辣sauce very tasty & chicken breast was very sweet.

very nice dish, but this preparation not my favourite. imperial treasure for example will prepare cut chicken like in chicken rice or drunken chicken then add the 麻辣sauce.

this one here was cut into too tiny pieces & had too many bones…

dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠

dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠, the bestest dish.

intestines well cleaned no bad taste, texture was perfect & the flavours were just the best!

claypot ribbon fish 干锅刀鱼

fried ribbon fish with salt was a common dish i had in childhood, hardly sees it now.

claypot ribbon fish 干锅刀鱼

this dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠 dish was done perfectly…fish was nicely fried & flavourful & the gravy/soup was fantastic. so nice!

claypot mutton 砂锅羊肉

last time we had 水煮鱼, which was good.

this time we decided to try the claypot mutton 砂锅羊肉 .

claypot mutton 砂锅羊肉

it was a competent dish.

but mutton had strong gamey taste, & texture not tender enough, a bit tough.

the gravy was good too, though not in the league of the gravy for claypot ribbon fish 干锅刀鱼.

4pax lunch with 5 dishes was S$69, pretty good prices for such superb food.

c.h.e.f andy

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东北胖妈春饼店Northeast Mom Spring Pancake 

Address:

23 Smith St, (Chinatown) Singapore 058937

Opening Hours:
daily = 11am – 2am
Contact:
68357626

Good Standard $15 Roast Duck 烧鸭 @ Duck Master 鸭师傅 People’s Park Complex on 11Aug2017

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S$15 duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

S$15 roast Duck 烧鸭  at duck master 鸭师傅 making waves… 

my OPS bro bought the duck & brought to my place for us to try at my 7pax homecooked dinner on 28jul2017.  

& it was really quite good. not quite the really superb taste of meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 in JB. 

or ya wang, the other great roast duck stall.

still, it was pretty good.

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

todayonline reported up to 3 hr queue. it’s easing i guess but still there is queue.

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

my OPS bro arranged to have lunch at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake). he went earlier to order the duck (3 of us ordered 2 ducks each), then we had lunch, and collected the ducks after lunch. so we did not have to physically queue.

so for us, it was quite a breeze. i guess everyone is doing that!

S$15 duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

happy with my 2 packets of duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭!

it sounds like a great business model – sell whole duck, no chopping, so sell many ducks a day (300 to 400), so sell it very cheap!

i wouldn’t buy it if got to queue, but ordering first & collect later is fine when combined with a nice lunch in the vicinity.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Duck Master 鸭师傅

Address:

#01-K99 of People’s Park Complex

Opening hours:

10am – 10pm (Monday to Friday),

9am – 10pm (Saturday and Sunday).

Very Good S$13.80 3-course Lunch @ Toptable Temasek Poly on 10Aug2017

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seafood strudel

had another wonderful S$13.80 3-course lunch at toptable on 10.8.2017.

my RI friend PL bought 5pax lunch this time.

the same 5pax came just 3 weeks ago on 20.7.2017. at S$13.80nett this truly the best value 3-course lunch anywhere. 

price aside, what’s more important is that the food is really good, better than most cafeteria & quite restaurant standard. and the service is good.  this being undertaken entirely by CIA-Temasek Poly diploma students…

there was a choice of seafood strudel or chicken consomme. 4 of us picked the seafood strudel.

& it was really good, very tasty seafood flavours & a flaky strudel pastry, nice sauce. i would say very restaurant standard.

chicken consomme with vegetable tortilini

a friend took the chicken consomme with vegetarian tortilini. she said it was very good. quite expected…

duck confit

for mains, there was a choice of duck confit & barramundi.

the duck confit was very good, entirely competent. very crispy skin, nice, flavourful, moist duck meat cooked in duck fat…not the best i had, but very good standard liao..& the sides & sauce were all good.

breaded barramundi

the breaded barramundi fillet looked good too.

chocolate banana dessert

for dessert we had a profiterole choux bun with chocolate mousse & banana, quite ok…& ice cream.

i have nothing but praises for these excellent student delivery, a very enjoyable lunch – company of old friends, food & ambience…

LS, the pastry chef among us again provided a pretty bottle of macadamia cockies for PL who bought lunch.

c.h.e.f. andy

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

Top Table @ Temasek Polytechnic

Address:

31 Tampines Avenue 1, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore 529757
Contact:
6780 6369
Opening Hours (for a short period where the program is putting out actual lunches by students):
weekend
  • Closed
weekday
  • 11:30AM–1:45PM

My Best Char Siew on 8Aug2017

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my best char siew 

did my best char siew today on 8aug2017.

i not very motivated on char siew & siew yoke as i tried them before & though they were ok, but not really fantastic & can always get good char siew & siew yoke outside (or get friends to make it haha!)

looking at previous photos, the char siew i did before was pretty ok i guess but just not enough to excite me.  

char siew & siew yoke 

recently 10pax RI bros went for overnight makan, massage & karaoke at sutera mall locality. 

we had the best char siew at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭. the char siew was superb & literally glistening with charred fat!! ooooh, my favourite la!

my best char siew 

& next week i am cooking for 12pax friends, modelling some of the dishes in JB and sutera.

so i thought i have another go at char siew.

look at some online recipes, and decided to model after this video though they did not give recipe…a bit random..haha!

my best char siew

anyhow,

  1. made my own marinade from what i have-1 tsp each of brown sugar, honey, char siew sauce, hoi sin sauce, oysters sauce, five-spice powder, ginger sauce (i lazy just used chopped ginger), soy sauce, fermented beancurd (fu yu), 1/2 tsp salt.
  2. then prepare 250g belly pork, removed skin, washed with salt & scalded to remove scum; and marinate for 6hrs in fridge (overnight should be ok too)
  3. then placed on rack, 25mins in 250degC oven…did a bit of basting..

my best char siew 

result was quite wonderful – texture, taste (marinade & well infused) & fat charring all excellent…glistening…

my best char siew

not sure if i can reproduce this for larger pieces…will try it on 600g piece for 12pax dinner next week la, and see how. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 250g belly pork, removed skin, washed with salt & scalded to remove scum

marinade (1 tsp each except salt)

  • brown sugar
  • honey
  • light soy sauce
  • char siew sauce
  • hoi sin sauce
  • oysters sauce
  • five-spice powder
  • ginger sauce (i lazy just used chopped ginger)
  • fermented beancurd (fu yu)
  • AND 1/2 tsp salt.

Directions:

  1. combine to make marinade
  2. marinade belly pork for 6hrs in fridge (or overnight)
  3. then placed on rack, 25mins in 250degC oven…baste it a bit…

 

Really Wonderful Benson Salted Duck 盐水鸭 Blk 168 Toa Payoh Lor 1 on 8Aug2017

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benson salted duck 盐水鸭 1 whole duck S$32

our RI toa payoh & amk gang organised 5pax lunch today on 8.8.2017. i suggested benson salted duck at tpy lor 1. ^^ well, the largest table in this kim seng coffeeshop can seat 5pax…haha!

benson’s where my OPS friend bought lunch

like me before my first visit, my RI bros have never had spiced duck 盐水鸭 except as a cold appetizer in shanghainese or taiwanese restaurants. i know imperial treasure & shih yeh serve spiced duck 盐水鸭 .

so this was a new & interesting experience for them as it was for me before.

benson salted duck 盐水鸭 1 whole duck S$32

i ordered a whole duck S$32.

the duck was really very good, very sweet & tender, very tasty & 入味. i forgot how good it is!

i will be making this for my friends next week. my own 盐水鸭 spicy duck  is pretty good, as seen in above photo. but will be hard put to produce something as good as benson’s..

i made this as 1 of 12 dishes for 22pax RI friends (who were in the committee that organised the dec2014 reunion dinner) on 9feb2015. 

fishmaw pig innards soup S$8

i ordered a pig innard soup. the stall owner recommended the “large” with fish maw, it was S$8 & chokeful of ingredients.

fishmaw pig innards soup S$8

some pieces felt like pig skin, so maybe it was a mix of fishmaws & pigskin.

a tasty soup & enough for 5pax…

fishmaw pig innards soup S$8

maybe my friend gave me more ingredients, but my own bowl was filled with sliced pork, pig liver, fish maw etc..

鲁肉kong bak & others

i ordered some 鲁肉kong bak, no pig skin today, just added braised egg & tofu & also duck liver & gizzard..

鲁肉kong bak & others

this dish was ordinary…only the duck & the soup stood out as quite exceptional dishes…

chives 青龙菜 with tau gay

they only have chives 青龙菜 with tau gay so i ordered that too.

chives 青龙菜 with tau gay

it’s quite nice really, though yellow chives still sweeter & more tender, but this was quite ok.

total bill for 5pax was S$52. so i figured if duck & soup were S$32+S$8=S$40, and 4 rice were S$2, the the braise & the veg together were S$10, so maybe S$6 for the braise & S$4 for the vegetables.

anyway, such a wonderfully satisfying meal la!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Benson Salted Duck 盐水鸭

Address:
168 Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310168
Contact:
9781 4042
Opening Hours:
Thursday
  • Closed
Fri-Wed
  • 9AM–5PM

My Favourite Song Fish Head 松鱼头 @ Hong Kong Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记 on 7Aug2017

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spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 S$16

eating too much liao!

a RI friend just bought me lunch today at tempura tsujiki tenka at japan food town wisma. 

then a close RI friend said he is dropping by to pass me something. his wife was away in bangkok so he had some time this evening.

we decided to eat some place near so i brought him to my favourite  song fish head 松鱼头 – Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at Commonwealth Crescent 香港街珍记. on 7.8.2017. ^^

spicy black bean suace song fish head 松鱼头 S$16

there are many HK street outlets. a very good one is at alexandra village. i am partial to this one. it’s the preparation i liked best.

the 1/2 fish head was large and very fresh & meat was very sweet. the spicy black bean sauce excellent always, unfailing, & so it was this evening. my friend & i enjoyed this very much! 🙂

in fact, i liked this stall so much i modeled my own spicy black bean sauce after this stall, so my own song fish head 松鱼头 (the 2 photos above) looked almost the same as theirs! 🙂

san lou hor fun 三捞河粉 S$6

san lou hor fun 三捞河粉 S$6

i ordered a small S$6 san lou hor fun 三捞河粉 as i did not want too much crabs. so our dinner was just $22. my friend bought me dinner! 🙂

the san lou hor fun 三捞河粉 was very good ( as always). excellent wok hae, good amount of toman fish (snake head) fillet, nice tau gay & excellent flavourful hor fun..

we really enjoyed the dinner.

after makan, we went back to my house. my friend cannot drink coffee, so i made some kungfu cha 功夫茶。。。we enjoyed the tea & the time together, sharing about children, our friends etc.

very good & memorable evening with a good friend. this post is dedicated to him la!

c.h.e.f andy

1 for 1 Anago Tendon @ Tempura Tsukiji Tenka 天香 Japan Food Town Wisma L4 on 7Aug2017

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anago tendon 

today my RI friend bought lunch.

tempura tsukiji tenka @ japan food town wisma level 4 

we decided to go tempura tsujiki tenka at japan food town wisma atria l4 for the 1 for 1 anago tendon promo lunch on 7.8.2017. ^^

the best deal i had here which had me coming here 2 times in 2 days was the superb 1 for 1 chirashi don UP=S$25.10++ at tsukiji sushi takewaka. 

that promo is over now so we try out other promos..

cold udon 

the set came with a choice of hot or cold udon.

my friend had the soup udon. i had the cold. it was real tiny! i am happy with low carbs anyway…

udon was nice, al dente, spicy with wasabi, but actually i rather have the usual cold udon dipped in sauce than this preparation.

anago tendon 

the tendon also did not come with the usualdipping sauce with chooped scallions & minced radish.

tendon is a tempura over don. they use a tempura sauce. it was nice too, and it flavours the don also.

anago tendon 

the main attraction was the anago (conger or sea eel).

it was good quality cut, very fresh. so were the 2 prawns & vegetables over the don.

tenka anago tendon lunch 

the problem was the batter. it was ok, but really not the top quality tempura batter, which is like small light batter pieces attached together, a very distinct tempura style batter. this batter is more like a fritter or furai (fry) preparation.

for the 1 for 1 price of about S$15pax for this tendon set, which also came with a small almond jelly dessert, it was of course quite ok. at the original price i would likely not take it as many good meal options abound.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Tempura Tsukiji Tenka 天香 Japan Food Town Wisma L4

Address:
435 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238877
Contact:
6262 3247
Opening Hours:
weekdays
  • 11:30AM–11PM
weekend
  • 11:30AM–10.30PM

3pax Home Dinner with Sis & BIL on 6Aug2017

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5 dishes for 3pax dinner

sis & bil came for dinner on 6.8.2017. ^^

i made the usual teochew chilled fish, also chilled sotong this time, and fried some vegetables. 🙂

  1. chilled mullet 冻乌鱼
  2. chilled yellow croaker 冻小黄鱼
  3. chilled sotong
  4. steamed nonya sauce angkorli fish head
  5. fried kang kong
  6. fried spinach

mullet & yellow croaker

i bought mullet (2 for about S$9) and yellow croaker (S$5.90 eahc) from sheng shing the day before.

i asked the stall assistant to descale the yellow croaker but not to clean the fishes.

for mullet you need to steam with the scales, so that after chilled, the scale can be removed with the skin exposing the very tasty sweet flesh to eat. without the scales the fish skin will stick to the flesh, quite tough, difficult to tear & manage with chopsticks, very hard to eat..

& for mullet, i don’t ask them to clean as we want to preserve some tasty items in the stomach.

so i prefer to do it myself.

for yellow croaker it’s ok to clean & descale…

mullet & yellow croaker

both were excellent fish, and so very tasty & delicious when taken with taujeon! favoruite for us teochew…yellow croaker is a finer fish, but i prefer mullet though i like both.

nonya steamed angkorli fish head

i had a small leftover angkorli fish head, so steamed with the gimson nonya sauce.

chilled sotong

& i had medium sotong, so the best for this teochew muay style. a large sotong with thick rings would be the right pick, but that;s what i have got….

fried kang kong

fried spinach

i fried the 2 vegetables. excellent & very good wok hae, swet & tasty la..

mullet & yellow croaker

these teochew dishes so easy to cook…

basically just bank on fresh ingredients, and very good fish, though mullet is quite fishy for some, & especially the chilled preparation as there is no garnishes & complements to neutralise the taste. but it was perfect for us.

& vegetables, that’s just the easiest thing…

c.h.e.f andy

Simple & Delicious Homealone Seafood Spaghetti on 5Aug2017

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seafood spaghetti

eating dinner alone this evening.

there was multi-grain bread & gourmet butter…haha!

there was also 1/2 a squid in the chiller that i should eat before it spoiled.

anyhow i decided to make seafood spaghetti. so i defrosted a package of shelled medium prawns, maybe10pieces!

seafood spaghetti

i decided to do the style my son made when we were in iceland.

had chopped garlic but didn’t have whole bulb garlic, so i fried cut chili padi, some thai basil which i planted, then added chopped garlic & dry parsley, all in olive oil.

then added the prawns & the the squid…very important not to overcook both prawns & squid..high fire then off.

i made the pasta separately, boiled with bit of salt & some oil to just below al dente, and drained.

seafood spaghetti

& then it’s just adding pasta to the seafood alio oglio sauce, off fire & tossed.

seafood spaghetti

so very easy to make, and so delicious, very good wok hae.

seafood spaghetti

then added some fresh thai basil for garnishing & tasting.

i just love the flavours of the basil. like sweet basil better, but sweet basil still growing so make do with thai basil. haha! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Coffee & Waffles @ The Bear & Fish Coffee Bar on 25Jul2017 (RI Bro 10pax Sutera Mall Trip 24-25Jul2017)

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nutty latte

this my last entry for our very fun RI bros 10pax sutera mall overnight makan, massage, karaoke trip 24-25Jul2017. ^^

i didn’t actually do the massage as i not hot on massage, but would have done anyway, and will do next time, but for this time i wanted to look see at sutera mall, the shops & makan places…

we had already checked out & deposited our bigger luggage at J Hotel..i had my light backpack with me anyway.

we were catching the 2.40pm bus sw4s for the 45mins journey to second link CIQ, and target to be at sutera mall foyer at 2.30pm to board the bus.

just want coffee

after lunch at Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 we walked round a bit.

we settled for coffee at The Bear & Fish Coffee Bar with the ‘just want coffee’ branding..

greentea & waffle

we tried some wafer…a bit hard & not so flavourful..not quite the standard of daily scoop or udders in singapore.

After coffee & wafer, we walked with our luggage to sutera mall & caught the CW4S bus to second link, then boarded the cw4 on singapore side to jurong east..

c.h.e.f andy

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

The Bear And fish ( COFFEE BAR)

Address:
65, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Contact:
+60 7-554 0908
Opening Hours:
daily
  • 12PM–12AM

OK Lunch at Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 Sutera on 25Jul2017 (RI Bro 10pax Sutera Mall Trip 24-25Jul2017)

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breaded pork chop RM18

after breakfast at ah hong kopitiam, some bro wanted to go sutera mall…

a bro bought ma tie soh we all tried. not quite the standard of the ma tie soh we bought at ming ang confectionary near ksl…

i bought some sour sweet for my son.

after that we checked out of J Hotel & walked across the street to 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 for lunch

 

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤@ Taman Sutera

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤, across the road from our J Hotel, was closed yesterday (monday) when we arrived.

it’s open today.

we ordered some of their signature dishes with photos pasted on the wall.

lunch was RM 142 for 10pax. maybe we did not order much…

the breaded pork cutlet, like the ba pao, hainanese pork chops, was good.

bittergourd soup with innards RM32

the bittergourd with innards my friends found too sweet…quite i agree..

the innards were ok, some overcooked, & the soup being too sugary sweet, meant that this signature dish was actually quite below par…

tofu RM15

tofu was ok…but this really a “nothing” dish.

birth intestines RM13.50

the birth intestines 生肠 was quite ok, could be more 脆 & 爽口, & the braising sauce was not the best…

sambal sweet potato leaves RM10.50

the sambal potato leaves were good.

tau gay RM10.50

tau gay was ok…but another nothing dish…

RM142 for 10pax

lunch for 10pax was RM142, cheaper than our earlier breakfast at ah hong kopitiam. 

but food was so so, and the signature dishes like bittergourd soup was something we didn’t think much of…. so everything got to take into the context of the price. at RM142 for 10pax nothing much to complain about la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤

Address: 
130, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

Opening Hours: 

Tuesday 10AM–3:30PM, 5:30–10PM
Monday Closed
Contact:
Phone: +60 7-556 0864

OK Breakfast @ Ah Hong Kopitiam on 25Jul2017 (RI Bro 10pax Sutera Mall Trip 24-25Jul2017)

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dry mee siam

the morning after we walked over to ah hong coffeeshop for breakfast.

our leader KH said the dry mee siam here very good, and also the nasi lemak is popular order here, though he has not tried it yet..

ah hong kopitiam

ah hong kopitiam is just round the corner of the row of shop houses on the other side from our J Hotel..

ah hong kopitiam 

nice, broght & airy place…

ah hong coffeeshop

we were there about 9.45am, after a late night ending at 1am at “i am a singer 我是歌手 karaoke”…

ah hong coffeeshop 

one bro came earlier after his sleepless first half & second half last evening..lol! anyway he joined us for his second breakfast…

ah hong coffeeshop

there are a few popular menu items…

kuay teow soup

2 friends CM & CH ordered the soupy kuay teow soup..

dry mee siam

the rest of us had the dry meesiam & nasi lemak..

the dry mee siam was actually just average by singapore standard..fried chicken wing batter & meat both dry..

nasi lemak – wrong plate 

they served me a wrong plate of nasi lemak, one with fishball skewers instead of chicken wing. they duly changed it.

nasi lemak –

nasi lemak rice was ok fragrant but really nowhere by adam road selera rasa nasi lemak standard..

peanuts & ikan bilis ok…sambal chilli with onions very good👍

bill for 10pax 

breakfast for 10pax was RM$158…ok but not so cheap even by singapore standard.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Ah Hong Kopitiam
Address:
60, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Contact:
+60 12-771 9600
Opening Hours:
daily
  • 7AM–10PM

I Am A Singer KTV 我是歌手 @ Sutera Mall on 24JUl2017 (RI Bro 10pax Sutera Mall Trip 24-25Jul2017)

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我是歌手 karaoke

after a really good dinner, more so than i had expected, at  iRestoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城, it was 10pm…. 

perfect timing for 我是歌手 i am a singer karaoke we booked earlier = just RM140 for 3hrs for a huge room for 10pax with 3 jugs free soft drinks..

we later ordered one round of bottled beers RM158..here they let you bring your own tidbits & bites but you have to buy the drinks from them…quite fair actually…

so overall just RM$310 for 10pax..we finished at 1am, went back & koon liao…

voted best singers for the evening = KH & BT👍…KH being the all round RI bro got talent hopeful & BT claiming this the first time he sang at a karaoke..ya..ya…we all believe him of course! 

c.h.e.f andy

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

Address:
Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4
Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Get Directions
Contact:
@wsgs.sutera
Send Message
Call +60 7-558 1008
HOURS
daily = 10:30AM – 3:00AM

Excellent 10pax Dinner @ Restoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城 on 24Jul2017 (RI Bro 10pax Sutera Mall Trip 24-25Jul2017)

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starter platter RM120

earlier we looked at a few restaurants in sutera mall like 大上海, evergreen, 客人来..

we decided on peking duck restaurant, Restoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城…it was an excellent choice..

very expensive seafood 

we didn’t have reservation…the aircon area was full.

so we got a table at a hall that they said have blowers/ventilators…this hall has high ceiling & the tables were spaced far apart. actually it felt more spacious than the aircon hall.

very expensive seafood 

we surveyed the live seafood tanks…

everything was expensive – fish, crab, lobster, prawns etc…everything singapore price or more expensive c/w promotion prices at singapore seafood restaurants eg ah yat abalone forum restaurant…

so we just forgot about these live seafood, & the peking duck also, since we just had very nice meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 for lunch… 

smoked trotters RM18

2 bros made very good food orders. all the dishes were just great!

we had a great starter platter (top photo). all the items were good, crispy, fresh, nicely done.

the smoked trotters were ok, sauce a bit overpowering.

very thick sea cucumbers with brocoli RM158

the best dish for me was the sea cucumbers with brocoli.

sea cucumbers were very thick, superb texture & taste delicious,  and enough for 2 rounds (2 servings/pax for 10pax) and maybe some pieces more..

very thick sea cucumbers with brocoli RM158

it was expensive dish, but quite good value vs singapore prices for such a dish..

roast chicken RM48

the roast chicken was excellent!

skin was so crispy, and the meat was moist, tender & sweet. among the very best roast chicken i had.

i almost like never order chicken dishes outside. this one i will definitely order again when i come.

garlic fried lala – littleneck clams RM67.50

we had the lala. this one was fried with garlic & maybe chai poh, can’t really remember…

garlic fried lala – littleneck clams RM67.50

quite ok…but then i had tasted better preparations…

and i must say the price RM67.50 didn’t mke sense to me, when the roast chicken is RM48…

like my own wok fried manila clams 香锅炒蛤蜊 ….

元蹄braised trotters RM45

and we had 元蹄braised trotters.

this was good too, the trotters skin & tendons nicely gelatinous & the braise was flavourful. the lean meat was not sinewy & quite tender & moist..overall a very good braised trotter.

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 RM25

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 RM25

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 was competent, a nice dish, nothing special maybe, but still quite nice complement to the other dishes.

RM 580 for 10pax 

overall the price was RM580nett for 10pax…i thought really quite ok c/w say lunch RM425..

this is restaurant setting, and several dishes like the sea cucumbers, roast chicken were outstanding & the braised trotters were very good, and the starter platter was also a pretty good standard dish, so price was quite good relative to lunch.

c.h.e.f andy

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

pekin restaurant sutera

Address:

1, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
Contact:
+60 7-557 3899
Opening Hours:
mon – fri
  • 5:30AM–10:30PM
sat-sun
  • 11:30AM–10:30PM