1 for 1 beef belly S$22.90 

 went with family 4pax to seorae for korean bbq dinner on 28.5.2017.

the last time i came with my 2 buddies before our london/wales trip on 30.3.2017 & we quite enjoyed it. 

seorae 

this time though somehow the arrangements were different, the vibes were different….

there was no queue at 12pm lunch last time. this time we were there 7.30pm there was a short queue like 10mins.

more importantly last time we asked the server questions & he helped us order the food we wanted. this time it was a paper like dimsum you tick off.

for me that makes a huge different, don’t like to guess what i am ordering & not being able to make small changes…eg last time we did not take 3 in 1, but server help us to organise the same dish as 2 in 1.

banchan – replenishable side dishes 

banchan was still good. we had 3 rounds.

last time with my friends who could just go on, we ordered 5 rounds.

banchan – replenishable side dishes 

daughter likes seafood pancake.

this was pretty good, better than what we had at abuirya a week later.

US beef S$29 

we ordered a US beef S$29.

with all the korean names it was hard to order what you are ordering with more personalised service advice from the server.

King Galmaegisal 3-in-1 S$29

& we ticked the 3 in 1, too bothersome to ask the server with this ticking system..

korean charcoal bbq

the hearth is same as at aburiya, quite effective.

kimchi jjigae

kimchi jjigae was not 1/2 as good as aburiya & i think cost like S$16 instead of S$13.

kimchi jjigae 

maybe a bigger serving, but cannot compensate for less yummy dish.

to be fair this was ok dish, just that aburiya’s was far better!

naengmyeon 

the naengmyeon was also no comparison to aburiya’s bibimen!

naengmyeon 

again it was ok dish. just NOT as good by comparison.

and likewise the meats were no comparison with aburiya, quite a different league altogether la.

see our recent excellent yakiniku dinner at aburiya on 3.6.2017.

after 2 tries, don’t think i am coming back here again la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Seorae Korean BBQ

Address:

#02-01 Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road, 238839

Contact:

+65 91812709

Opening Hours:

Sun – Thu: 11:30 – 22:00
Fri – Sat: 11:30 – 23:00

hokkaido beef platter S$35

no need to say aburiya our favourite restaurant..

most recently i came with my OPS bros for 4pax dinner then durians on 28.2.2017. 

just that my family come here even more than i do. this evening 5 of us came for late dinner at 8.45pm on saturday 3.6.2017.

place was renovated, no more outside boardings, nice.

& apparently price has gone down?? according to the affable jap owner. nice to hear, nicer that it is true!

the hokkaido beef platter was S$45, now it is S$35! owner said he sourced large quantities at lower cost now.

we also ordered the iberico platter S$23 (forgot to take photo). previously S$25.

both the platters always nice.  we liked the beef more so we ordered 2 platter.

wagyu jo karubi S$16

i guessed we were like very hungry or greedy, so we ordered another 2 wagyu jo karubi S$16. in a sense this even better than the platter! of course the platter had 4 different cuts some better than others, though all were good.

yakiniku smokeless hearth

yakiniku smokeless hearth

the whole dining experience was quite wonderful. always enjoy a yakiniku.

wagyu beef sashimi S$18

the owner told us the wagyu sashimi was fantastic!

we were sold! even more sold after tasting it. perfecto!

shabu sirloin S$29

& he said the shabu beef (sirloin) was the best. bbq very short time, dip in the ponzu sauce dip

so again we ordered, and indeed the best! melt in your mouth perfection….

shabu i think is just 刷, which means to just poached in hotpot for some say 8 secs. so it just means a thin slice of meat. and i have taken shabu wagyu steak at japanese steak restaurants.

seafood pancake S$12

seafood pancake was ok tasty, but so so dish for me.

buta kimchi chigae S$13

the buta kimchi chigae S$13 excellent as always.

bibimen S$11.90

the bibimen we all loved.

bibimbap S$12

& the bibimbap very good here. everyone enjoyed the dishes.

green tea parfait S$10.90

the greentea parfait was ok, not not really a parfait without the greentea cake, green & white mochi, warabi mochi etc.

no comparison with what we get in japan, or even sun with moon.

complimentary vanila ice cream

we ordered too much food, plus a whole bottle of 720ml sake, so they gave us complimentary vanila ice cream.

it was very good quality ice cream. the milk so smooth & creamy & tasty, like hokkaido ice creams.

bill

& the price was actually quite ok. minus the sake, it would be like S$280nett for 5pax & we ordered a lot of meat.

very enjoyable dinner, as always here at aburiya.

c.h.e.f andy

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

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

teochew muay dishes

sis called me said she on the way to the new ye shanghai place, whether i wanted to join her for lunch on saturday 3.6.2017.

ye shanghai reopened 2jun2017

ye shanghai reopened 2jun2017

she told me couple weeks back, & my OPS friend also, that ye shanghai had moved from bukit merah view to lengkok bahru.  i later checked with an employee clearing the tables & he said yes this the second day they reopen here.

constant queue at ye shanghai

i was not planning to have lunch but agreed to join her anyway, so i fetched her from commonwealth MRT, and 2 of us were at blk 55 lengkok bahru at 12.33pm. there was a queue of maybe 10pax took about 10-15mins.

one great thing was there’s lots of parking, unlike bukit merah view where it is quite hard to get parking next to the stall.

teochew chilled mullet 冻乌鱼

sis ordered a teochew chilled mullet 冻乌鱼 (S$9) and 6 vegetable dishes + one porridge for S$14.60.

compare this with the exact same fish at seng kee bakuteh, AMK ave 10 selling at S$18!!!

teochew chilled yellow croaker 冻小黄鱼

she then decided to order a second fish=teochew chilled yellow croaker 冻小黄鱼, also S$9.

these 2 fish were excellent, best i had outside=very sweet & tasty & fine texture.

didn’t think that chilled mullet & yellow croaker would be much better than what i made often at home, most recently for a 7pax homecooked teochew muayfamily breakfast after 清明on 14Apr2017. 

but they were!! and at this price, just as well to eat outside here at ye shanghai.

okra

and all the simple small plate vegetable dishes were very good!

okra crunchy and tasty.

leeks

leeks sweet, not mushy, with ikan bilis & bit of cloud fungus.

hairy gourd毛瓜

hairy gourd毛瓜 sweet, great texture.

another gourd

another gourd, don’t know the english name (bottle gourd??) very sweet & tasty.

egg plant

egg plants, good!

bittergourd

and bittergourd, good too!

with 2 fish for S$18 and another 6 small plate vegetable & 1 porridge, total was S$23.60 for 2pax.

like i said, mullet & yellow croaker are not much cheaper from sheng shiong so just as well to eat here la..

c.h.e.f andy

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

lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

having 2pax anniversary dinner with wife on the actual date, so did an earlier anniversary dinner for the family so the children & also our helper can join 7pax dinner on 31.5.2017.

2 live lobsters = 1.25kg

poached lobster = 2 for S$75 at sheng shiong

i got 2 live lobsters from sheng shiong, poached them & then short braised with superior broth just before serving.

lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

lobsters was tasty, all liked it. it was though a bit overcooked & not perfect like what i did recently for mother’s day when i did one single lobster for 3pax dinner on 14.5.2017. 🙂

prawn tofu similar to sek bao sin

i did prawn tofu which everyone likes. also son had not tried it before.

for this evening everyone liked this dish best. it was not my best delivery actually but still a very tasty dish. prawns were just right texture, sweet & fresh & deep-fried egg tofu soaked up the delicious stock with the smoothness of the egg.

golden deepfried egg tofu

for the prawn tofu dish, i made the deep-fried egg tofu. usually i will shallow fry this not to waste the oil.

this time i had 2 dinners then the teban garden preparation in succession, so managed to use the oil over 3 occasions.

prawn tofu similar to sek bao sin

the dish, though not quite my best, was still a very good, tasty & smooth (the egg) prawn tofu.

wok fried lala

the wok fried lala was a very tasty dish too, and the clams were well cleaned & done just right NOT overcooked. great as lala dish.

not quite as good as my really tasty manila clams of course.

i lazy to go chinatown & sheng shiong did not have manila clams when i went to get the 2 lobsters this morning.

claypot vegetables with siobak

the claypot vegetables were overcooked. stock was tasty. roast pork also overdone & a bit stronger porky taste.

ok dish but not quite good.

claypot vegetables with siobak

i was trying to recreate my excellent claypot fish head for my OPS bros & wives few days back but w/o the fish head.

unfortunately though the claypot vegetables looked good on photo, it was overcooked when served & roast pork was also overdone & a bit porky. this would count as failure la…

white beehoon WBH

the white beehoon WBH dish was ok, also not near my best preparation.

too many dishes requiring stock. got to do a dedicated WBH dish next time & use intense stock to get best results.

white beehoon WBH

i only used prawn head & shell stock & just little of the chicken stock as i was reserving the stock for lobster.

also it was difficult to juggle the amount of stock, amount of beehoon & cooking time to reduce the stock & infuse the beehoon. anyhow the prawns were overcooked (whereas the same prawns for the prawn tofu were quite excellent), and the beehoon alos a bit overcooked.

white beehoon WBH

there was also some timing problems as heavy downpour & daughter came back like 50mins after scheduled 7pm, and it was difficult to estimate the time to serve the several dishes.

anyhow the beehoon was still ok, just not among my best.

and when wife & i added the lobster stock to the beehoon, it was very tasty.

crispy lard – larpok

i made some larpok – crispy lard to top off the WBH.

very easy to make. bought like 70cts packet of already chopped fat from sheng shiong, washed & cooked low heat on non stick wokpan. love it!

==========================

to be honest, i was just a little deflated la!

doing the lobsters – buying them on the day, freeze, poach, cut, shell, make stock etc was quite tedious work (apart from being quite expensive at S$75 for 2 lobsters), so the result was quit below expectations.

the other dishes were not too difficult, but the claypot vegetables was an abject failure & the WBH also much below expectations, even though the prawn tofu & the lala were good. and it all still took a whole day’s work but not returning the satisfaction…a bit sian la…

anniversary book present

well, luckily there was still the anniversary book to rejoice.

this my RI bro who was one of 2 travelling companions for my recent london/wales trip took a lot of time & effort to co-ordinate for me to get the book done.

it was made of maple wood & presents a cover with photo, a back page & 2 pages of text inside. & it came with a rose wood case. excellent stuff! wife was suitable impressed. children took some photos for us.

c.h.e.f andy

bamboo clams with tanhoon 竹蚌蒜蓉蒸 S$5.50 each 

had the best seafood dinner =7pax early birthday dinner for brother & sister @ ah yat abalone forum restaurant at hotel grand central at victoria street on 2.6.2017. ^^

this was even better than the 5pax lunch i had here just last week with my OPS bros on 26.5.2017!

seafood promo @ ah yat abalone forum restaurant 

ah yat abalone is having this super offer of S$29.80 for each 500g live boston lobster. that explains why i chose ah yat again so soon for my brother & sister’s early birthday dinner..haha!

i had a prior arranged makan day out wuth my OPS bros but because this dinner was confirmed a bit late, i cut short my OPS makan & just joined the canton paradise dimsum tea. 🙂

the bamboo clams with tanhoon 竹蚌蒜蓉蒸 S$5.50 each (top photo) was among the best i had. wonder why it was better than lunch, like should be the same. maybe better chef for dinner?? the texture ie donesness was perfect & the garlic light soy sauce was really very fragrant..quite superb.

2xboston lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗 S$29.80 each 

the lobster was very good too. maybe still tastier than lunch but i guess less different from the lunch. i noticed that the plating was different from lunch. i like the dinner plating better. lunch used a nice plate but presentation looked squeezy.

steamed turbot 多宝鱼港蒸 1 kg S$48 

the steamed turbot 多宝鱼港蒸 1 kg S$48 was very good this evening.

wife, brother, sister, all like the fish..very幼 (light, tender texture) & sweet, much more fine than tiger garoupa.

steamed turbot 多宝鱼港蒸 1kg S$48 

and the 港蒸 light soy sauce very fragrant…really good!

crab tanhoon claypot螃蟹冬粉煲 S$70=1 kg crab @ S$98/kg less 30% 

brother ordered the crab tanhoon claypot螃蟹冬粉煲. it came to about S$70=1 kg crab @ S$98/kg less 30%.

we all thought it was a bit expensive c/w other ah yat items…eg ah yat grandstand has a S$38 claypot alaskan crab tanhoon which is very good. here alaskan crab is S$248/kg & this crab is S$98/kg.

but this is birthday & the other dishes were heavily discounted & restaurant need to make some money also la..so quite happy to add the dishes.

turned out this was another truly excellent dish…the tanhoon so very tasty & crab wa very fresh & sweet..though we wonder afterwards for 1kg crab, we didn’t seem to see any of the 2 pincers..maybe someone ate & forgot haha!

but i would say i am happy to order this dish again at S$70. it was much bigger dish & overall even better tasting than the S$38 alaskan crab tanhoon at ah yat grandstand.

ginger fried kailan 姜炒芥蓝 S$27 = very good just far too ex 

the ginger fried kailan 姜炒芥蓝 was very good too. can taste the ginger sauce, didn’t know it flavours the vegetable so well, must try this at home next time.

this one of the times where everyone exclaimed how nice the vegetable was.

at S$27, it was just far too ex for a vegetable? like S$29.80 for lobster & S$27 for kai lan.

anyway for this dinner i was happy to order it as it complemented the other dishes very well and that’s what counted. sometimes you get through a meal every dish except 1 or 2 very good, whereas this was an occasion every single dish was good! so well worth it!

probably won’t order this when i come again..

seafood horfun 滑蛋海鲜河粉S$30 = wok hae superb +very good ingredients 

wife too busy to have lunch today wanted to add a horfun.

this seafood horfun 滑蛋海鲜河粉  was fantastic=wok hae superb +very good ingredients, large prawns, scallops, lots of sotong & also lots of fish.

i think the best horfun i had.

seafood horfun 滑蛋海鲜河粉S$30 = wok hae superb +very good ingredients 

again this another dish i don’t mind paying for S$30 when i come again.

only thing is that sometimes taste not always consistent & hopefull these dishes will be just as good when i come again.

dinner for 7pax with all these excellent dishes was S$341nett.

of course they charged S$2.50/head for tea=S$17.50.

and also 2xS$3.50 for peanuts & towel. if you don’t do this, you don’t get towels..haha!

the ala carte items were expensive but we were very happy with the overall dinner, that what counts! like i said, restaurant got to make some money, so give & take la…

had a wonderful early birthday dinner with my brother & sister. their son came along & thoroughly enjoyed it. so i joked with him to look forward to the next makan, outside or at my place haha!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant Address:

crispy char siew pao

my OPS bros decided to do dimsum tea at canton paradise starvista on 2.6.2017. ^^

50% discounts dimsum tea weekdays 3pm-5.15pm

there is an ongoing 50% discounts dimsum tea weekdays 3pm-5.15pm. 🙂

promo applies to all dimsum, congee, and also noodles which did not come with roast meats..

one actually took leave & we were going to like do lunch, then tea, then dinner like a JB makan trip in Singapore, but my brother decided a bit last minute to do his & sister’s birthday dinner today, so i could only join them for tea.

we decided to start with coffee at my place, then proceed to canton paradise at starvista.

peanuts & chestnuts

they probably charged S$3 for the nuts, and i usually pay for water rather than tea. the peanuts & chestnut appetizer here quite good though, and we were having 50% discounts for dimsum, so ok to pay a bit for the tea.

crispy char siew pao

the crispy char siew pao was pretty good actually. nicely crisp dough, just a bit sweet char siew but quite tasty…didn’t mind it..

prawn mango crispy pastry

the prawn mango pastry was very 酥or脆 ie very crisp. maybe 酥is the better word.

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs was very good. pork & sauce looked very clear & nice, sauce very tasty & pork quite meaty, not just fat…

steamed chicken feet

chicken feet also very good, tasty, nicely deepfried & fluffy..

yam pastry 芋饺

the yam pastry 芋饺 not my favourite. the fillings were similar to ham shui kok 咸水饺 which i like but i prefer the 咸水饺 pastry & slightly sticky texture.

as i was having birthday dinner with brother & sister afterwards, i shared (took 1/2 each) most of the dumplings with another friend.

spicy dumplings 抄手

spicy dumplings 抄手 i always liked as i like mala stuff…this was good, generally..

innards congee 状元及第粥

the innards congee 状元及第粥 was chokefull of ingredients like 2 large pork balls, lots of intestines & liver etc. ok for S$8.80++. at S$4.40 after 40% discounts, quite a steal leh…

innards congee 状元及第粥

& congee was really smooth & sweet, very much a real good hong kong congee standard.

string beans

string beans

there’s no 50% discounts for string beans, but it was quite ok la…a nice dish & good vegetable item to complement the dimsum.

so the dimsum tea for 4pax was S$57. without the full price string beans, probably around S$42.50 thereabout.

quite a good promotion. don’t mind coming back. good for the restaurant also, enjoying good traffic at this lull period….

c.h.e.f andy

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

#1 prawn with passionfruit sauce 

domvs having a UOB cards promotion 1 for 1 set lunch = S$58 &  1 for 1 set dinner = S$128.

i had come here for lunch twice, once with my godsis on 6.4.2017. 

&  another time with my RI friend to celebrate his birthday.

the 4-course lunch at S$58++ for 2pax is really good value.

i asked chef then how’s the dinner? he said it’s a 7-course.

so i decided to come here with wife for dinner & we were looking forward to this evening on 1.6.2017. Not disaapointed! ^^

domvs on a thursday evening 

restaurant was like 1/3 full on a thursday evening, about 4 tables including ours & maybe just 12pax…too few patrons to sustain?

bread 

bread was good standard & came with 3 dips – sundried tomatoes, extar virgin olive oil & balsamic.

#1 prawn with passionfruit sauce 

first was a grilled tiger prawn with passionfruit sauce.

prawn was done well, i guess like any grilled prawns. the passionafruit sauce was good!

#2 braised beef ribs 

next was a braised beef ribs. very well done dish, quite excellent!

#2 braised beef ribs 

meat tender & very flavourful with the sauce.

#3 pan seared scallops 

3rd course was a pan seared scallop.

a nice, competent dish, nothing too special.

#3 pan seared scallops 

not quite the exceptional scallop dish at disgruntled chef at ang siang hill,

#4 iberico pork with cheese 

the iberiaco pork with a slightly melted cheese was an excellent dish.

#4 iberico pork with cheese 

pork was very good, and the cheese was super, truly enhancing the taste of the pork in combination.

#5 ravioli 

5th course was a pasta, a ravioli.

this was very good too, the same as what they served for the set lunch.

#5 ravioli 

an excellent ravioli, light & flavourful.

#6 lamb rack 

the lamb rack had quite  a robust taste, not like some including my own which have mild gamey taste.

this one was strong but it was good, flavourful.

#6 lamb rack 

not a dish for wife, but i thoroughly enjoyed it.

#6 beed steak 

wife ordered the steak.

it was very good too. not quite comparable to say prime portico steak but nevertheless a very good steak good restaurant standard.

#7 trio of dessert 

the trio of dessert was i guess a quick introduction to the restaurant’s dessert.

tiramisu 

the tiramisu was very good.

wife said it was same as my own tiramisu, and indeed it was, very similar to texture & taste & liquor content.

chocolate cake 

chocolate cake was good.

panna cotta 

panna cotta was average, nowhere near the excellent panna cotta at lake como.

we had a truly wonderful 7-course celebration dinner, good food & gooder value. not quite the fine dining standard, but the dishes were very tasty & that’s what counts.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Domvs by Gabriel Fratini

Address:

39 Scotts Rd, Sheraton Towers Singapore, Singapore 228230

adam road selara rasa nasi lemak

a good friend loan us a face netting for my wife to protect against midges for our upcoming trip to isles of skye this morning.

she is busy unpacking, having just returned form a >1 month trip herself.

adam road selara rasa nasi lemak

so I went to get her some selara rasa nasi lemak from adam road..and of course a packet for me la..

No queue basically at 10am, 2pax ahead of me just buying a plate for themselves not 10packets!

After giving me my S$3.90 fish set + chicken wing, the boss told me no more fish so i had to change the other order from S$5.90 royal rumble (everything)to S$5.40 royal flush (same, no fish)..

to prove? he showed me empty shelve & my packet has the last 3 broken fish. he added he not going to charge me..i told him charge la..anyway he still charged just $3.90 chicken set for mine + one royal flush. good chappie!

Really shiok this nasi lemak!

i still chilli better than their crave @ tanjong pagar outlet & for today the chicken wing also better maybe because of chilli

benson salted duck 盐水鸭 S$32

my OPS friend arranged for early 5pax lunch at benson salted duck 盐水鸭 on 30.5.2017.

we arrived at 11.30am. he was early at 11am to chope the bigger table.

benson salted duck 盐水鸭

benson salted duck 盐水鸭 is located at kim seng coffeeshop at blk 168, toa payoh lor 1.

my friend ordered 4 dishes. actually they were quite large even for 5pax.

we had whole duck for S$32. that was undeniably the best dish=duck was flavourful, not salty, tender enough with some slight toughness which one friend commented he liked the this kind of texture. me too, like in the case of pork ribs in bakuteh, prefer having the bite than totally fork tender.

a friend had one experience with salted duck 盐水鸭 & only remembered it as salty. he enjoyed it today too.

i enjoyed salted duck 盐水鸭 in shanghai & jiangsu restaurants when i was travelling & also in singapore at (say) imperial treasures & at shin yeh taiwanese restaurant, but very seldom la, rare & far in between..

my own 盐水鸭 spiced duck on 6.2.2015 

my own 盐水鸭 spiced duck on 6.2.2015

my own 盐水鸭 spiced duck on 6.2.2015

& in fact i did make my own 盐水鸭 on couple occasion some time back.

my best 盐水鸭 spicy duck was when i did a 12-course buffet dinner for 22pax RI friends on 6.2.2015. i think mine was as good or comparable to what we had for lunch today la… 

it’s basically a poached duck (can be steamed too), and nothing to do with salty at least in my marinade recipe, but uses some mala dry rub, so i called it spiced duck.

pig innard soup with fishmaw

the other dishes were good too.

the pig innard soup came chokeful with ingredients, with lots of fish maw too.

tasty soup, just nice, not too strong flaouring, & good ingredients.

lor items 鲁味

the lor items 鲁味 were ok though not stand outs, competent i guess.

they forgot the pigskin order, so my friend went to get. pig skin also average, not like some places eg ng ah sio where it was really good.

smoked duck

the smoked duck seem an odd dish to serve in this coffeeshop place.

it was ok musked by the sauces. wonder if it was the ntuc type…quite ok dish did not really stand out.

my friend who paid for lunch said it was S$50+ (i guess means closed to S$60), quite good price for 5pax…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Benson Salted Duck 盐水鸭

crave S$6.90 nasi lemak

my son loves selara rasa nasi lemak at adam road. everytime he is home, he will take this nasi lemak, for a period almost everyday.

this evening i actually already had my dinner. it was a tiny poron of experimental sauces pasta i was testing – this time with frozen shelled prawns, tiny shrimps at S$10/kg from QBfoods.

daughted called me. she was with son at Tanjong Pagar Centre. they asked if i like to tapao (take-out) crave nasi lemak..

this the adam road nasi lemak.couple years back i read in the papers that the mechanical engineer graduate from NTU gave up a possivle pilot career to rally his 22-member family to grow & run the business.

crave S$6.90 nasi lemak

you don’t refuse what your children ask to do for you, where possible.

anyhow i like adam road selara rasa nasi lemak, just not crazy about it.

i like kuning fish so asked daighter to add kuning fish.

the packet S$6.90, with 1 chicken wing, 1 ikan kuning, 1 egg, the usual ikan bilis, rice & chilli, was rather ex i thought.

the same i had at their next stall competitor, adam’s nasi lemak, was S$4.50 & came with 2 ikan kuning & peanuts & fishcake! that was 2 yrs ago though.…

daughter bouga S$9.90 deepfried whole squid for JH. this was i guess their innovation! using the deepfried chicken better to do a squid.

& i think it was excellent. i would not mind having that for a change sometime, but overall i would have my staple nasi lemak, the usual fare la!

c.h.e.f andy

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

TANJONG PAGAR [NEW]
7 Wallich Street #B2-26/27
Singapore 078884
Operating Hours: 9am – 10pm (Mon-Fri), 9am – 4pm (Sat, Sun)

garlic steamed razor clam S$5.50 each

my OPS bro bought 5pax lunch at ah yat abalone forum restaurant today on 26.5.2017. ^^

seafood promo @ ah yat abalone forum restaurant

ah yat is having a seafood promotion. we ordered a razor clam each, 2 lobsters & a steamed turbot 1kg size. 🙂

har gao

my friend also ordered some dimsum to start. there was a 30% discount on dimsum. & i was pleasantly surprised that the dimsum were very good.

the har gao was better than what i had at canton paradise on 23.5.2017.

siew mai

siew mai were good too.

steamed pork ribs & steamed chicken feet

so were the steamed pork ribs & steamed chicken feet.

first time i had dimsum in ah yat. the dimsum here were really good standard.

our first seafood promo order was the garlic steamed razor clams蒜蓉蒸竹蚌. it was good as any other good seafood restaurant. they don’t do tanhoon here. the clams & the flavourful garlic & light soy sauce were excellent.

2x500g lobster with superior stock = S$29.80 wach lobster

we ordered 2 x500g lobsters! ^^

they were very good! very fresh, sweet lobster & excellent superior stock龙虾上汤焗.

kai garden’s braised 2x main lobsters in superior sauce – one FREE second S$48

though i feel the same dish still better at kai gardens…

HK steamed turbot 1kg=S$48

we decided to order the turbot HK steamed多宝鱼港蒸。

garoupa is a bit common, and tiger garoupa is a bit “chao chie”, mud taste.

anyway my friends said i was going to cook the >2kg garoupa he fished & gave me on monday 29.5.2017, so might as well get the turbot.

it was very good, the meat is more “yao”幼, much more fine than tiger garoupa.

fragrant garden teochew styled steamed halibut – S$56

i asked. they don’t do teochew style here.

by comparison, the steamed halibut at fragrant garden was still much better than this.

seems that fragrant garden misnamed their fish.

halibut is a large ocean fish. apparently the largest pacific halibut caught off the waters of Norway in July 2013 was a 515-pound 8.6 foot fish.

so fragrant garden dish should also be a turbot 多宝鱼!

mini egg tarts

we had the mini egg tarts. i did not try. but they looked ok & all the dimsums we ordered were good.

5pax lunch was S$221 nett, a super lunch for the dishes we had.

c.h.e.f andy

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Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant Address:

australian oysters & chilled angelhair

went with son to portico prime @ dempsey for a 2pax steak dinner on 24.5.2017. ^^

last time i came here was with wife on 2.1.2017.

portico prime

the place has high ceiling & really nice ambience.

portico prime

we were there at 8pm on a wednesday. not many tables were taken up.

focaccia & butter

we were served some focaccia & butter.

we asked server for extra virgin olive oil & balsamic. they never came.

australian oysters = 1/2dozen S$28

we asked the server if oysters were included in amex lovedining privilege at 50% discounts for 2pax.

1st server on query said yes. second server actually taking order said know. then she went to check, and came back to say actually NO discounts??? but they will honour it just for this time only.

australian oysters

oysters were really good!

plump, sweet, tasty, juicy, no overly strong sea taste nor metallic after taste.

excellent oysters. i will take everytime if there is discounts. ^^

chilled truffle angelhair

the chilled truffle angelhair is one of their signature.

chilled truffle angelhair

& it was really very good, the best i had so far.

very flavourful, pasta totally al dente.

chilled truffle angelhair S$26

the texture & flavours combined well. it was served with kawa prawns, caviar & nobu extract. very nice indeed.

wagyu rump S$46 

there is no 50% discounts for the japanese wagyu.

i took the USDA ribeye last time it was very good, and the sirloin ok but not so good.

this time the server recommended to try the wagyu rump.

wagyu rump S$46 

it was stronger beefy flavours which was good, not nearly as tender as the ribeye, but quite ok, not tough. the server recommended medium which is my usual preference anyway. 🙂

USDA aurora ribeye S$46 

and the USDA aurora ribeye was as good as ever! very tender sweet, by comparison the wagyu rump flavour has its attraction. my son said he grew to like it. i didn’t mind too, but given a choice i guess i would still do the ribeye.

dinner was a very affordable S$87 for all the excellent dishes we had. we got the 50% discount for the oysters this time. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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牛车水阿婆卤鸭Braised Duck 

a mildly eventful day today.

did my usual weekly run with my RI buddy at faber heights ulu pandan jogging track, and was caught in a heavy downpour. was in 2 minds whether to stop & take shelter under toad bridge. as i knew the rain was not going to go away. we took shelter about 15mins, when the rain was momentarily lighter we decided to run back to my friend’s house which was another 1+km. needless to say we were totally drenched.

but everything was per normal. we had our 100plus, then coffee chat. after that i drove back.

another RI friend VJ came by about 12pm. it was still drizzling. we decided to go commonwealth crescent food centre to take jian kang wanton mee.

something happened which inconvenient me & took up my entire afternoon. anyhow we got to commonwealth crescent FC but jian kang want mee was closed.

so we decided to just have braised duck rice 牛车水阿婆卤鸭. opposite jian kang noodles.

牛车水阿婆卤鸭Braised Duck 

i had this with my OPS buddy on 5.9.2016.. and another time with my sis & bil.

both times it was quite good.

牛车水阿婆卤鸭Braised Duck 

i ordered 2 duck drumstick rice. for my friend in added duck liver (he jokingly said nearest thing to foie gras) and braised egg. total was S$13.50=maybe S$6 for drumstick rice, $1 for liver, $0.50 for egg? not cheap not ex i guess.

meat still tender, moist not dry, taste wise ok agree with my friend VJ it was just above average…

c.h.e.f andy

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牛车水阿婆卤鸭

#02-95

31 Commonwealth Crescent S149644, Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

har gao 

daughter & son wanted to go dinner nearby. they decided to go canton paradise at starvista on 23.5.2017.

no queue we got our 4pax table immediately.

last time i came here was on 7.11.2016. ^^

har gao 

har gao my daughter’s favourite. and it’s always good here.

xo carrot cake 

& son liked the xo carrot cakes. my youngest daughter like that too, she’s not with us for dinner this evening.

steamed pork ribs 

the steamed pork rib also always quite good.

half roast duck

the roast duck this evening was a let down this evening. still competent i guess.

maybe it is just a matter of comparison.used to like the roast duck here. the recent roast duck i had in goldmines at bayswater london recently was a lot more tasty & flavourful than this.

& the ones i had not long ago at (1)xin cuisine & at (2)royal london duck were both better.

beef brisket noodles

son ordered the beef brisket noodles.

dumpling noodles

and JH ordered the dumpling noodle soup.

dinner came to about $100 for 4pax. on the expensive side i thought for the limited dishes we had.

c.h.e.f andy

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four seasons cendol at lor 8 toa payoh

after a very shioklicious lai heng bakchormee, my OPS bro was too full to go back to lor 4 to try the kim keat hokkien mee on 23.5.2017. ^^

surprise! surprise! lol! haha!

it’s always a good & as a matter of fact necessary dining habit to stop when you feel full or almost full.

it makes no sense at all to overeat, an action that makes you feel worse NOT better. nothing to gain everything to lose ya! and it does the food no justice. better to leave a slight/almost full stomach & great memories & future cravings for the food.

we were game & decided to go to lor 8 for the GCT (goh chok tong) aka four seasons cendol at lor 8.

this stall is, for me, handsdown the best cendol anywhere.

the coconut milk was thick, undiluted. the gula melaka was the best, excellent, very tasty la! ^^

so we had a $2 cendol each, savouring the wonderful cendol, coconut milk & gula melaka.

c.h.e.f andy

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煎蕊

S$4 lai heng bakchormee

after sharing a S$3 lor mee at zhi xiang tao payoh lor 4 blk 93. kim keat hokkien noodles not open yet, we decided to continue our culinary adventure, so we drove to lai heng bakchormee. 🙂

lai heng bakchormee @51 toa payoh lor 6

lai heng is the same stall at changi T3 B2 that my wife & i like to go with our son & family when we were sending our son to airport.

though the road address is lor 6, the carpark is actually accessible from lor 5. ^^

lai heng bakchormee @51 toa payoh lor 6

it’s been such a long time since i had a really good mushroom sauce style bakchormee. 🙂

these days i occasionally go to 6th avenue jalan tua kong for meepok tar.

I have not found much occasion nor motivation to queue at tai hwa at crawford lane; nor to specifically search for a good bakchormee stall.

and if i go to hong lim i will end up taking ah heng curry chicken noodles instead of tai hwa.

lai heng bakchormee @51 toa payoh lor 6, 310051

there were just couple folks at the stall.

however their system is to pick a number upon arrival, then go pick up the noodles when the digital board next to the TV calls your number.

our no. was 30. there were 3 before us. we awaited maybe 10+mins.

S$4 lai heng bakchormee

the sauce & chilli were very good, very tasty with the noodles. especially with just enough vinegar, not overwhelming.

these days, every stall makes qq noodles, almost la..

S$4 lai heng bakchormee

& the ingredients for the small S$4, quite good la..not a lot just enough i think.

i enjoyed this noodles. will definitely come back again. it is different from 6th avenue jalan tua kong, and i like both styles & both stalls.

for me this was better, much more shiok than ah hoe bakchormee, and about as good as tai hwa.

c.h.e.f andy

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S$3 zhi xiang lor mee

today my OPS bro came by my place & we decided to go try out hawker food on 23.5.2017.^^

we are thinking of various places like hong lim food centre, adam road food centre, & decided on trying out toa payoh. i googled while my friend drove. we decided to start with hokkien noodles at toa payoh lor 4, then bakchormee at lor 6, then beef noodles at lor 7.

zhi xiang lor mee #01-49 blk 93 toa payoh lorong 4 food centre

after parking, we realised that kim keat hokkien mee at lor 4 opens at 11.30am. we were early, so decided to explore blk 93 food centre. this really a tiny place & combines both the wet market & hawker centre.

zhi xiang lor mee #01-49 blk 93 toa payoh lorong 4 food centre

we decided to try the lor mee, and bought a S$3 bowl to share.

S$3 zhi xiang lor mee

surprisingly, it was quite good really.

the noodles & broth was tasty.

S$2.50 soon heng lor mee at beo crescent

not quite the standard of soon heng lor mee at beo crescent.

S$2.50 hai tang lor mee at mei ling food centre

nor the equally good S$2.50 hai tang lor mee at mei ling food centre.

S$3 zhi xiang lor mee

anyhow, still a good, competent lor mee.

lor mee not my favourite, so i unlikely to try this here again.

c.h.e.f andy

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Zhi Xiang Special Lor Mee

Address:

#01-49 blk 93 toa payoh lorong 4 food centre