kurobuta platter (S$25) & yakiniku grill stove 

wife, daughter & i went back to aburiya for yakiniku dinner this evening on 5.2.2017. ^^

this our go to place for dinner when we couldn’t think of another place & didn’t want to try other food.

aburiya 烧屋

there is renovation outside & the place is boarded up, so aburiya & other affected eating places put up signs they are still in operation.

it was quite crowded this evening.

kurobuta platter (S$25) & negi 

the kurobuta platter at S$25 is quite good value & now our regular orders.

hokkaido beef platter – S$40 

the last couple times we also ordered the hokkaido wagyu platter & found it quite good too.

so for this evening we had that as well.

yakiniku grill stove 

fire was strong.

the pork needed longer time to cook.

they were excellent, all the cuts were good.

yakiniku grill stove 

likewise the hokkaido beef.

like wife said, it is better than buying expensive wagyu from isetan & cooking ourselves at home.

bibimen

bibimen is one of our regular orders too.

bibimen 

truly excellent flavours & good ingredients.

i like this a lot now as wife prefers bibimen to bibimbab, so i ended up eating this all the time.

kimchi chigae 

the kimchi chigae here also very good, though this evening it was a bit salty.

kimchi chigae 

it has good ingredients, good serving of kimchi & a bit of belly pork. very nice soup.

we enjoyed dinner like always.

cost was S$127 for 3pax including a sake sampler S$18. not cheap but we enjoy everytime.

c.h.e.f andy

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#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

went with my OPS primary school buddies for 4pax lunch at hachi today on 2.2.2017, CNY Day 6. ^

this the best lunch omakase, or rather the best lunch PERIOD! for me la… 🙂

hachi 

today good lunch crowd, hachi quite full, all tables taken up & 3 sushi counter seats too. 🙂

we took the 8-course ohmi wagyu lunch omakase S$92pax++, normal price is S$88pax++, server does not know if the price will be increased or just for today.

i had this awesome omakase for a friend’s birthday lunch here most recently on 3.11.2016.

most of the omakase dishes are the usual.

#1 uni isobe age  

first dish was uni isobe age, a nori (seaweed) flavoured fritter of uni (sea urchin) on a bed of edamame puree.

uni was very sweet… for me of course, i am happy to have uni as sashimi, but this age was good too, as always.

#2 oyster with ponzu jelly 

oyster with ponzu jelly is another regular fixture in this omakase.

#2 oyster with ponzu jelly 

oyster very fresh, plump & sweet, & the ponzu jelly combined perfectly. 🙂

server said it was irish oyster.

#3 ohmi wagyu nimono 近江和牛 with taro

the ohmi wagyu 近江和牛nimono (steamed dish) was incredible -nice tender, smooth braised wagyu with taro & edamame.

wagyu was so flavourful & melt-in-the-mouth, with a hint of yuzu. my friend said he wanted to make himself with the yuzu flavour.

#4 sashimi moriawase = akami, chutoro, buri, ika, hotate 

the sashimi moriawase was top draw = akami, chutoro, buri, ika, hotate.

usually you get akami (lean toro) or chutoro. today we had both. according to server buri supposed to be same family as kampachi (amberjack) and hamachi (yellow tail), only it is deep ocean & most expensive.

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

the grilled A5 ohmi wagyu was fantastic, so flavourful, marbled, melt-in-your-mouth. ^^

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

the best there ever is!

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

there was some charcoal salt, sweet potato, ginkyo nuts, a brocoli like veg, momotaro tomatoes from hokkaido, and a cracker of tiny dried fishes.

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

next, we had the ohmi wagyu sushi.

server said to start eating from the right.

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

one with daikon, minced radish. the other topped with uni & caviar, and the last, with foie gras dust.

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

all top quality stuff, excellent tender wagyu no tendon, no residue.

#7 ochazuke お茶漬け

for the gohan set, we had ochazuke お茶漬け.

there were 2 pieces of tai – seabream sashimi, and excellent pickles, very tasty not salty.

#7 ochazuke お茶漬け 

so instead of ocha (tea) they used a very tasty dashi to add t0 the rice.

#8 kuromame – black beans, with yuzu jelly 

for the dessert to round off the meal, we had kuromame, the japanese sweet black beans with yuzu jelly, and they always served the roasted tea. so no need to order tea la which is another S$4!

my friends dined here for the first time. they all enjoyed very much. one friend was invited to waku ghin dinner twice the last few months. the price around S$600pax to S$720pax each time. while there is no abalone, alaskan crab & lobster in this hachi omakase, the A5 ohmi wagyu are the best there is anywhere. so he was also well satisfied with this lunch omalase.

c.h.e.f andy

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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