Good Dinner @ Jin Hock Seafood Tampines 844 Coffeeshop on 9Jun2016

4 dishes

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, crispy eggplants with string beans, 金香鱼头

my OPS friends organised a 4pax eat-together at jin hock at tampines 844 coffeeshop on 9.6.2016. ^^

the last time 2 OPS friends bought a bigger group dinner here at jin hock seafood on 19.4.2016. 🙂

that was the first time i had white bee hon WBH 白米粉. after that they were talking about 金香鱼头 here.

& then we tried the 金香鱼头 at canto jumbo 广东珍宝 @ old airport road & my friends all felt the jin hock one was better.  so here we were this evening to try.

ah seng's maoshanwang MSW 猫山王

ah seng’s maoshanwang MSW 猫山王

i went to get some MSW 猫山王  from ah seng. i ordered 5kg. they gave me 3 durians 5.9kg vacuum packed in 4 boxes. 🙂

we gathered at a friend’s place to have durian first before dinner. we finished 3 boxes among 4 of us. ah seng’s durians were consistently good but not overwhelming.

my friend brought equally good ones from tiong bahru to a scrupmtious 10pax OPS makan & chill some days back…. & i had equally good ones also from clementi mall the evening before. 🙂

tampines 844 coffee shop

tampines 844 coffee shop

tampines 844 was quite crowded & good traffic on a thurs evening. 🙂

before sitting down we saw a durian stall next door with a few pathetic looking MSW & other durians & charging S$16/kg for MSW.

ah seng, tiong bahru & clementi mall all charge S$15/kg. it’s better to buy from bigger, regular durian stalls, they charge cheaper & offer greater assurance of quality la..

3 dishes

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, 金香鱼头

my friend ordered 4 dishes – vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, crispy eggplants with string beans, 金香鱼头.

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋 were good, not super but good!

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

texture for the skin was great, gelatinous, for the lean meat less so. not too sour & not too sweet either & quite good flavours. my friend felt the vinegar not enuf, basically dish not “pang” enuf. it was ok for me la.

金香鱼头

金香鱼头

金香鱼头 for this evening we all felt was not great. not enuf sauce & flavours.

金香鱼头

金香鱼头

if just based on this evening’s version, i can probably make better & certainly the one we had recently at canto jumbo 广东珍宝was better that evening.

problem is always consistency, so never quite definitive. some days better some days not so la.

crispy eggplants with string beans

crispy eggplants with string beans

the crispy eggplants with string beans.

it was a well done dish, nice crispy eggplants. not quite my favourite kind of food, nor the combination appeals much to me.

WBH - white bee hoon

WBH – white bee hoon

white bee hoon was very good this evening. very flavourful, well infused with flavours from the broth, very much better than the first i tried here on 19.4.2016.

i have tried making this once as WBH, and 3 times as 三楼米粉. for me the 2 dishes were same in preparation, only you crisp the bee hoon for 三楼米粉.

the most recent i did 三楼米粉for my RI friends 9pax lunch, and they all loved the flavours though i could not create the crispy texture for a 9pax portion.

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

a friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥.

it was his first time, and amazingly good for the first time.

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

the tub looked small but actually too compacted so contained really a large bowl of orh nee.

anyhow i finised the entire tub. yam was flavourful not too sweet, pumpkin, ginkyo nuts were all good. coconut was “pang” & thick. ^^

koropok fish crackers

koropok fish crackers

another friend brought koropok. it was the best for him. we were too full from durians + dinner + orh nee, so i brought the packet home. eating it this few days, not particularly my favourite though.

had a great time this evening, good durians, great company & food & dessert & chit chat.

dinner for 4 dishes 4 pax was S$61, about S$15pax, quite ok!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Jin Hock seafood 金福海鲜菜馆
Address:
844 Tampines Street 82, 520844
Phone:
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun: 1700 – midnight

回锅肉Doublecooked Pork Collar + Long Beans in Nonya Sauce – 13th Teban Gardens Community Breakfast on 10Jun2016

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar + long beans in nonya sauce

回锅肉doublecooked pork collar + long beans in nonya sauce

i made a 回锅肉doublecooked pork collar + long beans in nonya sauce for teban gardens community service centre’s friday community breakfast on 10.6.2016. ^^

this my 13th friday breakfast community meal at teban gardens community service centre.

i first started doing a community meal dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

the centre was started in 2002 after much effort & challenge by our RI friend who is a pastor of pasir panjang hill brethren church (pphbc) which owns & runs the CSC.

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long beans in nonya sauce

long beans in nonya sauce

for the long beans (quite a lot about 1 kg) i just fried with chopped garlic, cut chilli padi & a bit of gimson nonya sauce. i added oyster sauce & fish sauce & fried a bit more.

then i added some stock & covered to cook the long beans.

i reduced & tasted the dish, then off fire, added 1 tbsp of nonya sauce & mixed.

very tasty dish with unique flavours imparted by the nonya sauce.

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar after 4hrs in 90degC oven

回锅肉doublecooked pork collar after 4hrs in 90degC oven

for the 回锅肉doublecooked pork collar, i had about 1.3kg for 4hrs in a 90degC oven.

usually 回锅肉 uses belly pork. as some of my friends pointed out, belly pork kind of fatty for the older folks so i switched to pork collar.

i used a marinade or brine – 4tbsp shaoxing cooking wine, 2 tbsp mirin 1 heap tbsp sugar, 1 flat tbsp salt. i then fried 2 cinnamon bark & 4 star anise till fragrant & added the marinade mix. then i marinated the pork collar & placed in a oven-proof dish in the oven.

i use this method also to make “mock kurobuta” steak!

just fry the pork collar on high heat to brown the meat & serve like usual steak. 🙂

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar

for 回锅肉doubecooked pork collar, it means to return to the wok & cook a second time, i sliced & fried the pork over high heat for 1/2min.

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar

回锅肉doubecooked pork collar

i added a tsp+ of the mala 麻辣sauce (& some oyster sauce) to flavour the pork a bit more. the older folks cannot take too spicy so i added very little just to give it colour & flavour, just as i added just 1 cut chilli padi to 1kg of long beans. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very “Song” (Enjoyable) 9pax Claypot Rice+Crabby Lunch on 7Jun2016

7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

my good friends came by to have 9pax claypot rice lunch on 7,6,2016. ^^

we had 7 dishes. i did not make dessert today. lazy la…

#1 claypot rice
#2 chilli crab
#3 crab beehoon
#4 三楼米粉
#5 belly pork steamed with salted fish
#6 kou rou扣肉
#7 nonya sauce ocra

7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

this came about as one friend brought me to have new lucky claypot rice dinner (S$10 claypot for 2pax) at holland drive.

it was very good claypot rice. & soup was good too. but there were very little chicken. needed S$5 more to add chicken.

after that i started to make my own claypot rice which was hugely successful & served to family & different group of friends, but not yet this group.

7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

i cooked one whole deboned chicken & less than 3cups rice, so ideally for 5pax max.

since we had 9pax today, i added a few other dishes.

almost all unanimous that claypot rice was the best dish today, though one friend had the 三楼米粉as his best liked dish.

my friend who brought me to new lucky still thinks new lucky is more “pang” & drier as they have the wire mesh to spread the heat.

for me though, i think my claypot rice just as “pang”, which gives me excuse to ask him to buy new lucky to try again & double-confirm… & my slow steaming deboned chicken was so much more tender (not old even for breast) & flavourful.

the rice was slightly moist but i personally actually prefer it this way, as it was not wet or soggy or mushy by any description so the texture & “moistness” actually quite perfect for me.

so much for self adulation. lol!! ^^

chilli crab

chilli crab

chilli crab was my first time.

quite useful to have a group of friends who are confident & relax to try your first time food.

chilli crab

chilli crab

i have done chilli crab sauce pasta previously, so i used the same recipe for sauce preparation.

crab is troublesome stuff, to eat, to buy (how to get live crabs same day as cooking lunch for 9pax?), and to prepare – kill, crack pincers etc.

chilli crab

chilli crab

lately (last one year) i have cooked lobster (some live) on a number of occasions & learned the “mercy killing” method, basically deep freeze!

2xvery meaty crabs from chinatown market 1.1kg @ S$31:kg2xvery meaty crabs from chinatown market 1.1kg @ S$31:kg3

i bought the fresh crabs (2 crabs 1.1kg @ S$31/kg) from chinatown market yesterday & put in freezer.

this morning i washed & cleaned crab thoroughly (easier to clean w/o a hole by chopsticks or knife in the crab), then opened crab & cracked pincers. very meaty, & no less fresh for freezing!

chilli crab

chilli crab

my chilli crab sauce was pretty ok except it was a bit sweet, no reference to calibrate i guess.

chilli crab

chilli crab

reduce the sweetness, it should be a pretty good standard crab. for me i also like it to be a bit spicier.

crab bee hoon soup i have done a few times already.

i have made tastier ones, but today’s version was ok not bad by what i am capable of preparing.

but that is still a long way off c/w uncle leong & melben, unlike my claypot rice which i think is comparable with outside stalls.

all my friend’s feedback were that too much evaporated milk. good feedback i added 1/2 cup (about 120ml) will reduce to 1/3cup (80ml) next time.

probably can’t do much more to make it tastier, already had bones of 2 chicken boiled for many hours to get the stock & also the chinese cabbage plus some intense fried prawn heads & shells stock.

can vary a bit but probably cannot match the 老火kind of standard.

it was a good soup anyway.

a friend commented the thick beehoon was overcooked, & it was. actually as i told him, i did not even cook the beehoon just throw it it after off the fire. however with so many dishes, they could not be done JIT, so always prepared beforehand then reheat.

for the 2 belly pork, i used my kou rou 扣肉 recipe slight variation – basically 4hrs in 95degC oven.

supposed to steam for 75mins but i needed to separate the 2 belly pork portions so steamed each about 40mins then steamed again separately for the remaining time.

somehow that did not get me the right texture (which is melt in the mouth but not falling apart tenderness).

belly pork steamed with salted fish

belly pork steamed with salted fish

the other portion i made a new belly pork dish steamed with salted fish.

this i modeled after the canto jumbo dish.

belly pork steamed with salted fish

belly pork steamed with salted fish

both dish were not my best, but still pretty ok tasty dishes la…

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce was pretty standard.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

nothing to it except using gimtim nonya sauce.

for this lunch, a friend brought me a new bottle. she said it’s not available in singapore. & she was the one who previously brought me the bottle i used today. 🙂

i bought a bottle of taisun nonya sauce though just in case, not use it yet.

三楼米粉

三楼米粉

today’s 三楼米粉 did not have the appearance standard of the last one i made. supposed to be crispy outside & moist & tasty inside with the beehoon infusing the stock as you reduce to dry out the dish.

but that was my first experiment & good for 3-4pax. today was my second try for 9pax & more than twice the amount. quite impossible to turnover to brown the other side. just breaks up.

but they all like the taste, with one friend voting as his best dish.

wiped clean 风扫落叶

wiped clean 风扫落叶

the slate was wiped clean 风扫落叶 , all ready for the next round.

i did not make dessert. lazy!

a friend brought cut sweet 16 pineapples, sweet & tangy. another friend brought some kit kat etc.

we had a great time.

now must get my friend to buy me new lucky again!

c.h.e.f andy

Fun Scrumptious Homecooked dinner at OPS Primary Schoolmate’s Place on 6Jun2016

OPS friend's homegourmet makan

OPS friend’s homegourmet makan

my OPS primary school mate invited 6 of us for dinner on 6.6.2016. ^^

including his family of 4, we had 10pax.

OPS friend's homegourmet makan

OPS friend’s homegourmet makan

i was 15mins late, last to arrive. it was raining cats & dogs & my GPS actually led me astray (strange!) & i passed the KJE exit, hesitated as google map showed the next exit. stopped by on the road shoulder to check the map. it was clearly wrong & i U-turned at mandai exit to get back.

after that was ok except that i passed micasa condo instead of turning into CCK ave3, so had to again U-turn back.

should have checked the map clearly instead of just relying on google directions w/o a mental register of the location.

friend's fish head curry lagi shiok!

friend’s fish head curry lagi shiok!

my friend made a good curry chicken. i had it twice most recently at another bigger OPS primary schoolmates makan & chill session on 21.5.2016 at another friend’s place.

just sidetrack a bit – i said in that blog post “little did we know what our friends were capable of. the food were absolutely better than eat out or catered – no question la!^^”

this first time i tried his other dishes.

the fish head curry was excellent! quite unique, some special nonya flavours, must get recipe from him la..

another friend kapo my fish eyes when i was not looking! now got competition liao…just kidding haha! 🙂

friend son's cereal prawns

friend son’s cereal prawns

friend’s 24yr old son made cereal prawns.

it was good standard! taste was good (which is key), prawns fresh & shell crispy enough. i ate with the shell.

really not bad for a young man. i tried cooking this dish only once 2 years back, not as good as this. yet to try it since.

braised chicken

braised chicken

braised chicken was a good comfort food. one friend said she didn’t take thighs.

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh was another good comfort food, and it’s also easy to make. the prime ribs were fork tender (we had a private T-rex joke 🙂 …).

i actually prefer pork ribs & pork in general to have a bit more bite myself, but most people would love it fork tender. i took a second piece. this was softer than the first so i liked the first more.

french beans to hae bee nonya style

french beans to hae bee nonya style

i think this dish was french beans. & i heard something about minced haebee (dried prawns)…probably chatting other things, forgot to ask. will find out later.

french beans to hae bee nonya style

french beans to hae bee nonya style

most importantly it was very tasty, also some nonya taste.

maoshanwang 猫山王

maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg

a friend brought durians for tiong bahru, like 2 maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg, 2 red prawns 红虾 – S$13/kg, and 2 D13 – S$12/kg. must have cost him S$140, so costly to eat durians in singapore nowadays.

but….everyone is buying more not less durians. maybe 1 of us should start a durian stall la, like ah seng at ghim moh…

maoshanwang 猫山王

maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg

one friend must have been waiting for durians the whole dinner, proclaiming it the highlight of the evening.

what was she thinking? not politically correct la…dinner was the highlight of the evening…haha! i sense she going to hammer me liao….

just kidding la… we lucky folks had 2 highlights in one evening. lol!!!

moral of the story = we must have more durian parties!

red prawn 红虾

red prawn 红虾 – S$13/kg

for me MSW was the best.

the red prawns & D13 were very good though, and all agreed the MSW was actually not as good as some better ones we had tried. still for me, not the best MSW still better than the best red prawn & D13, so creamy & tasty.

D13

D13 – S$12/kg

the D13 was also very good. my friend’s daughter preferred it the most, though she said the red prawns also very good after she had taken the MSW.

another friend's konnyaku jelly

another friend’s konnyaku jelly

another friend brought the konnyaku jelly. she brought last time also at the bigger makan & chill on 21.5.2016.

another friend's bachang

another friend’s bachang

she also brought bachang.

one friend, mama mia, took 2 bachang before dinner (although it could be other friends teasing him & he only took 1 before dinner…don’t know who to trust these days & when it is banter & when serious…hahaha!)

he said it was better than his mother’s. don’t know what he would have said to girls when he was younger. lol!!! i learned the words “just kidding” from this friend…

another friend's bachang

another friend’s bachang

i took one. i was already really full, but it was ok.

a fun evening with good friends. all these began only end of 2015 when a primary schoolmate visited from USA. we have been spending lots of time together ever since, thanks to group whatsapp, daily chat & greetings.

i really enjoyed it!

c.h.e.f andy

 

OK Fish Soup @ Hougang Lee Chen利珍 Cooked Food at Bedok North FC on 4Jun2016

S$4 bowl fish soup + S$8 for tau gua tau pok kong bak

S$4 bowl fish soup + S$8 for tau gua tau pok kong bak

after bathesda bedok bread of life (BOL) community lunch, 4 of us went over to bedok north food centre for lunch on 4.6.2016. ^^

last we had here the-

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

the fish soup here is good.

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

one friend (who bought us lunch) went to queue, the rest settled at one clean table at the centre portion which was windy.

S$4 bowl fish soup

S$4 bowl fish soup

the fish soup was quite cheap, S$4 for a large bowl with plenty of fish. fish was fresh & sweet too.

S$4 bowl fish soup

S$4 bowl fish soup

the soup was bland though.

i don’t fancy this dish much & this particular stall was so so to me, apart from the fact that it was just S$4.

for a really good fish soup, try yu mei mei shi 屿美美食at havelock food centre, expensive but real good la! 🙂

kong bak + lor nerng

kong bak + lor nerng

the kongbak, lor neng…

tau kua & tau pok

tau kua & tau pok

& also the tau kua & tau pok were all quite good.

S$4 bowl fish soup

S$4 bowl fish soup

the chai buay ok too.

all 3 side dishes cost just S$8.

so lunch was S$6 per head, S$4 for the fish soup & S$2 for the side dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

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Hougang Lee Chen利珍 Cooked Food 

Address

#01-54, Blk 216 Bedok North St 1 Market and Food Centre,

Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1, 460216

扣肉 + Nonya Sauce Long Beans – 6th Newgate Learning Hub Community Lunch on 4Jun2016

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

made 扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans  this morning on 4.6.2016. ^^

this my 6th community lunch dish for bathesda community’s newgate learning hub (bread of life). ^^

my 1st for newgate community lunch was on 27.2.2016.:-)

nonya sauce long beans

nonya sauce long beans

i did a nonya sauce long beans.

it was very easy to do – just add oil, chopped garlic, cut chilli padi (or chilli oil), fry till fragrant then add cut long beans, fry & add oyster sauce & fish sauce.

i also added some stock, covered & braised the long beans & reduced.

belly pork after 4hrs at 90degC oven

belly pork after 4hrs at 95degC oven

for the belly pork, i added 2 tbsp mirin, 4 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine, 1 heap tbsp sugar, 1 flat tbsp salt.

fry 2 cinnamon stock & 4 star anise in a bit of oil to get the aroma, then add the mix to melt the sugar.

belly pork after 4hrs at 90degC oven

belly pork after 4hrs at 95degC oven

i then put the belly pork (blanched to remove scum) in the marinade then in oven dish in a 95degC oven for 4 hrs.

belly pork after 4hrs at 90degC oven

belly pork after 4hrs at 90degC oven

after pork has cooled, put in fridge, then sliced pork thinly & put in steam oven (or steamer) for 75mins.

i fried lightly the sliced pork adding 2 tsp dark sauce to about 1.4kg pork. dark sauce made it more fragrant.

basically pork is fully done at this step…can be served on table la..

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

for the community lunch for eased of transport, i placed the pork & nonya sauce long beans together in one aluminium container.

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

扣肉 + nonya sauce long beans

while it is a bit unhealthy to serve to the elderly folks, i noticed that they actually liked the dish better than even the deboned chicken dishes i did previously.

more people actually finished their beehoon & noodles & most finished the belly pork on their plates. i asked about 8 persons if the pork was too fat for them, they all replied it was ok & very good la.. ^^

the 4hr 95degC slow braise would have rendered out much of the fat, & this was clearly so as the sauce i drained off the pork after the oven & again after the steam oven were full of fat. but it was i guess still fatty.

c.h.e.f andy

Shiok! Zi Char Dinner @ Hup Choon Zi Char on 2Jun2016

fish head curry lots of vege

fish head curry lots of vege

went with wife’s friends for a walk in the park 🙂 on 2.6.2016….

nice folks that my wife met at her yoga lessons, and they did a walk at macritchie together a short while back. 2 other couples & another of their friends joined. we were mostly around the same age group except for the younger couple – the guy is a serious tai chi exponent, teaching at an association. 🙂

weather was temperamental. what’s new?

wife & i were filling hot, humid, oppressive, and i actually put on sun screen & changed to my running attire. next minute sky was threatening to open up, actually rained quite a bit.

as it turned out, weather was quite perfect for the walk, cool & no rain so we got started.

happened that wife had some urgent stuff to attend to. she went off & joined us later for dinner. 🙂

we started from yarwood, trooped down to dunearn road, then rifle range, at some point before temasek club cut across to the trail at bukit timah nature reserve, walked under the forest canopy near to BKE then back to rifle range road then to the kampong trail to kampung chantek, then to binjai park & ending at hup choon for a very nice zi char dinner. 🙂

i started my endomondo a bit late, a bit after after we had crossed over to the trail. still it registered 6.15km & 58.5mins near hup choon, a bit surprise for me as normal slow walk about 4km/hr. i suppose we walked a bit brisk??? another lady clocked from beginning & about same distance & 8000+ steps so i guess it was quite correct.

hup choon zi char

hup choon zi char

i had been to hup choon many times in the past but mostly for coffee & bakuteh at the time eons ago, never really around dinner time for zi char.

the hostess ordered several very good dishes. this one of those zi char dinner that i really enjoyed. ^^

fish head curry lots of vege

fish head curry lots of vege

fish head curry (with added vegetables) was very good.

it’s different (maybe more chinese version) from my own fish head curry, just as lemak, very enjoyable for me. i guess i ate the most la… lol! 🙂

prawn paste chicken

prawn paste chicken mid-wings

prawn paste chicken mid-wings were tasty.

prawn paste chicken

prawn paste chicken mid-wings

i not particularly fond of prawn paste chicken, but this i count as a very good fried chicken wing.

seafood treasures pot

seafood treasures pot

seafood treasures pot was good.

seafood treasures pot

seafood treasures pot

this mainly got to do with fresh seafood.

not sure how much it was here, at uncle leong jurong east which was very good it would be S$30 for this serving size.

i think uncle leong used a good stock base, maybe this one no stock, but still a good dish.

cuttlefish kang kong

cuttlefish kang kong

cuttlefish kang kong“jill her eng chai” was good too, very competent.

it’s the kind of taste i am more used to than that at forture at old holland road across the other side of dunearn.

hae chor

hae chor

hae chor was competent too, crispy, not too oily, good filling. i guess quite good though not my favourite dish.

hor fun

hor fun

hor fun was also quite tasty. didn’t feel so much wok hae, maybe it was a large plate & i did not take it immediately. but it was good anyway, competent.

don’t know how much the dinner for 9pax cost. will come back again soon to try it la!

c.h.e.f andy

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Hup Choon Eating House

Address

794 Upper Bukit Timah Road, 678133

Cuisine

Asian, Chinese, Local,Singaporean, Zi Char

Phone

+65 64684081

Fabulous Degustation Dinner @ Cornerhouse in 1Jun2016

baguette & walnut bread

baguette & walnut bread

wife bought nice anniversary dinner at cornerhouse in botanic gardens this evening on 1.6.2016. ^^

this my first time to cornerhouse. i had been to au jardin & taken the degustation several times previously but not since cornerhouse took over.

looking at my previous post, the last time we were here was for the new year eve dinner on 12.31.2016.

the photos were not so well taken (low lighting) but reading the post again i think the food that time was even better than this evening. more of that later.

Chef Jason Tan's Menu Degustation

Chef Jason Tan’s Menu Degustation

for this evening we had a 5-course degustation menu at S$188++

white wine

glass of white wine

i don’t drink. wife always order wine.

we looked at the wine menu. a 1/2 bottle red was S$188. wife decided not to order as she said previously it was like S$80+

looking at the 2013 NYE degus dinner, our red a grand cru classe was S$85! wife had good memory la!

anyway she decided to order 1 glass white followed by 1 glass red, probably S$70 in total. both wines were good.

looking out of the verandah

looking out of the verandah

looking out of the verandah2

looking out of the verandah

looking out of the verandah3

looking out of the verandah

i asked for one of the 2 verandah tables seating looking out at the gardens.

it was really nice.

amuse bouche

amuse bouche

amuse bouche2

amuse bouche

the amuse bouche comprises 3 items.

couldn’t really remember…they were all good la! this one quite unique taste.

amuse bouche3

amuse bouche – salty fish crackers with tobiko (flying fish roe)

amuse bouche5

amuse bouche – salty fish crackers with tobiko (flying fish roe)

this a prawn cracker with tobiko. great!

amuse bouche4

amuse bouche – bitter cucumber terrine

last a amuse bouche – bitter cucumber terrine. we enjoyed all of the them. 🙂

#1 carabinero prawn (scarlett prawn)

#1 carabinero prawn (scarlett prawn)

#1 carabinero prawn (scarlett prawn)2

#1 carabinero prawn (scarlett prawn)

the first course, carabinero prawn, scarlett prawn from mediterranean, was simply awesome!

the variations of seasonal tomatoes, with basil, olive oil & another falvour were sublime.

the prawn was steamed & chilled, very sweet, tasty & firm. told wife the texture felt like lobster. & there was a tomato sorbet, basically a very flavourful gazpacho, at the top, 12 o’clock! ^^

later i saw on naked fins a nice pic. 

it was a very large prawn, and in some sites they mentioned it tasted like lobster.

#2 white asparagus with 24mths comte, ikura

#2 white asparagus with 24mths comte, ikura

#2 white asparagus with 24mths comte, ikura2

#2 white asparagus with 24mths comte, ikura

second course was white asparagus with a 24mths comte cheese & ikura.

such an artistic presentation! ^^

the white asparagus (confit maybe?) was par excellence, very tender & sweet. overall while the dish was very tasty & enjoyable, it made less impression than the tomatoes (& prawns).

#3 maine lobster, riso, bottarga

#3 maine lobster, riso, bottarga

#3 maine lobster, riso, bottarga2

#3 maine lobster, riso, bottarga

the 3rd course, maine lobster, was quite sublime, out of this world! ^^

maine lobster, riso3

#3 maine lobster, riso, bottarga

lobster was firm, sweet, tasty, riso (a risotto like pasta) was great & the sauce was just fantastic! (from bottarga the salted fish roe i think?).

#4 japanese toriyama wagyu, horseradish mash

#4 japanese toriyama wagyu, horseradish mash

#4 japanese toriyama wagyu, horseradish mash2

#4 japanese toriyama wagyu, horseradish mash

the 4th course, japanese toriyama wagyu was like any top jap wagyu, simply fabulous, so much better than australian or USA, & horseradish mash was excellent with the beef.

#5 chocolate earl grey

#5 chocolate earl grey

#5 chocolate earl grey2

#5 chocolate earl grey

the last course, chocolate earl grey dessert, was good.

i mean the chocolates were great really, the sorbet too, among the best i guess, not exactly my favourite dessert. wife & i not particularly hot on chocolates & if chocolate i prefer the really dark intense chocolate type rather than just smooth with earl grey flavour etc….

petit four

petit four

petit four - salted eggg macaron

petit four – salted eggg macaron

chocolates

petit four – chocolates 

petit four was pretty good.

they charged for coffee. i always felt coffee should be just included in a degustation & green tea too in a japanese kaiseki, a touch of class not to charge extra…anyway just my persona views..

we skipped the coffee.

dinner 2xS$188pax + 2 glasses of wine came to S$513.

it was an excellent dinner very enjoyable so money well spent. looking back at the 2013 au jardin NYE degustation, i think that offerred a bit better value not this time we had lobster. hard to compare i guess.

i still miss jaan, since that they withdrew feed @ raffles benefits, we were unwilling to pay the full fare & also the menu still looked the same after 2 rounds, andre chiang & julien royers having left…

c.h.e.f andy

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

CORNER HOUSE

ADDRESS

1 Cluny Road, E J H Corner House
Singapore Botanic Gardens
(Nassim Gate Entrance)
Singapore 259569

CONTACT

T: +65 6469 1000
F: +65 6469 0136

HOURS

TUESDAYS – SATURDAYS
Lunch: 12 pm – 3 pm
(last order 2.30 pm)
Dinner: 6.30 pm – 11 pm
(last order 10 pm)

SUNDAY
Brunch: 11.30 am – 3 pm
(last order 2.30 pm)
Dinner: 6.30 pm – 11 pm
(last order 10 pm)

DRESS CODE
Smart casual
(Short & Bermudas is allowed with Shoes or Loafers. No slippers)

 

Pretty Good Economical 6pax Dinner @ Canto Jumbo 广东珍宝on 31May2016

sauce chicken豆油鸡

sauce chicken豆油鸡 – S$13

my OPS primary school mate found this canto jumbo 广东珍宝 place driving by recently. we decided to go there for 6pax dinner on 31.5.2016. ^^

the coffee shop zi char joint is only 2 months old. i found only a single blog write-up on it.

sauce chicken豆油鸡

sauce chicken豆油鸡 – S$13

we ordered 1/2 sauce chicken豆油鸡 S$13.

it was among the very best chicken i had, even the chicken breast were very tender, moist, tasty.

have to admit that it’s probably better than the poached 白斩鸡i made la..

spicy fried fish head金香鱼头

spicy fried fish head金香鱼头

my friend ordered a spicy fried fish head金香鱼头(i think it is the same as干香鱼头). i think the proprietor said ang chor (golden snapper) fish head.

i have never tried this preparation before, & was not expecting much. generally i prefer steamed fish head or curry fish head.

spicy fried fish head金香鱼头

spicy fried fish head金香鱼头

actually it was quite tasty for me, better than expected la…especially with the sauce & onions…

i think i will try to cook this, does not seem to require deep-fry, i avoid deep-fry if i can..

spicy fried fish head金香鱼头4 spicy fried fish head金香鱼头3

my friends (all 3) said the tampines 844 one is better.

well, it means i have to go try tampines 844 again la…

salted fish steamed belly pork

salted fish steamed belly pork

this was a surprise!

thought it was the usual 咸鱼饼salted fish steamed minced pork, but the server told us when we ordered that it was belly pork.

it was very nice for me. i liked the salted fish & thought the belly pork was good. my more picky friend though thought the belly pork was too tough for his high standard la…lol! 🙂

3 mushrooms tofu

3 mushrooms tofu

3 mushrooms tofu was just ok for me. the only review i found said this was 1 of the 2 good dishes he tried, but for me any of the zi char tofu dishes at (say) kok sen etc would be better.

mushrooms for chicken pot

mushrooms for chicken pot

the chicken pot was their signature dish 招牌菜, came with tongkat ali & all manners of mushrooms.

chicken pot

chicken pot

was it good?

the soup was very tasty. one friend had 6 bowls (after learning that there was tongkat ali?)

chicken pot

chicken pot

the kampung chicken though had not much taste nor texture. it maybe that the focus was on a tasty soup & the chicken was to flavour the soup & by the way & not consequential.

i would think my samgyetang soup was just as good though different & my chicken was far superior.

string beans

string beans?

not sure it was string beans as it tasted like regular long beans.

dish was ok, competent, nothing special.

crispy san meen 生面

crispy san meen 生面 – S$8

the crispy san meen 生面 came with quite a bit of ingredients, liver, pork etc…

crispy san meen 生面

crispy san meen 生面 – S$8

it was ok, no stand out & becos one friend mixed up the sauce, that took away some crispiness so like eating yee meen…lol! 🙂

overall the dinner for 6pax – 6dishes + chicken was S$104.80 nett + S$13 for chicken, so less than S$20pax. quite good value (not sure how long it will stay that way) & more importantly good tasting food.

a friend paid for drinks. he also brought some salted egg croissant. we adjourned to another friend’s place to enjoy the croissant with coffee & tea.

very fun evening & time with good friends.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Canto Jumbo 广东珍宝

Address-

13 Old Airport Road Singapore 390013

Contact-

HP=84262152

Opening Hours-

Mon to Sun

11am to 2.30pm

5pm to 11.30pm

Good Peranakan Buffet @ Sun’s Cafe on 30May2016

my buffet plate

my buffet plate

a very good friend was celebrating an occasion & decided it was a great excuse to buy 10pax lunch at sun;s cafe oon 30.5.2016. ^^

none of us argued with him…

i have been to ah yat abalone at hotel grand pacific but never try the sun’ cafe buffet.

well, i quite enjoyed it. i think the food is quite good.

roast duck & curry chicken

roast duck & curry chicken

for me the roast duck was the best, maybe because i had a 1/2 drumstick portion each time for my 2 helpings.

duck was flavourful & the plum sauce enhanced the taste. texture of meat & skin were great.

curry chicken was probably second for me, and i made a good curry chicken myself.

curry was intense & tasty, perfect on the rice & chicken was tender. the breast meat looked slightly overcooked (usually the case & especially in buffet) c/w mine, but i had limited capacity so jus took the thighs both times la…

prawns & sotong

prawns & sotong

i took sotong first round.

the curry & sotong looked pretty, but tai kor (a good friend) & i concurred that the sotong texture felt artificial & not right. later i spied another friend having a heap of sotong on his plate. he must have liked it. 🙂

i decided to take the prawns for my second helping. it was quite competent actually. prawns were fresh, done well, slightly spicy, good competent la..

chap chai & fried kuay teow

chap chai & fried kuay teow

chap chai was usual. i think my own chap chia a lot sweeter, tastier.

kuay teow was good, got wok hae. i took just small bits for each of my first & second helping.

prawn fritters, fish, ngoh hiang

prawn fritters, fish, ngoh hiang

din try the prawn fritters.

the kembong fish looked good but was in fact the worst dish for me. tasteless, not sweet. i added some sambal etc but still bland. a friend thought it was not fresh, not sweet. i thought freshness wise ok, maybe not enuf salt to bring out the taste, no tumeric (yellow ginger) or sambal marinade before frying..

the ngoh hiang was pretty fine, especially with sambal chilli added.

i did not take a photo of the kueh pie tee. a friend brought a plate to share. i took one. it was good, especially with the chilli.

braised belly pork & assam fish

braised belly pork & assam fish

braised belly pork & assam fish

braised belly pork & assam fish

the braised belly pork did not look great, looked overcooked & the lean meat looked dried up.

i took a piece with lots of skin & fat. actually it tasted good! & the lean meat was ok.

i tried a second piece on my second helping. ok not so great. a friend thought the meat was too dry not tender.

sotong

sotong 

sotong as mentioned was a disappointment!

my buffet plate - 2nd helping

my buffet plate 

my buffet plate - 3rd helping

my buffet plate – second helping 

see i managed 1/2 duck drumstick in each of my 2 helpings. the best dish.

my buffet plate - 3rd helping

my buffet plate – second helping 

for second helping i heaped some chicken curry on my rice. a friend found it odd i was adding rice (even though it was just 1 tbsp each time). & i tried the sambal (very good) & sambal balacan (ok).

before my second helping, i took a laksa. forgot to take photo.

it was good. not out of this world, limited ingredients, no hum (cockles), shredded chicken etc. the lemak curry was intense & tasty. not as good as weiyi laksa etc, but still quite good.

also tried the pig stomach soup. everyone said very good, and i think it as very good too, very sweet. i took just small amount maybe 3 tbsp, with quite a bit if pig stomach, enjoyed it but did not want to add more.

ice kachang

ice kachang

ice kachang

ice kachang 

enjoyed my ice kachang as always.

the cream stuff was coconut cream (wrongly labeled). anyway then i realised i could make chendol too.

chendol

chendol 

so i went back to make chendol la!

thick coconut cream, flavoruful gula melaka, but no kidney beans.

i keep thinking of the GCT chendol at toa payoh lorong 8, must really go back for more. this one nearer to it but still cannot compare la…

rojak

rojak

rojak

rojak 

a friend & i decided to share some rojak.

it’s missing the best ingredients like yutiao & taupok. still quite tasty, i think i mixed it well haha, the unripe magoes, guava etc all quite nice la…

several friends were taking the red bean soup very smooth they said, no lotus seeds inside though. i decided to skip it, too much food already.

i had coffee (included in buffet). their coffee was pretty ok, quite nice flavour not those that turned bitter sitting on the warmers.

we had a good time chatting, bantering…quite good food also, maybe not really better than ellenbrught market cafe buffet, but a change & good in different aspects by comparison.

probably bring my sis here later.

the groupon voucher was S$19.90 (i made a check, sold-out currently). anyway the hotel offers S$38 1 for 1, so if you have even numbers, it is not a lot more ex than the S$19.90 groupon.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Sun’s Cafe

Address

Hotel Grand Pacific, 101 Victoria Street, 188018
Cuisine

Contact

+65 63360811
Opening Hours

Fri to Sun and PH: 6.30pm – 10.00pm (Buffet Dinner), Mon to Fri: 12.00noon – 2.30pm (Buffet Lunch)

Much Below Par Food @ Tunglok teahouse Square 2 on 26May2016

xiaolongbao 小笼包

xiaolongbao 小笼包

4 of us visited HCA Hospice at jalan tan tock seng on 26.5.2016.

we handed over the S$16,948 donations collected at our recent RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner on 20.5.2016, a homecooked makan & chill get-together held at a friend’s home, 🙂

we had a good chat with the HCA staff & toured the facility. 🙂

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

after that one had to leave first, so 3 of us went to tunglok teahouse at square 2 for lunch.

i was a bit surprised actually the food at tunglok teahouse is really quite below par!

the xiaolongbao 小笼包 broke off when i tried to lift it gingerly onto my spoon, i don’t have that at impreial treasure or canton paradise. the soup was sweet ok, the meat fillings less so.

har gao

har gao

the har gao was quite poor. the skin looked & was thick & doughy, the prawns were ok.

some dumplings

some dumplings

couldn’t remember the name of this dumpling. looked like the 潮州粉果. i was quite sure the name was not.

more importantly it was good, the skin, the texture, the taste. 🙂

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

this looked like any other crispy char siew pao.

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

but the fillings were not so tasty, the skin was a bit harder than most.

i had this at red house with my sis & bil the day before & again on sunday when my wife invited friends there. red house’s crispy char siew pao was very good, so no comparison la.

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs

the steamed pork ribs were actualy ok, tasted good, but c/w red house photo, presentation was messy lacked the same class, and did not have yam.

chicken feet

chicken feet

chicken feet was also quite good.

spinach beancurd三层楼

spinach beancurd三层楼

this spinach beancurd三层楼 i cannot understand.

i think it was really bad by tunglok & 三层楼 standard. the first 三层楼 i have taken was at tunglok’s zhou kitchen i think at alexandra point (which is now the tunglok teahouse brand) maybe 15-20years back. it has always been good, & still good at tunglok signatures.

spinach beancurd三层楼

spinach beancurd三层楼

but this tofu was hard & chewy not crispy & soft inside. downright bad!

1/2 roast london duck S$28

1/2 roast london duck S$28

1/2 roast london duck S$28

1/2 roast london duck S$28

the 1/2 roast london duck was S$28. it is S$32 at tunglok signatures.

taste was still ok though i think still quite a gulf…presentation & texture was totally off. it’s like reheat or leftover parts instead of 1/2 duck.

see the roast duck at the other places!

can tell the difference???

i find that quite difficult to understand? don’t they use central kitchen & just differential pricing?

or it was just very bad quality control in terms of food storage, presentation etc?

salted egg custard bun流沙包

salted egg custard bun流沙包

the salted egg custard bun流沙包 was also poor. both the salted egg custard & the skin were poor.

lunch for 3pax came to S$79 after 35% amex palate discounts. not too costly.

but before price, the food must meet some minimum standard, so for me this was not value for money not a place i would return to.

there’s one last thing still to be said.

the attitude of the lady captain was very bad!

she walked off with a black face after unsuccesful on getting us to order some expensive recommendations. fortunately the service was at least redeemed by some chinese waitress who was quite polite & ok service with a smile..

c.h.e.f andy

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

Tunglok Teagouse (Square 2)

Address

#01-73, Square 2, 10 Sinaran Drive, 307506

Contact

+65 68931123

Opening Hours

Daily

Lunch: 11:30 – 15:00
(Last Order at 2:30pm)

Dinner: 17:30 – 22:00
(Last Order at 9:30pm)

Hi-Tea (Valid on Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays): 15:00 – 16:30
(Last Order at 4:15pm)

 

Self Walking Tour of Lisbon to Castelo do Sao Jorge on 28Mar2016

Rooster of barcelos

Rooster of barcelos  

the rooster of barcelos is sold everywhere. we saw them at sourvenir shops as we walked the town on 28.3.2016. ^^

see legend of rooster of barcelos – so if the man to be hang was innocent, the dead rooster would crow again…

walking from tartine the breakfast place to the arc then to castelo

walking from tartine the breakfast place to the arc then to castelo

after a great hearty breakfast at tartine, we took a walk to arco da rua augusta & the praca do comercio on the way to the castelo.

we followed the tram 28 route, but decided to walk both onward & return journey instead of taking the tram.

arco da rua augusta

arco da rua augusta 

we saw the arc along the route..

streetspraca do comercio 2

arch to praca do comercio 2 arch to praca do comercio 3

a victory monument to commenorate the reconstruction of lisboa after the 1755 earthquake..

loggia

loggia 

on the left facing the praca is the supreme court building & on the right the ministry of justice.

praca do comercio 3

praca do comercio 

the praca, square of commerce, looks over river tagus.

it is also referred to as the terreiro do paco or palace yard of the pacos da rebeira (royal ribeira palace) which was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, followed by a tsunami & fire that destroyed mist of lisboa..

arco da rua augusta viewed from praca do comercio

arco da rua augusta viewed from praca do comercio  

the square is a pleasant expansive space with government buildings on the sides.

statue of King José I @ praca do comercio

Statue of King José I, by Machado de Castro (1775).

the statue of King José I, by Machado de Castro (1775) stands at the centre of the praca. the king on his horse is symbolically crushing snakes on his path.

Go cars-€60 for 4hrs

Go cars-€60 for 4hrs 

after the praca, we spied some go cars rental. there were tourists riding these along the streets.

Go cars-€60 for 4hrs2another model

my son had taken it previously when he was here in 2011.

wife & i were not taking it so my son & daughter did not take them this t

santo antonio church

santo antonio church 

on the way to castelo, we passed by the santo antonio church.

santo antonio church2

santo antonio church  

it’s a nice little 18th century baroque catholic church.

santo antonio church3

santo antonio church 

took a shot of the nave, low lighting not so clear.

santo antonio church4

santo antonio church 

nice murals of biblical stories…

street mosaic art

street mosaic art 

alfama is the oldest district with interesting maze of narrow streets, historical buildings & tiled roofs.

there was an interesting street mosaic art…

after that we turned left uphill towards the castelo de sao jorge.

& after the castle, we had excellent chorizo, cheese & port at winebar do castelo.

street & tram 28 route

street & tram 28 route 

after a satisfied meal, we walked further along the tram 28 route.

street & tram 28 route2

street & tram 28 route 

streets3

street & tram 28 route 

to miradouro de santa luzia…

rest stop rest stop view

a very nice lookout over the alfama terrain, castle & all the way down the lezo estuary to river tagus.

view of 25th apr brudge

view of alfama district view of alfama district2

view of castelo do sao jorge from miradouro de santa luzia

view of castelo do sao jorge from miradouro de santa luzia

a view of castelo do sao jorge from miradouro de santa luzia…

view of alfama district3 view of tagus river view of tagus river2 view of tagus river3

looking over the tile roofs to the tagus river…

streets4

streets5

we debated whether to take a tuk tuk, & decided to just walk back.

nice joint nice joint2 nice joint3

nice joint4

nice joint5 restaurante chapito a mesa

on the way back we passed by a delightful restaurant on a terrace slope.

beautiful place. a hip place to chill out.

at the top before the entrance to the restaurant is a curio, sourvenir shop.

houses architecture3 architecture2 architecture

took some photos of the buildings/architecture…

alfama district

interesting streets…

shops

nearer the apartment

nearer the apartment2

after that its going back to our apartment.

after passing rossio square, we walked up the slope of calcada do carmo, then up the steps of calcado do duque & back to our apartment.

the restaurants were serving tables on the steps.

it was a wonderful relaxing walk after a great breakfast & port cheese lunch. still we need our rest & cuppa at the apartment.

in the evening we went to jose avillez’s cantinho do avillez for dinner.

daughter decided to give it a miss & skipped dinner. guess she didn’t miss much. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Really Shiok 4pax Curry Rice Lunch @ Loo’s Curry on 27May2016

my fren bought the whole stall

my fren bought the whole stall

my OPS friend bought lunch at loo’s curry at Tai Kwang Huat Coffee Shop, 57 Eng Hoon Street,on 27.5.2016. ^^

he bought up whole stall, 6 dishes for 4pax!

& we had prawns, chicken, sotong, pork chop, fish head & veg! 🙂

i am recently with my RI friends on 22.3.2016.

we had 8pax & ordered about the same food (which was enuf la)…lol! 🙂

hainanese pork chop

hainanese pork chop

pork chop is a must signature food for hainanese curry rice (next to the curry itself i guess…lol). 🙂

i not particularly keen on tonkatsu but this went very well with the curry.

curry prawns

curry prawns

the curry prawns was a surprise for me.

usual in these chai poon 菜贩 type stalls, or even in zi char stalls, don’t expect very fresh prawns.

this one was very good, very fresh!

curry sotong

curry sotong

curry sotong always good. we ordered that last time also.

(just read on straits times today 28.5.2016 that the word sotong is now officially included in oxford dictionary!)

curry chicken

curry chicken

chicken curry was very so so, in fact one of the poorer ones i have taken eg the hoower food court cheap curry rice’s curry chicken a lot better

& of course the geyland serai stalls like sinar pagi nasi padang better than both.

the curry itself though always good!

black beans fish head

black beans fish head

black beans fish head was ok, but these kind of dish have to take at zi char stalls like kok sen at keong saik street la.

curry veg

curry veg

curry veg was good but usual.

vegetarian ngoh hiang

vegetarian ngoh hiang

friend went to order vegetarian ngoh hiang some more. all items very tasty especially the one with mushrooms stuffed inside.

i had to finish almost all the rice & not eat dinner, and after lunch we went for durian some more.

the curry rice was just S$40 for 6 dishes include prawns, we think only because the stallholder “ah” with my friend. the vegetarian ngoh hiang S$10 for 4 items also a bit special price?

friend’s elder brother (70) & sil came for lunch also. after lunch they stopped by our table & had a short chat.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice

Address

Contact

+65 62253762

Opening Hours

Daily: 08:00 – 14:00

Closed: Alt Thu

Belly Pork with Sweet Peas & Baby Corn – 12th Teban Gardens Community Breakfast on 27May2016

double cooked belly pork 回锅肉with sweet peas & baby corn

double cooked belly pork 回锅肉with sweet peas & baby corn

this my 12th friday breakfast community meal at teban gardens community service centre (CSC).

i first started doing a community meal dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

the centre was started in 2002 after much effort & challenge by our RI friend who is a pastor of pasir panjang hill brethren church (pphbc) which owns & runs the CSC.

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

not sure what i was going to cook for teban gardens community meal today on 27.5.2016.

last evening about 8pm, went out to do some errands. dropped by sheng shiong.

bought 4 packets of sweet peas & 4 packets of baby corn. & bought 1.2kg of frozen skinless pork belly.

at about 12am-

  • scalded the belly to remove scum
  • prepared a simple tasty marinade (4tbsp shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp flat salt, 1 tbsp heap sugar)
  • fry 1.5 cinnamon stick, 4 star anise, 2 tsp chopped garlic in little oil in wok to bring out the flavours, then empty marinade into wok to heat a bit to help dissolve sugar
  • after that placed cleaned pork with marinade in over dish iin 95degC oven for 4.5hrs.
double cooked belly pork 回锅肉with sweet peas & baby corn

double cooked belly pork 回锅肉with sweet peas & baby corn

in the morning, i fried the sweet peas with sliced ginger, cut chilli padi & 2 tsp chopped garlic, then added baby corn, added 2tbsp oyster sauce, some fish sauce, tested texture & taste & set aside.

then i cut the tender still firm texture belly pork & fried in some butter over high heat, then added back the sweet peas & baby corn.

& that’s it!

sweet peas & baby corns always very sweet & tasty, & the belly pork was flavourful very tender yet firm to the bite & not falling apart. the residents & also the centre staff who tried all liked it. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good Dimsum @ Red House Prinsep Street on 25May2016

truffle mushrrom dumpling

truffle mushroom dumpling

went with sis & bil for dimsum at red house prinsep street on 25.5.2016. ^^

i was here a few times recently, one lunch & 2 dinners. 🙂

this time though we were just having dimsum. ^^

for me the quality of dimsum here is really very good, among the best i had in singapore.

& there is a 40% discount on dimsum up to end dec. all dimsum items were S$6 (except cheong fun S$7 & chilli crab bun S$10) so a very good price of S$3.60 per item after 40% discount.

prawn cheong fun 虾肠粉

prawn cheong fun 虾肠粉

prawn cheong fun 虾肠粉 was very good, quite exceptional outside hong kong. skin was thin & smooth, nice prawns & very tasty sauce. this a dish many good dimsum restaurants in singapore don’t get right!

har gao

har gao

har gao was good. many restaurants here good so not exceptional.

fupeiquin腐皮卷

fupeiquin腐皮卷

fupeiquin腐皮卷 also very good, among the best. 🙂

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao ok.

crispy char siew pao

crispy char siew pao

but somehow i feel timhowan at hong kong shamshuipo is just better!

dragon beard dumpling

dragon beard dumpling

the dragon beard dumpling was very good.

deepfried dumpling炸水饺

deepfried dumpling炸水饺

this “salad” deepfried dumpling炸水饺 served with salad sauce i didn’t like.

for me the very last in the line after the so many good dimsum items.

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs here very good, nice yam & flavours, not too fatty meat, among the very best!

steamed chicken feet

steamed chicken feet

steamed chicken feet also very good.

salted egg custard bun 咸蛋流沙包

salted egg custard bun 咸蛋流沙包

the salted egg custard bun 咸蛋流沙包, salted egg custard very good, but the pao so so, a bit thick the skin i think…

salted egg custard bun 咸蛋流沙包

salted egg custard bun 咸蛋流沙包

overall, still very nice salted egg custard bun la.

tea was S$1.50 each. we did not take any S$3 appetizer. total was S$49.40 nett for 10 dimsum items plus 3pax tea and ++…i think it was very good for the standard of dimsum.

the one thing here deserving repeated mention is the excellent service. service was competent, prompt, friendly with a smile everytime. we ticked/ordered wrongly the char siew pao & they just changed for us to crispy char siew pao, no questions asked! they changed plates all the time, gave extra wet napkins (when we ate chilli crab etc here last time they changed new wet napkins like 5 times), responded to all our questions regards promotions, menus, vouchers etc & never pushed us to order non promo items etc.

service was just superb, and it was every server the same cheerful friendly attitude, super! outstanding!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Red House (Prinsep Street)

Address
68 Prinsep Street, Singapore 188661
Contact
Fax = +65 6336 6801
Email = prinsep@redhouseseafood.com
Parking
Sunshine Plaza, POMO and Somerset Bencoolen

Opening Hours

Mon – Fri
11.30am – 2.30pm (last order 2pm) 5pm – 11pm (last order 10.30 pm)
Sat, Sun & PH
11am – 11pm (last order 10.30pm)

Pretty Decent Lunch Sets @ Watami Ion Orchard on 24May2016

salmon stone pot set S$13.90

salmon stone pot set S$13.90

my good friend arranged to watch x-men apocalypse 3D Imax at shaw lido on 24.5.2016. 3 of us went for the movie.

we are all x-men junkies. the movie was very enjoyable. story-wise i thought en sabah nur (the first mutant) story could be better developed, overall storytelling & character development quite superficial for me & the fighting sequence also less impressive relative to cpt america (civil war). but i enjoy all the x-men movies & this movie would be more not less…

the 3D experience also quite good… glasses were large & sat comfortably than of old…..

not sure about the imax don’t really have the immersion right at the centre experience..not too hot about the S$14 vs normal SC (senior citizen) S$4 ticket…anyway parking at shaw was $15.50 (almost 5.5hrs including lunch & coffee) so whole thing quite ex…

after the movie, we first tried bangkok jam, but the 40% discount only starts at 5.30pm, so we settled on watami.

the stone pot set includes salad & drink. we ordered all 3 & all were good.

a friend had the salmon. i tried. it was very flavourful & of the 3 this the one i liked best, and i did not even have the ikura.

pepper beef stone pot set S$9.90

pepper beef stone pot set S$9.90

another friend had the pepper beef. flavour also very good.

i did not want to take tis as it looked like th food court pepper lunch, but actually it as very flavourful.

pork stone pot set S$12.90

pork stone pot set S$12.90

i had the pork stone pot set.

pork stone pot set S$12.90

pork stone pot set S$12.90

i liked it too.

it had more ingredients than the pepper beef but both were ok with me.

pork stone pot set S$12.90

pork stone pot set S$12.90

the salad was quite standard, simple but still quite nice.

coffee

coffee

for the drink, a friend had hot yuzu tea. 2 of us had the coffee which was quite ok.

lunch came to S$43nett for 3 pax, pretty good. anyway my parking already cost more than lunch or 3D Imax movie la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Watami @ Ion Orchard

Opening hours: 11:30 – 22:00
Address: ION Orchard #B3-23
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Tel: (65) 6509 9366
Fax: (65) 6509 9368
*Our ION Orchard outlet is available for reservation from Sunday to Thursday only.

1st RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner Raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice on 20May2016

salad

salad

a group of RI friends have the idea that as we all have a good time coming together enjoying the food & company, making new memories together, maybe we can also do a charity fundraising while we are having our makan & chill get-together. ^^

so on 3.12.2016, we got together at a friend’s place to try out the logistics.

there were 28pax. 3 of us did the cooking. it was a good practice too to help with the planning & food logistics, and of course also another good excuse for our usual makan & chill together.

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

a lot more organisation had gone into it by the guys this time, and we also discovered that the generous host is a accomplished auctioneer & mob rouser.

he donated 4 macallan rare cask & 3 mac18, & got everyone into the mood. there were like 28 bids for the whisky & the auction closed with 2 equal winning bids at S$1,888 for 2 bottles for each group, so that was S$3,776 in total for the whisky.

a friend donated a book about hawker fares in singapore that went for S$188.

in total the 33pax dinner (about 27 attended inner, the others came to join drink after dinner) raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice.

what is important is that everyone was in the mood of giving & feeling good about it. & in fact a lot of chat continues afterwards on whatsapp. people were feeling happy about the occasion, the time together & doing something for the needy, & wanting to do this again.

for me whether we had raised more or less is not as important as just spending time together & doing something meaningful together.

which bali resort is this?

which bali resort is this?

this time we had it at another friend’s beautiful home, an architect, on 20.5.2016. ^^

some of us were there early, preparing salad & cutting fruits. i was reheating the curry dishes we shipped over & organising the dishes for dinner.

the vast kitchen looks out into nice greeneries, like in a nature reserve. 🙂

we were saying no need to go ubud la for retreat & relaxation…just come over here & cook…

3 of us did the cooking.

another friend brought the veg to make fresh salad (top photo). & couple other friends brought cut fruits & lots of apples (30). 

mee siam

mee siam

one friend did mee siam with prawns & fish cakes & fried tofu. 🙂

side dish

side dish

he made a very tasty side dish too with ikan bilis & tofu.

mutton stew + pilaf rice

mutton stew + pilaf rice

another friend made mutton stew & pilaf rice. 🙂

mutton stew

mutton stew

he thought of doing mutton rendang. 🙂

i was doing a few curry dishes, so he settled on doing a stew.

pilaf rice

pilaf rice

& nice long grain pilaf rice.

the host was doing some plain rice for the curries. so we reduced the amount of plain rice a bit, & started dinner off with the pilaf rice. still i think there was quite a bit of rice leftover.

i made 7 dishes + chocolate banana cake

i made 7 dishes + chocolate banana cake

i did 6 dishes (2 servings of fish head so 7 dishes) + a chocolate banana cake.

i chose curry because it was very easy to cook, and could feed many.

i figured that one dish of fish head (2 halves) was not enough for 27pax so i cooked 2 separate dishes of fish head.

the serving came with lots of veg – yellow onions, ocra, egg plants & tomatoes.

fish head was easy to cook as i used a ready curry paste – mak’s curry.

i did this couple times already & my friends all liked the curry.

so it’s just frying the rempah (curry paste), yellow onions, ocra, adding fish head & coating with rempah thoroughly, then adding egg plants, chicken (or fish) stock, coconut milk, cover & let it simmered for 10mins, then adding tomatoes.

& it’s done, that simple! 🙂

for nonya curry chicken, i used my own rempah instead of a ready paste.

i prefer to first debone the 2 chickens, and make a tasty stock using the chicken bones & carrots.

again cooking was very easy.

just fried rempah with star anise, cinnamon bark, clove & curry leaves, added chicken to coat with rempah thoroughly, then added coconut milk, chicken stock, covered & let simmer. i removed the chicken pieces after 5-6mins & cooked the wings for another 10mins.

one of the key consideration is logistic.

for curries, i cooked them in the morning so i had complete dishes & tasted them to know they were ok. then removed the fish head & chicken & let the curries cooled. then i transfered them to separate sealed plastic containers & stored in the fridge.

(basically difficult to transport a dish with liquid unless in properly sealed containers la…).

reheating was easy. the only consideration was that the fish head & curry chicken not be overcooked.

it may seem strange to choose curries with the hassle of transporting but they are easy to cook, can do in bulk & easily reheat to serve hot, and have wider appeal to diners c/w with other dishes.

kou rou 扣肉

kou rou 扣肉

i did a kou rou 扣肉.

among my own dishes this was most popular, & disappeared in double-quick time. & our friends who were early were taking this (to try haha!) before reheating & before dinner started. 🙂

this was done 4hrs in a 90degC oven to have a slow low-temperature gentle braise, then steamed in a steam oven for 1hr 15mins, so it was very tender, flavour-infused, but still have bite & texture, not falling apart.

chap chai

chap chai

i did a chap chai to balance the curries.

chap chai

chap chai

this again a very easy dish, just fry, stew cabbage, add stock, then add beancurd puffs (taupok) and add tanhoon when ready so tanhoon will cook in residual heat & not be overcooked. remember this has to be reheated later when serving.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

someone commented maybe have more veg, so i reduced 1 meat (omitted the teriyaki sutchi fillet) & added 2 veg dishes.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

the sweet peas baby corn with prawns was excellent when my helper made it for our home dinner.

this though was my first time cooking it. it turned out quite badly, i think the worst dish for the evening.

the ingredients were good. prawns were fresh, sweet peas & baby corns were always very tasty.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

however i made a bad mistake of frying the prawns first in butter, like i do for pastas.

unlike double-cooked pork回锅肉, prawns cannot be fried & steamed. it destroyed the texture, so the prawns were no more bouncy but mushy like not-fresh prawns. & this especially so when the dish had to be covered with aluminium foil & kept in a 50degC oven for long periods to keep warm.

on hindsight it was better to serve the dish cold…

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

i used a very nice tasty nonya sauce for the ocra.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

so this dish was real easy, just fry, make sure it was cooked right then add the nonya sauce at the end.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

looking at the photos, the vibrant green went off quite a bit, though the dish still tasted very good.

on balance, it was better to serve the dish cold w/o additional treatment after cooking.

i made a chocolate banana cake.

this was quite popular. everyone liked it. ^^

it was my second time. the first time my OPS friends talked about awfully chocolate & their chocolate banana cakes. so i went to google & found a recipe & went to phoon huat to get a 9″ by 9″ cake tin to make the dish.

this time i got better quality bananas & also added more bananas. quite a good cake.

cut fruit stall

cut fruit stall

some friends prepared the cut fruits.

watermelon

watermelon

watermelon from our regular watermelon supplier…

yellow watermelon

yellow watermelon

pineapples

pineapples

mango & guava

mango & guava

& others, like pineapples, mangoes, guavas etc…

apples

apples

one friend brought 30 apples. we all ate or brought home some…

it was a really good, fun dinner.

the host was assisted by another equal mob rouser, and our mabuk friends & others were all into the spirit of sharing, whisky & donations in equal parts.

bless them all good people! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Not So Good Food @ Food Pavilion 好食城 Clementi Central on 22May2016

spicy dumplings 红油抄手 - this was bad! skin stiff, hard

spicy dumplings 红油抄手 – this was bad! skin stiff, hard

youngest daughter wanted to have lunch after her church, suggested going to food pavilion 好食城 clementi central on 22.5.2016. ^^

good outing with daughter.

but food was poor la…

i had some great xiaolongbao 小笼包here previously, like a year ago.

but they no longer sells xiaolongbao 小笼包, so we ordered spicy dumplings 红油抄手 S$3.50. this was bad! skin stiff, hard….nothing like the spicy dumplings 红油抄手 in crystal jade lamian xioalongbao!

tantan noodles 担担面

tantan noodles 担担面 – S$4 nothing like crystal jade lamian xioalongbao

the tantan noodles 担担面 – S$4 was passable, but nothing like crystal jade lamian xioalongbao.

1/2 roast duck - S$19

1/2 roast duck – S$19

the 1/2 roast duck was still flavourful.

1/2 roast duck - S$19

1/2 roast duck – S$19

but it was also a bit dry, & like not so fatty, moist & juicy. not sure why?

colour-wise & texture also, it was quite different the very nice ones here the last time..

luckily it still tasted pretty good with the sauce & also the chilli.

don’t think i come back here again for a long while la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

ADDRESS
443 Clementi Avenue 3
#01-55
Singapore 120443
OPENING HOURS
12:00am – 12:00am
PHONE
This place does not have a land line

OPS Primary School Classmates Makan and Chill Evening on 21May2016

better than eat out or catered - no question

better than eat out or catered – no question

my primary school friends organised a makan & chill evening on 21.5.2106. ^^

we were doing potluck.

(as i was doing some heavy cooking the day before for the RI FGS (For Goodness Sake Charity Dinner, i asked to be excused, and ordered a patissier double chocolate praline cake instead).

little did we know what our friends were capable of.

the food were absolutely better than eat out or catered – no question la!^^

wai mun brought siu yoke - my no1 dish maybe co no.1 with kok hong's pork rib

siu yoke – my no.1 dish maybe co no.1 with pork rib

the siu yoke was very good, very flavourful. the friend who brought thought the skin not crispy enuf when he did the knife scrapping test. actually it was alright la…

this has to be my no.1 or co no.1 dish for the evening i had 3 pieces…

kok hong brought a braised pork ribs...very yap mei 入味 & fork tender exceptionally good i think, like a good japanese braise pork...my no2 or maybe no1???

braised pork ribs very yap mei 入味 & fork tender-my no2 or maybe no1???

the braised pork ribs very yap mei 入味 & fork tender.. exceptionally good i think, like a good japanese braise pork dish…my no.2 or maybe co no1….

think i will try cooking this next time.^^

better than eat out or catered - no question2

better than eat out or catered – no question

so much talent in the group.

anyway apart from the food, we had so much laughter or fun the whole evening the hostess later whatsapp that-

“Tks for the company, bonding, jokes, laughter & all the good food & cakes. My stomach is bloated, how to sleep?

& later-

“it’s my pleasure to hv u crazy ppl to make this evening so relaxed, at least so me. i laughed so much”.

nice framing - wai mun got some talent...

nice framing – someone got talent…

a nicely framed photo to proof…

wau mun broyght siu yoke 2- my no1 dish maybe co no.1 with kok hong's pork rib

kongbakpao

this dish from the friend who brought the siu yoke…open secret it’s done by his wifee la…

or maybe helper??

wai mun kongbakpao

kongbakpao

it was good. though the last time i had it at his pace during cny it seemed even better..

couldn’t really tell, there were lots more food this evening as well…

chin huat's curry chicken

curry chicken

this curry chicken just looked marvelous, the first that caught my eye when i arrived. 🙂

chin huat's curry chicken2

curry chicken

chicken was kampung chicken, and tender.

somehow taste-wise the curry last time we had it during cny was better, more “pang”.

crab tanhoon

crab tanhoon

this crab tanhoon, a friend had to go 3 markets to finally get the crabs.

the crab was sweet. tanhoon had good crab taste & flavoured with coriander. not sure whether got belly pork slices. for myself i like just a little more salty (like fish sauce) to bring out the taste more..

fong mui's fried oyster sauce prawns..all finished too..i had one...nice big prawns

fried oyster sauce prawns

one friend did her “usual” fried oyster sauce prawns.

& this dish very popular, all finished too..i had one nice big prawn.

fong mui's lor han jai 罗汉斋

lor han jai 罗汉斋

she also made lor han jai 罗汉斋. boleh da!

this friend made 3 dishes, including the konyaku jelly, so she was the clear winner this evening…

my teriyaki fish fillet

my teriyaki fish fillet

i wasn’t going to cook at first. but anyhow got to cook a quick simple teriyaki sutchi fillet which i had in the fridge + experimented on one piece with mala chilli…quite like the mala taste.. will do that next time..

i think dish was quite ok though sutchi not a favorite fish..not the most popular ones…

mr Ma brought his ma ma tei chives prawn ? a fu pei quin from 和记 the gu chai 韭菜 green dumplings were good

fu pei quin 腐皮卷from 和记 so-so..the gu chai 韭菜 dumplings were good

a friend brought chives prawn? fu pei quin 腐皮卷from 和记. tasted so-so leh….the gu chai 韭菜 dumplings were good though.. i took a second cut piece. 🙂

fried greens

fried greens

forgot to ask who made this vegetable dish.

fruits

water melon, papaya, grapes, longans

the host provided some nice fruits. watermelon, grapes & organic longans were sweet…

Fong Mui did a konyaku jelly as well - so 4 items la..

konnyaku mango jelly

i quite like the konnyaku jelly with mangoes…took 3 pieces..

PK's sup sup soi 40k egg tarts

tong heng’s egg tarts

a friend brought egg tarts from tong heng. it was ok. i also tried the one with coconut. ok too. different. not something i would be partial to.

patissier double chocolate praline cake

patissier double chocolate praline cake

may is also the birthday month of 3 of our classmates. ^^

i brought a patissier double chocolate praline cake, ordered a week ago & went to collect in the morning. 🙂

chocolate mousse tart

chocolate mousse tart

a friend brought a chocolate mousse tart made by his daughter.

it was really nice. the mousse so smooth like ice cream. the ganache very nice & the oreo cookie tart base combined perfectly.

a friend said the patissier chocolate cake was a bit sweeter. he liked the passion fruit meringue we had recently better. for me & another friend who prefers chocolate cakes, the double chocolate praline was better of the 2.

but having a home baked cake which was as good if not better than patissier’s, we don’t really need to buy la…i will see if i can make this chocolate mousse tartnext time..

it was certainly better than my chocolate banana cake.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Good 7pax Birthday Dinner for Our Helper Bes @ IO Osteria on 13May2016

porchetta

porchetta – S$14

daughter arranged a birthday dinner for our help Bes at io osteria on 13.5.2016. ^^

the last time we had dinner here was a yaear ago on 15.4.2015.

one thing to mention is that this hillv2 place is notorious when it comes to parking, there were very few lots on only 2 levels & the barrier raised for our car to enter yet we drove level 1 level2 back level 1 unable to find parking. it was about 7.30-ish pm on a friday….

io osteria

io osteria 

the restaurant ambience was great. restaurant basically full. it’s a family & friend place yet quite hip. 🙂

io osteria

io osteria 

i had better photos the last time….

porchetta

porchetta – S$14

the porchetta was good.

it was S$14. i checked my 2015 post. it was S$9 then?? that’s a very steep increase. but i must say i would still order this if i come next time la…

burata

burata – S$35 

we had the larger serving of burata.

burata

burata – S$35 

i felt it was not as good as valentino.

but it came with a good serving of parma ham, and overall still quite good. this also i would order if i come bext time…

beef carpaccio

beef carpaccio 

nothing much to complain about beef carpaccio as well. beef was sweet.

this dish i don’t mind having but not a must-have…

clam pasta

clam pasta – S$34????

the clam pasta was a special on the board.

it was good tasting but nothing special really & totally did not justify the price. there were some artichokes. maybe that was expensive???

the moral of the story for us is “do not order the specials..they are special rip-offs”

lamb ragout penne pasta

lamb ragout penne pasta – S$18 

the lamb ragout which was on the menu was just S$18.

it was good too. for me it was as good as the S$34 special. couldn’t say it was better only because if they were the same price the clam pasta was still worth a try. a S$34 it mist definitely was NOT!

seafood bouillabaisse

seafood bouillabaisse – S$16 

daughter made 2 orders of seafood bouillabaise to share by 7pax.

it was good as before. checking our 2015 visit it was S$14 then. i guess S$16 now was ok.

seafood was good, & the soup was good too.

assorted pizza (medium)

assorted pizza (medium) 

daughter wanted to try the assorted pizza.

there were 4 different types. i could not remember them but they were all good.

assorted pizza (medium)

assorted pizza (medium) 

one thing i remember was that the salami was very good.

salami can be quite tiugh but this one was quite excellent.

ribeye

ribeye – S$38

the size of the ribeye steal surprised us.

& it was very well done. though wife & family though my steak was better but really it was just the quality of the meat used.

if just consider the cooking technique, i think this steak was very well done, the standard of a top class steak restaurant, very charred outside & medium rare inside, and a very tasty meat even though it might not be a better quality meat. 🙂

dinner was S$298 for 7pax including 500ml table wine (wine not too bad actually). i guess it was quite ok.

c.h.e.f andy

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

IO Osteria

Address:

4 Hillview Rise, #02-01, Hillv2 Singapore 667979

Contact:

67107150

Opening Hours:

Monday to Sunday 10am – 10pm daily