Author Archives: chefquak

Scrumptious Kagoshima Wagyu Dinner @ Arossa Scotts Square on 3Sep2014

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kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

watched a very good movie “the hundred-foot journey” at shaw lido with wife yesterday on 3.9.2014, and decided to go across the road to arossa at scotts square for dinner. 🙂

i weren’t going to take photos & blog at first as we came here only 2 weeks ago & had wonderful miyazaki wagyu on 16.8.2014.

anyhow we ordered the same uni (sea urchin) pasta to share & also 2 new menu items – kagoshima wagyu (miyazaki wagyu not available) and an iberico pork chop, so i decided to blog in the end. 🙂

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

the server offered to split the uni (sea urchin) pasta. it was good as before. i enjoyed this wonderful starter very much. 🙂

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

kagoshima wagyu medium rare (180g)

we had such a superb miyazaki wagyu steak here & we were looking forward. but this time they replaced it with a kagoshima & it was just fabulous, perhaps more. chef watanabe is such a skilful specialist in grilling technique. the steak was so nicely charred for maillard reaction & the meat was pink & consistent, and very flavourful & marbled with melt-in-the-mouth texture. 🙂

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

lightly breaded iberico pork chop

the lightly breaded iberico pork chop was very good as well, though one could not compare a spanish pork chop to japanese wagyu…lol. 🙂

the jap wagyu will bring me back here sooner than later, and also there are other items on the menu including squid ink pasta & antipasti etc which i can explore further. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Drunken (or Drunkard) Fried Rice @ Siam Central Charlotte Street on 27Aug2014

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basil fried rice with beef,

basil fried rice with beef

there is this drunken fried rice that every singaporean student must have taken at siam central charlotte street london.

my son brought me after the college ceremony on 27.8.2014.

i ordered the fried rice with beef, & my son ordered fried rice with pork & tom yam seafood soup.

basically, it was a spicy fried rice with egg, fresh chilli and thai holy basil. there was no wine in the rice so i wondered why drunken. it was later that i found out that a pad kee mao dish = “drunken stir-fry” dish (pad = stir-fry, kee mao = drunkard) it referred to the more intense, piquant taste of the dish, saltier and spicier etc, favoured by a drunkard (with dulled tastebuds?? haha)

tom yam talay

tom yam seafood

i did not try the tom yam seafood. my son described it as between the very good tom yam talay at patara & the so-so one at thai noodle house.

basil fried rice with pork

basil fried rice with pork

the fried rice was indeed intense & flavourful & a bit oily, and the serving of beef & pork was quite large.

i was having an almost full-blown flu & my tastebuds would have been dulled, perhaps even more than drunkards. anyhow i did not find the fried rice too “exceptional”. i told my son (& of course he did not agree) that the fried rice was like the old holland road stall or any good zi char stall. i guess perhaps it was better. 🙂

for sure, it was not to be compared to crystal jade spicy seafood fried rice (which is my gold standard). i actually think my own seafood fried rice is also better. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Exquisite Lunch @ HKK London on 26Aug2014

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#1 crispy duck salad - pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

we had a fabulous. sublime lunch @ HKK London at worship street on 26.8.2014. to me it was par with the £36 3-course pre-theatre menu at joel robuchon no less. 🙂

it took us a while to decide. our instinct when it came to chinese food, was to go for the cheap, robust, proven good chinese eats like roast duck at goldmine & four seasons. there was this lack of faith, that fine chinese was just the same cheap chinese food repackaged to cost an arm & a leg. 😦

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we went to hkk all the same. hkk is the latest addition by hakkasan group. we took the northern line from king’s cross to moorgate. had the wonderful 4-course £28.50 lunch. 🙂

2 wet days in a row. the day before was raining in cambridge, and this time rain interfered with our plans to go greenwich, well at least we had a superb lunch to make up for the dreary start.

#1 crispy duck salad - pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 the crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin bits in plum sauce, melon & dragon fruits & beautiful salad – was a superb dish. it was substantial too, with quite a good portion of duck meat. to me it was equal to any good appetiser in a top western restaurant.

#2 truffle chicken soup

#2 truffle chicken soup

#2 the truffle chicken soup was simply sublime. it was a wonderful tasting 当归鸡汤 with julienne cordyceps strips, a blended texture yet chinese tasting soup with great truffle flavour. 🙂

#3 wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice

#3 wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice

#3 the 3rd course was a wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice. the braised wagyu was top draw, soft tender braised texture not too sinewy & still bouncy, definitely better than the ox cheek at Joel Robuchon, and different but equal to the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co.

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

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#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 the salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbet was also a very good dessert. the parfait under the peanut crust was much like a good ice cream.

in terms of presentation, taste & quality of cooking departments, each dish & the overall experience of this 4-course hkk set lunch was equal to any set lunch or pre-theatre menu in a good fine dining restaurant. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Super £20 Whole Lobster @ Burger & Lobster on 26Aug2014

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GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

burger & lobster seems to be the the “go to” place in london. wife, son & daughter had all been there several times. and many friends too. it’s like all singaporeans visiting london go to the place. 🙂

business concept was simple – just 3 items on the menu, whole lobster steamed or grilled, lobster roll using shelled steamed lobster meat on a brioche, and a large beef burger, all at the same price £20. so import maine lobster yourself, no need celebrity chef, keep cost low& sell lots of lobsters.

i took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to leicester square & walked to burger & lobster outlet at dean street in soho.  it was still raining. son was out with friends & met me at the restaurant at 6pm on 26.8.2014. we got a 2pax table w/o waiting.

GBP20 lobster roll

£20 lobster roll

GBP20 lobster roll

£20 lobster roll

there was a choice of steamed or grilled lobster. the waitress also explained that both were first steamed, & the grilled lobster finished off with grilling.

before i ordered my whole grilled lobster, i confirmed with the waitress that the lobster roll was only served with steamed lobster meat. that made sense as the meat for the roll came from a common pool of shelled lobster meat, not that they could not still be grilled before serving but it’s just not done.

son cut me a bit of the lobster roll to try. the bread was very good. the lobster meat was fresh, bouncy & sweet. 🙂

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

£20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

£20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g) 

i love my lobster grilled, with that bbq flavour. it was very good! 🙂 there was the sides of shoestring fries & mesclun salad & a garlic butter dipping sauce. i had the same grilled lobster w/o the fries for €26 at fresco & cimmino in milan on 30.8.2014. equally good. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Satisfying Comfort Food @ Four Seasons Chinatown London on 25Aug2014

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roast duck (烧鸭)

roast duck (烧鸭)

coming back from cambridge, we decided to go to the regent street nespresso outlet to get some capsules for my friend in singapore. we took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to piccadilly. i bought 50each of the black ristretto (intensity 10 arabica) & the purple arpeggio (intensity 9 arabica) capsules. 🙂

as we were near to four seasons in chinatown, we decided to have another go at roast duck just for the 2 of us. 🙂

son felt that the roast duck at four seasons was better & the sauce was sweeter c/w the roast duck gold mine. i could not tell the difference & i really love the roast duck at both restaurants. really shook! 🙂 price wise there wasn’t much to compare either – £12 at gold mine and £12.50 at four seasons.

roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice

roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice

as there were only 2 of us & we already had 1/2duck, we decided to have a roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice for £7.80. i guessed it would be a smaller portion but this worked out well for us & was cheaper than getting a meat plate for £8.50 + £2.50 for rice.

the roast pork (烧肉)  at gold mine was distinctly superior to this.

my last experience with four seasons was in 2011 & as expected the service was brisk & business like bordering on unfriendly or even rudeness i had come to expect in chinese restaurants (or for that matter in any restaurants like this of so many nasi chefs in singapore, & at la botte in stresa where business was so good & they were always full & so busy).

i spoke cantonese with the 40-ish lady server i mistook as from hong kong. she was fast in words & thoughts & forceful. later when she talked about high teacher’s pay in singapore (which i guessed was misinformation) i realised she not likely to be from hong kong  & she told me she came to UK from malaysia 22 years ago. anyway she was very nice to us & gave 10% student discount when my son asked. we were not expecting that as my son was dining with me & not his student friends. 🙂

well, for me, gold mine & four seasons are the places i will go back every time i am in london.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Set Lunch @ Cote Brasserie Cambridge on 25Aug2014

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mussels in white wine

mussels in white wine

set off for a 1 day trip to cambridge monday 25.8.2014.

filtered water

filtered water

it was a wet day of light drizzle. we had finished a short walking route passing a few colleges & around the backs. we decided to drop in to cote brasserie for some lunch & rest. 🙂

we got tap water (no charge) like we did in london. there was a £9.95 2-course set lunch. we both picked the mussels with white wine. it was tender just like at big easy in london. the taste of the broth was better than the hot spicy one i had at big easy.

roasted seabass

roasted seabass

minute steak with fries

minute steak with fries

i had the roasted sea bas. it was good, nicely done fish with flavours of tomatoes & olive oil.

son had the minute steak which came with £2 supplement.

overal it was a very good lunch at £22 for 2pax.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Dinner @ Joel Robuchon London on 24Aug2014

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lobster pasta

#3 scottish lobster sea shell pasta

i had a very good lunch at gordon ramsey at the claridge’s brook street (now closed), & not so great dinner at marco pierre white in london in 2011. had yet to try joel robuchon. i had joel robuchon in hong kong both the set lunches menu decouvert at l’ artelier & dinner degustation at la cuisine. the set lunches were pretty good & reasonably priced. the degustation was good of course but too expensive for me.

wife & son had been talking about joel robuchon in london & paris, so we decided to go for a pre-theatre at joel robuchon london on 24.8.2014.

it was really good. 🙂

bread basket=baguette, olive bread, sour dough

bread basket=baguette, olive bread, sour dough

bread basket of baguette, olive bread, sour dough was ok for good restaurant standard.

parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart

#1 parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart

parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart

#1 parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart

#1 parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart was lovely. my son & i were talking about that this being an assembled dish, but still the presentation was great & all the ingredients came together beautifully. 🙂

crispy sous vide poached egg

#2 crispy sous vide egg with chorizo & cheese shavings

#2 crispy sous vide egg with chorizo & cheese shavings was very good too. it’s a bit similar to the excellent 64degC 55mins sous vide egg with iberico chorizo at jaan with the combination of taste & texture – the silky yoke & the salty bits of chorizo PLUS the crispy filo. this was good. jaan’s was much better.

open ravioli with clams & razor clams

#2 open ravioli with clams & razor clams with a crispy top & foam

open ravioli with clams & razor clams

#2 open ravioli with clams & razor clams with a crispy top & foam

#2 the open ravioli with littleneck clams & razor clams with a crispy top & foam was again excellent. the shellfish, crispy top & foam was a wonderful combination. 🙂

6hrs braised ox cheeks

#3 6hrs braised ox cheeks

6hrs braised ox cheeks

#3 6hrs braised ox cheeks

#3 the 6hr braised ox cheeks was very good in terms of taste & preparation, however just for comparison of braised items i think the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co was much tastier than this, so was the braised wagyu at hkk london & for my own taste preference = my own spanish beef ribs is also better (of course the meat cuts were different & we are not comparing apples with apples). 🙂

lobster pasta

#3 scottish lobster sea shell pasta

#3 the scottish lobster sea shell pasta, a substantial portion (i think 1/2 a 600g lobster), was tops! the foam & broth like a very good lobster bisque, and the lobster was very sweet & tasty. the pasta too. an excellent pasta dish! 🙂

the price for 3-course was £36 + 13% = S$73++ & there was a £7 supplement for the lobster. at S$73++ for a set lunch/pre theatre menu it was very much more expensive than the fabulous les amis S$45++ 4-course set lunch. both were excellent & JR was more inventive but quality+value wise, les amis would beat this hands down. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Street Eats @ Borough Market on 23Aug2014

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duck confit sandwich

duck confit sandwich

son & i went to london’s most famous market, borough market, on morning of 23.8.2014. took northern line from king’s cross to london bridge.

we were planning to try out the several famous street eats here. 🙂

borough market started in the current location from 1755, though records from 1014 listed it as a market  for fish, grain, livestocks, fruits & vegetables.

the wholesale market opens weekdays 2am-8am. the retail market opens wednesday to thursday 10am to 5pm, fridays from 10am to 6pm, and saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm

duck confit sandwich

duck confit sandwich

duck confit sandwich

duck confit sandwich

1 of the famous eats is the £5 duck confit sandwich, and that was also the first we tried. it was pretty good. the confit duck rillette was tasty & tender & did not disappoint. the ciabatta bread though was not very exciting, kind of tougher to the bite.

roast selling beef, crispy pork belly & bacon sandwich

roast selling beef, crispy pork belly & bacon sandwich

beef, crispy pork belly & bacon

beef, crispy pork belly & bacon

crispy pork belly sandwich

crispy pork belly sandwich

the next we tried was the £6.50 belly pork sandwich at roast. a queue built up rather quickly! it came with ok pork belly & a sheet of crispy skin. sad to say, for me the “crackling skin” was about the standard of my failed belly pork attempts & quite unedible. 😦 the bread was softer & better than the ciabatta of the duck confit sandwich. we didn’t try the beef sandwich, perhaps that would be better, 🙂

brindisa chorizo buns

brindisa chorizo buns

brindisa chorizo buns

brindisa chorizo buns

we had the single chorisa bun at brindisia. though a blogger mentioned it was more worthwhile to have the double chorizo for £4.95 instead of the single £3.95, my son disagreed, he thought it would be too salty with 2 chorizos, and i had to agree with him after trying it. 🙂

of the 3 my preference would be (1) duck confit sandwich (2) chorizo bun (3) belly pork sandwich. 🙂

salt beef (corn beef) sandwich

salt beef (corn beef) sandwich

we found the salt beef (corn beef) sandwich shortly. it looked really good. my son thought it looked better than it tasted. in any case we did not have space for it. nor the other food.

paella

paella

seller was offering free tasting with a small plastic spoon. the taste was ok but this was like a mass cooking & well below my own seafood risotto, so held no attraction for us.

seafood, calamari, cajun chicken etc.

seafood, calamari, cajun chicken etc.

they also served other dishes like calamari, cajun chicken etc.

prawns, jellied eels, whelks, crayfish salad

prawns, jellied eels, whelks, crayfish salad

dorset crab

dorset crab

1 stall was selling fresh cooked seafood, from prawns, jellied eels, whelks, crayfish salad to dorset crab.

excellent mushroom pate=GBP4 tub

excellent mushroom pate=GBP4 tub

the homemade mushroom pate was very flavourful. my son bought 1 tub for £4.

borough market

borough market

exotic stuff - kangaroo, crocodile, zebra, elk, ostrich

exotic stuff – kangaroo, crocodile, zebra, elk, ostrich

there were exotic burgers including  kangaroo, crocodile, zebra, elk, ostrich.

famous olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead

famous olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead

famous olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead

famous olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead

and the olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead was another famous stall at borough market.

borough market

borough market

quite crowded close to noon on a saturday.

whole roast pig

whole roast pig

they had whole roast pig too!

free wifi at borough market

free wifi at borough market

& there was free wifi at the market.

overall, the few famous dishes were pretty ok though nothing really caught my fancy (too much bread/carb for me anyway). it was still better by miles than the very poor poppies fish & chip at camden which we had on 24.8.2014.

c.h.e.f andy

Worst Meal in London @ Poppies Fish & Chip Camden on 24Aug2014

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poppies fish & chip=cod large for GBP13.90

poppies fish & chip=cod large for GBP13.90

thought of having fish & chips since we were in london.

son went to google & found this place poppies fish & chip at camden. as we were taking a morning walk along regent canal to camden town to primrose hill, this seemed a good place to stop for lunch.

poppies fish & chip

poppies fish & chip

poppies fish & chip

poppies fish & chip

poppies fish & chip=cod large for GBP13.90

poppies fish & chip=cod large for GBP13.90

it was however a bad choice. 😦

poppies was evidently among the top 10 fish & chips restaurants in london (the sign said voted No.1) & had quite good reviews on trip advisor. somehow it just did not agree with me or my son.

we ordered the cod large for GBP13.90. somehow, everything was wrong with this fish & chips – “cod” fish was dry, quite tasteless, even with lots of salt & vinegar, didn’t seem fresh or bouncy, batter was thick & poor, & fries were tasteless.

and the price = GBP13.90+ was doubled those on the streets…

but whatever the price it must taste good first! so this fell squarely as our worst meal in london, worse than the street fares like duck confit sandwich & crispy pork belly sandwich & even the chorizo bun at borough market, & even the GBP3.50 gyros (& the fries that came with it) we had earlier at the camden market was many times better than this. totally surprising to me but there it is! 😦

i no fan of fish & chips but old brown shoe (now closed) fish & chips was way way better than this!

c.h.e.f andy

Interesting Mid-Eastern Lunch @ Honey & Co on 22Aug2014

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messe for 2pax

messe for 2pax

had a very interesting mid-eastern lunch at honey & co on 22.8.2014. 🙂

place was recommended by son. i knew little about mid-eastern food and didn’t think its the kind of food i would like much. but i googled about honey & co, and the reviews were all very good.

honey & co wareen street

honey & co wareen street

it’s a small restaurant by a husband & wife team, aarit packer and itamar srulovich. we were greeted by very friendly & cheerful staff. 🙂

messe for 2pax

messe for 2pax

messe for 2pax

messe for 2pax

we enjoyed a very nice GBP15.5 2-course lunch, which came with a messe appetiser dish & a choice of main course. as the main courses on the menu were like GBP14.50, it made sense to do the set. 🙂

the messe for 2pax included warm feta bread, chickpea hummus, beetroot with mint, kalamata olives & another dip with pomegranate & grilled corn on the cob. every item was very nice. i especially liked the beetroot with mint, and the pomegranate dip. the regular chickpea humus was good too. 🙂

roasted sardines

roasted sardines

braised lamb shoulder

braised lamb shoulder

braised lamb shoulder

braised lamb shoulder

we had 2 mains recommended by the server. the roast sardines was excellent, very fresh & flavourful & not liked the fishy stuff i usually associated with sardines, something i would take again. the braised lamb shoulder with cous cous was truly superb, a braised dish that was tender & very tasty & not so sinewy. just purely for comparison of a braised item, i would put this as better than the ox cheek at joel robuchon and about par with the wagyu at hkklondon.

cheese cake

cheese cake

cheese cake

cheese cake

& the GBP6.50 cheesecake with blueberries, almonds & a crispy fill like base was almost out-of-this-world. liked it a lot, so much that i had another order to take away. 🙂

love the food & the service. there was no service charge so we gave a like 15% tip. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Roast Duck (烧鸭) & Roast Pork (烧肉) in London @ Goldmine on 23Aug2014

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1 whole boneless roast duck

1 whole boneless roast duck

goldmine is 1 of the favourite places my son & his friends go to for roast duck in london.

i came here once with my son 2 years back & wanted to try the place again. 🙂

the reviews were mostly good. we took the hammersmith line from king’s cross to edgeware road & changed to circle line to bayswater. goldmine was just 100m from the station & the street was lined with chinese restaurants including four seasons. i will probably try four seasons if i come again this trip, though not likely.

stepping into goldmine & seeing the 师傅 deboning the roast duck, one can see straight away that it was good. the roast pork looked amazing too. char siew looked ok. 🙂

son booked table of 5. only 2 of us were there. a son’s friend came shortly. the rule though was that only when all 5pax arrived then they would seat us. i spoke cantonese with the server & managed to get seated but they said we had to vacate by 750pm (we booked 630pm). i supposed it was fair enough under the circumstances. anyway we didn’t need to when the time arrived though restaurant continued to be quite full, but not overflowing.

watercress lie tong (例汤)

watercress lie tong (例汤)

roast pork (烧肉)

roast pork (烧肉)

char siew (叉烧)

char siew (叉烧)

hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐)

hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐)

fried kai lan

fried kai lan

i ordered 1 roast duck deboned, 1 order each of roast pork (烧肉) & char siew (叉烧), and the watercress lie tong (例汤) which son wanted. son ordered the hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐) & fried kai lan. 🙂

we were not disappointed. roast duck was very good. to me it was like hong kong standard. & 1 roast duck for GBP22 is cheaper than most restaurant prices in singapore. i thought the roast pork (烧肉) was really excellent, looked amazing & tasted incredible, so tender & the skin crisp. i can do this again. the char siew (叉烧) was quite average, not poor but no comparison with (say) imperial treasure teochew’s charcoal broiled pork collar or char siew.

son & friends loved the hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐). it was very average though, the coffeeshop zi char standard & no comparison with (say) braised tofu at a good zi char like kok seng.

overall cost for 5pax came to GBP80. for me it was an enjoyable meal & i would be happy to come back again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Cheap & Good 2-course Dinner + Drink @ Big Easy Covent Gardens on 22Aug2014

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plate of mussels

wood roasted mussels (hot & spicy)

son knew his place around london. 🙂

he booked this big easy place in king’s road covent gardens & we went there for late dinner at 10.30pm after watching a play “the curious incident of the dog in night time” at gielgud theatre on 22.8.2014. 🙂

restaurant had 2 levels & was crowded almost full, looked quite happening. we sat in the basement level, nice & roomy place. & they serve this cheap & good GBP9.95 lunch (till 6pm) & late night menu. 🙂

plate of mussels

wood roasted mussels (garlic sauce)

we ordered the 2-course with free brew, slushy or wine menu.

we had the wood roasted mussels. son had garlic sauce & i had hot & spicy. mussels were good, sweet, succulent & tasty. garlic sauce was the better sauce. there were around 15+ to 20 mussels.

margarita

margarita

i tried the margarita. it was good though not my thing.  will take a red if i come again.

bbq 1/2 chicken

bbq 1/2 chicken

bbq 1/2 chicken

bbq 1/2 chicken

prawn fritters & chips (fries)

prawn fritters & chips (fries)

i had the 1/2 bbq chicken. it was done beautifully. chicken was very tender, moist & flavourful, though i am not a fan of the american styled bbq sauce flavour. i took about 1/2 the chicken, and had nothing to complain about.

son took the prawn fritters with the fries. they were large & plump, batter was light enough & all said, again very well done really.

best thing of course was the price. really i mean a walk around borough market would cost more than this & not 1/2 as good. 🙂

it was a bit of the hearty & robust type of food for me, so not something i would really do again in a short while during the same trip (also for equally robust food, my preference would be to go for roast duck & roast pork at goldmine OR at four seasons chinatown etc), but i would certainly do this my next visit to london. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Watch A Play in London=Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (on 22Aug2014)

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went to watch the play “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” at geilgud theatre on shaftesbury avenue with son yesterday on 22.8.2014.

timing wise was great as we had morning walk along victoria embankment, house of parliament (big ben), westminster abbey to buckingham palace etc then late lunch 1.30pm at honey & co.

so we had some rest in the afternoon before theatre at 730pm & went for cheap GBP9.95 2-course dinner at big easy at king’s road covent garden at 10.30pm, & returned to apartment as zombies.

gielgud was home to yes prime minister & avenue q, now “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” after national theatre & apollo (where the ceiling collapse-not intended- at the ending some months back)

book by mark haddon was award winning so was the play & current christopher is played by mike noble.

usually we watch musicals (not so intellectually challenging.. haha).  the play (& book) was about a 15 yr old boy christopher with what was described as high functioning autism or savant syndrome, a mathematician with behavioural difficulties, finding the neighbour’s dog dead with a garden fork. police was called & he reacted violently when touched, was arrested then released & later found out his father’s been lying to him about his mother’s death 2 years ago after he found his mother’s unopened letters to him dated few months back in his father’s room…etc…

the synopsis did not quite excite me but i guess the acclaimed play (& book) must be quite good.

anyway the performance by christopher was quite captivating. remarkable how stage actors can memorise all these lines, there is no “NG” & reshoot on stage. he was able to portray a brilliant mind who receive constant overdose of factual & emotional stimuli & emotionally unable to relate to people etc..

production was great & innovative (with technology as well) with 3rd person narrative by christopher’s teacher as he wrote the incident & his investigations in a book & the past & present scenes were acted out as the teacher narrated the “book”…

christopher was assembling a toy train railway track on stage in real time in the midst of frantic dialogue & later the train actually moved representing his journey to london to look for his mother…

still we fell asleep during parts of the second half after a 20mins interval.

overall i quite enjoyed the play, but probably would not go out to get the book to read. not sure maybe my son have the book with him.

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful Turtle Soup 7pax Lunch @ Tan Ser Seng on 20Aug2014

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S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

really enjoyed the turtle soup lunch @ tan ser seng today on 20.8.2014.

we all decided to go early. at 1130am, the – at lor bachok (TSS is at shop unit No.29 lor bachok, alongside geylang lor 21) was quite empty. one friend managed to park along the road right next to TSS. 🙂

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

S$50 turtle soup (medium)

2xS$50 turtle soup (medium)

we had 5pax taking the turtle soup. the server advised us to get 2xS$50 turtle soup (medium).

2 other friends ordered the S$13 black chicken soup & S$13 cordyceps chicken soup.

i really liked the soup. it was so flavourful, intense yet very smooth. i had turtle soup recently & fu he (OR hock hoe) turtle soup at berseh food centre on 10.8.2014. anyway tan ser seng supplied slaughtered turtles to 15 stalls including all 3 turtle soup stalls at berseh food centre. 🙂 fu he was very good too. i could not be sure, but i think tan ser seng was even better & tastier.

it was more expensive as 2xS$50 shared by 5pax=S$20pax whereas we had S$40 shared by 3 at fu he. but i felt i had more turtle meat which included all the good parts – the legs, the jelly (soft shell) & little bits of fat. overall i am very happy with this lunch.

they have this rule restricting soup refill to 1 time, but the bowl was kind of tiny for refill for a S$50 bowl. at fu he, we got a huge refill of soup. for me though, it was enough & i didn’t need so much soup even though they were wonderfully tasty. 🙂

S$13 black chicken soup

S$13 black chicken soup

S$13 cordyceps chicken soup

S$13 cordyceps chicken soup

the black chicken & cordyceps chicken looked great too. again S$13 was kind of ex, but important thing was it must be good. 🙂

S$1.30 yam rice

S$1.30 yam rice

& we all decided to order the S$1.30pax yam rice! felt like kook, but white rice also S$0.70. anyway the rice was good. 🙂

i will definitely come back here again to enjoy this yummy dish. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Decent Mixed Beef Soup (牛杂汤) @ Scotts Hwa Heng Beef Noodles B4 Ion Orchard on 19Aug2014

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mixed beef soup (牛杂汤)

mixed beef soup (牛杂汤) – S$5

went to uniqlo at ion orchard B3 to buy something, so dropped by food opera at B4 to check out the stalls.

ordered a S$5 mixed beef soup (牛杂汤) w/o noodles or rice at hwa heng beef noodles.

heng hwa beef noodles

hwa heng beef noodles

heng hwa beef noodles

hwa heng beef noodles

mixed beef soup (牛杂汤)

mixed beef soup (牛杂汤) – S$5

there were just 2 or 3 slices of beef, 2 pieces of braised beef, 3 beef balls & quite several cut of stomach – decent enough portion for S$5 here i guess. the soup is the usual singapore hainanese beef noodle type soup (stall was supposed to be from 1948), which is slightly sweet & light closer to vietnamese “pho” than thai. pretty good. don’t have the robust beefy flavours & punch of HK beef noodle soup which was ok as i was not expecting it to.

my preference would still be beef noodle soup at thai noodle house, the beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 at noodles restaurant and at  Lao Jie Fang 老街坊 Mei Chin Food Court. but i am also quite happy with this for a change. 🙂

overall, pretty ok.

c.h.e.f andy

RI G20 Dinner @ Hung Kang on 18Aug2014

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suckling pig

suckling pig

Screen Shot 2014-08-19 at 11.42.38 am

we had our monthly dinner 11pax at hung kang last evening on 18.8.2014.

last time i came here was the birthday whole suckling pig birthday dinner for my brother & sister in Jun2013. 🙂

menu still the same but saw some inflation from S$438 to S$468.

longevity buns

longevity buns

i liked the longevity buns though it was just tau sah. 🙂

appetizer platter - spring rolls, jellyfish, chicken, trotter jelly

#1 appetizer platter – spring rolls, jellyfish, chicken, trotter jelly

#1 appetizer platter of spring rolls, jellyfish, chicken, trotter jelly was pretty ok though presentation (look) not the best. spring roll was good. trotter jelly just average. jellyfish the usual, chicken didn’t look great but tasted fine. 🙂

fish maw soup

#2 sharkskin & fish maw soup

#2 sharkskin & fish maw soup was good very tasty! 🙂

suckling pig

#3 suckling pig

#3 suckling pig good also. though i thought that chui huay lim & even ah yat were tastier.

white cereal prawns

#4 white cereal prawns

#4 white cereal prawns. nothing much to comment, but i liked the usual cereal prawns much better.

teochew steamed pomfret

#5 teochew steamed pomfret

#5 teochew steamed pomfret was very good! not “chow chor” aka fishy taste. excellent dish. 🙂

sliced abalones with jingbai

#6 sliced beiling mushrooms with jingbai (京白)

#6 sliced beiling mushrooms with jingbai (京白) was pretty ok.

fried noodles

#7 fried noodles

#7 fried noodles was just ok.

orh nee

#8 pumpkin orh nee (金瓜芋泥)

#8 pumpkin orh nee (金瓜芋泥) was ok. but not as good as many other places though, like chui huay lim or even muliangzai liang kee.

c.h.e.f andy

Ever Satisfying Lunch @ Imperial Treasure Teochew on 17Aug2014

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1/2 teochew braised duck S$28

1/2 teochew braised duck S$28

last time i came imperial treasure teochew at level 4 ngee ann city was on 1.9.2013. wa…almost a year now…

that’s the plus point about blogging. memories do not get better, but at least i can refer back. 🙂

i ordered the usual 1/2 teochew braised duck S$28, and charcoal broiled pork collar. children ordered the rest. 🙂

i think the teochew braised duck is exceedingly good, lots better than all the teochew restaurants like chui huay lim, or cheaper ones like mu liang zai liang kee. it was the usual moist, tender & very flavourful. i do a very good teochew braised duck myself. this though was somewhat different, the meat was tender but firm, not overcooked, and very flavourful. 🙂

charcoal broiled pork collar was good as always, though portion had shrunk!

虾饺

har gao (虾饺)

har gao (虾饺) always good here, thin skin, tasty filling. 🙂

har fun cheong 虾粉肠

har fun cheong (虾粉肠)

char siew fun cheong 叉烧粉肠

char siew fun cheong (叉烧粉肠)

the har fun cheong (虾粉肠) and char siew fun cheong (叉烧粉肠) were almost good HK standard, smooth skin tasty fillings. 🙂

this reminded me that the fun cheong at timhowan were also very good.

charcoal broiled pork collar

charcoal broiled pork collar

this was good – already said!

siew yoke (烧肉)

siew yoke (烧肉)

siew yoke (烧肉) was leaner & very good this time, very nicely pressed, good consistency, crispy skin & tasty. this such a standard common dish but surprisingly many other restaurants can still get it wrong.

chicken feet

chicken feet

this was ok competent.

steamed pork ribs

steamed pork ribs

this kind of too much bones & fat. taste was good but many places like royal china did a much better steamed pork ribs.

fried carrot cake

fried carrot cake

this was ok. did not leave any impression.

dried scallop egg white fried rice

dried scallop egg white fried rice

always enjoyed the fried rice here. this had less chilli & less robust flavours than the excellent spicy seafood fried rice at crystal jade lamian xiolongbao. have to put them both as my equal favourites. 🙂

the crystal jade version had inspired my own pretty good seafood fried rice. haha! 🙂

teochew fried kueh teow

teochew fried kueh teow

wife ordered the teochew char kueh teow. kueh teow was too soft but taste was pretty ok & there were quite many prawns. i am ok with this dish, not my favourite & for me neither was the one at chui huay lim.

salted egg custard bun

salted egg custard bun

this was good, better than the salted egg custard bun at royal china (with the strange mango concoction) but canton paradise might be even better than this.

total bill was S$186nett. not cheap at S$31pax nett for dim sum but a tasty enjoyable lunch with variety & quality of food to please all. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Dinner @ Arossa on 16Aug2014

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uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

see also update on my equally scrumptious dinner on 3.9.2014.

saturday & decided to go dinner last minute. didn’t really know where to go if not our usual haunts. anyhow, looked at palate restaurants, and arossa at scotts square beckoned. this the former scotts shopping centre. i had not set foot since its completion in 2011, not that i been to the former scotts much either. 🙂

arossa wine & grill is located on level 2 in scotts square. it belongs to PJ Partners group of restaurants which included sushi ichi next door & salt at ion orchard. it has a nice redbrick tavern setting. servers were well trained, and there was a young lady japanese chef. 🙂

a glass of red

a glass of red

wife ordered a glass of red (S$18, no discounts). it was good, serving size a bit small.

focaccia & walnut bread

focaccia & walnut bread

focaccia & walnut bread & olive dip

focaccia & walnut bread & olive dip

the bread were warm & good. focaccia was soft & great texture & tasty, walnut bread was nice & flavourful. the olive dip was excellent. 🙂

lobster ravioli

lobster ravioli

uni (sea urchin) pasta

uni (sea urchin) pasta

we took the server’s advise & ordered the house favourites a uni (sea urchin) pasta (S$32), & the lobster ravioli (S$28). the lobster broth was very flavourful, a good standard bisque, the ravioli was great.

though different (some would say apples & oranges) & enjoyable i don’t really find ravioli better than chinese shui jiao (水饺) which cost just a fraction. on balance i enjoyed 水饺 more – just my personal taste. 🙂

we decided to forgo the antipasti, and used the 2 pastas as appetizers since we wanted to try both pastas.

though antipasti menu was the usual ‘ordinary’ stuff, but never know. a good creative chef like they obviously have here may whipped up some new sensation. i will try the antipasti the next time.

miyazaki A5 wagyu

miyazaki A5 wagyu

for the meat, we decided to share a miyazaki A5 wagyu striploin (S$88). server recommended medium. overall we expected it to be quite good.

it was excellent! one of the best steaks i had taken, and comparable to a good one in japan. 🙂 there was sea salt on the side & we hardly touched the dip, as the meat was so very tasty & fragrant standalone with just a dab of sea salt. the best beef we had in singapore was at jaan where we were served a dry aged miyazaki wagyu, not sure if it was A5, but it was exquisite. that (serving size) was part of an exquisite degustation menu. the one at arossa was a full 180g steak. i would take a whole steak myself the next visit.

overall, the 3 fabulous dishes came to S$74++ after amex palate’s 50% for 2pax discounts. there was no discounts for the wine, so the total bill was S$92++.

the service was very professional. however the server was professional but not particularly friendly (not the jovial & relax approach). he was very hasty & rushed even though the restaurant was not busy & the body language was one of constantly wanting to move off when i asked a few questions to understand the menu more. 😦 so i guess for my personal experience on this occasion it was good but not excellent.

c.h.e.f andy

P.S. did not get the ask about the F1 (50% wagyu 50% angus) tenderloin. my preference is for striploin & sirloin anyway, but for the same pricing of S$88, can’t see myself picking F1 tenderloin to miyazaki A5 wagyu striploin. 🙂

 

Decent Breakfast @ Delifrance Jelita on 16Aug2014

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S$3.60 1 for 1 feuilete (1 curry chicken pie & 1 tuna pie)

S$3.60 1 for 1 feuillete (1 curry chicken pie & 1 tuna pie)

had a decent breakfast with my daughter at deliverance @ jelita on 16.8.2014.

delifrance promotion

delifrance promotion

there is an ongoing promo till 31aug2014.

S$2.90 croissant with egg

S$2.90 scrambled egg croissant sandwich

S$7.90 for 2 lattes

S$7.90 for 2 lattes

S$3.60 1 for 1 feuilete (1 curry chicken pie & 1 tuna pie)

S$3.60 1 for 1 feuillete (1 curry chicken pie & 1 tuna pie)

we decided to have the 1 for 1 feuillete (1 curry chicken pie & 1 tuna pie) for S$3.60, a scrambled egg croissant sandwich for S$2.90, and 1 caramel latte + 1 normal latte for S$7.90 = S$17nett.

the feuillete or pies were pretty good, coffee too. the croissant was tasty. 🙂

the discounts were not much, still coffees alone can be quite ex, so it’s good we gotten some discounts. i hardly do such breakfast (or breakfast at all), anyway it was pretty ok.

c.h.e.f andy