Author Archives: chefquak

Taujeon Lime Sauce Song Fish Head 松鱼头 on 23Aug2017

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taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

this taujeong lime sauce style of preparation for song fish head 松鱼头 was my own new creation. i tested it on tilapia fish on 21.8.2017. 

the sauce was very good.

basically i was trying to replicate the excellent dish of taujeon sharks cartilage at zai shun where my OPS friend bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017.

i chose  song fish head 松鱼头 because it has the most gelatinous texture, if it is possible to approximate the texture of gelatinous sharks cartilage. quite different i guess, haha!

larpok crispy lard

larpok crispy lard

i had some leftover pig fat in the freezer so i made some larpok crispy lard as topping for the song fish head 松鱼头. very easy to make & very nice too!

taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

fish head was nice, all my OPS friend liked it.

one friend said maybe it was a bit sour. for myself i ok with this level of sourness.

how did it compare with my spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头? one friend thought it was equally good but a different style & so quite a nice variation.

for myself & another friend, we both thought the spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 still best! 🙂

so black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 is what i will do the next time for this group. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 song fish head 松鱼头
  • 5tbsp tau jeon
  • 1/2 a large lime juice
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 stalk chopped spring onions
  • 1-2 cut chili padi
  • 2cm juliened ginger
  • 3 tsp chopped garlic

Directions:

  1. clean fish head with salt & wash thoroughly, put on colander to dry
  2. put 5tbsp tau jeon in large bowl, add 1/2 large lime juic, 1tbsp mirin & pound. add 3tbsp olive oil & mix. spread on fish head.
  3. add chili padi, juliened ginger, chopped spring onions & chopped garlic on top of fish head.
  4. steam fish head for 13 mins in steamer or steam oven.

Delicious Dongporou 东坡肉 (My First Attempt) on 23Aug2017

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dongporou 东坡肉

first time i attempted dongporou 东坡肉 on 23.8.2017. ^^

i did this for 7pax dinner for my OPS buddies. 

dongporou 东坡肉

bascially trying to replicate the dongporou 东坡肉 at zai shun where WT bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017. 🙂

i found & followed one web recipe here.

dongporou 东坡肉

tying the string for 9 cuts of belly pork kind of tedious.

i layered the claypot first with cabbage (my own improvisation), then spring onions, then sliced ginger. i had some leftover pig skin (from char siu 叉烧) i inserted to help hold up the pork belly pieces.

dongporou 东坡肉

then i added 2tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar, 4tbsp shaoxing wine, and 1/2 cup water. added the belly pork, skin down.

then cooked low fire for 1.5hrs. added water as required, and turned over belly pork at 1hr.

then took out belly pork & placed in a small holder & steamed for 1.5hrs, so in total 3hrs.

dongporou 东坡肉

though my first time, the dongporou 东坡肉 was quite good standard. the gelatinous parts were excellent. flavour was pretty ok…

i think can have more wine taste, so i am going to increase to 6tbsp shaoxing wine. the pigskin & cabbage were excellent – collateral goodness, haha! ^^

all my OPS friends liked the dongporou 东坡肉. one rated it second after the egg bittergourd with salted egg. some lean parts still not tender enough after 3hrs lor…

not quite sure why need to cut the pork (& having to tie pork to hold it together) in the first place? to let the sauce & the steam reach the individual pieces?

i think i will instead experiment using low temperature braising to render the whole 400g pork belly tender, then open steaming to add moisture & further tenderise the pork, then cut into small pieces (currently the steam could not reach the lean parts of the pork in the small holder)…so i intend to experiment/improvise..

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 400g fresh belly pork simmered in boiling water for few minutes (to remove scum & also easier to cut belly pork..i cut 9 pieces for 7pax & didn’t want to eat too much belly pork, but 4 pieces would be better)

to lace the claypot-

  • 2-3 large cabbage leaves
  • 2 stalks spring onions cut into 3 sections
  • 3-4cm sliced ginger
  • & i added 6 garlic cloves to flavour the meat

braising sauce-

  • 2tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1tbsp brown sugar (or what i did – 2tsp brown sugar & add 1 small piece rock honey sugar)
  • 4tbsp shaoxing wine1/2 cup water
  • Directions:
  1. simme in boiling water for few minutes to remove scum & also easier to cut belly pork.
  2. cut pork to 4 pieces.
  3. use string to tie the cut belly pork
  4. layer claypot with cabbage, spring onions, sliced ginger. add 6 cloves peeled garlic
  5. put in a fitting pot (i used leftover pig skin (from char siu 叉烧) to help hold up the pork belly pieces in a small claypot
  6. add 2tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar, 4tbsp shaoxing wine, and 1/2 cup water.
  7. add belly pork, skin down. cook low fire for 1.5hrs. add water as required, and turn over belly pork at 1hr.
  8. take out belly pork & place in a small holder & steam for 1.5hrs, so in total 3hrs.

 

 

Nice & Fun 7pax OPS Buddies Dinner on 23Aug2017

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chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

did a 7pax homecooked dinner for my OPS buddies on 23.8.2017-

  1. chicken rice, 白斩鸡, chili, ginger sauce, tauyou
  2. steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼
  3. char siew 叉烧
  4. steamed taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头(zai shun style sauce)
  5. 东坡肉(zai shun) – my furst attempt
  6. egg bittergourd with salted egg (zai shun)

6 dishes for 7pax

FM said i did not invite her for long time (actually invited her, she eaten & forgot la…haha!). & so i did! ^^

6 dishes for 7pax

i prepared 6 dishes for 7pax- 🙂

made 400g char siu 叉烧 using my recent new method, 25mins in 250degC oven

char siu 叉烧

char siu 叉烧

bought 400g fresh indonesia pork belly from sheng shion at S$15.90/kg.

marinated for 5 to 6hrs.

char siu 叉烧

char siu 叉烧 colour a bit anaemic, but taste was excellent! very flavourful!

dongporou 东坡肉

first time i attempted dongporou 东坡肉.

bascially trying to replicate the dongporou 东坡肉 at zai shun where WT bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017. 🙂

dongporou 东坡肉

i found & followed one web recipe here.

tying the string for 9 cuts of belly pork kind of tedious.

i layered the claypot first with cabbage (my own improvisation), then spring onions, then sliced ginger. i had some leftover pig skin (from char siu 叉烧) i inserted to help hold up the pork belly pieces.

dongporou 东坡肉

then i added 2tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar, 4tbsp shaoxing wine, and 1/2 cup water. added the belly pork, skin down.

then cooked low fire for 1.5hrs. added water as required, and turned over belly pork at 1hr.

then took out belly pork & placed in a small holder & steamed for 1.5hrs, so in total 3hrs.

dongporou 东坡肉

so dongporou 东坡肉 was quite good standard. the gelatinous parts were excellent. flavour was pretty ok…

i think can have more wine taste, so i am going to increase to 6tbsp shaoxing wine. the pigskin & cabbage were excellent – collateral goodness, haha! ^^

FM rated it second after the egg bittergourd with salted egg. some lean parts still not tender enough after 3hrs lor…

not quite sure why need to cut the pork (& having to tie pork to hold it together) in the first place? to let the sauce & the steam reach the individual pieces?

i think i will instead experiment using low temperature braising to render the whole 400g pork belly tender, then open steaming to add moisture & further tenderise the pork, then cut into small pieces (currently the steam could not reach the lean parts of the pork in the small holder)…so i intend to experiment/improvise..

steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼  the usual, an excellent dish.

if i may say, any times better than what i had at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 with my RI bros recently on 24.7.2017.

taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

this taujeong lime sauce style of preparation for song fish head 松鱼头 was my own new creation.

basically i was trying to replicate the excellent dish of taujeon sharks cartilage at zai shun where WT bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017.

larpok crispy lard

larpok crispy lard

i had some leftover pig fat in teh freezer so i made some larpok crispy lard as topping for the song fish head 松鱼头. very easy to make & very nice too!

taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

i chose  song fish head 松鱼头 because it has the most gelatinous texture, if it is possible to approximate the texture of gelatinous sharks cartilage. quite different i guess, haha!

fish head was nice, WT said maybe it was a bit sour. for myself i ok with this level of sourness. WT thought it was equally good c/w blackbean sauce song fish head 松鱼头. for WM & I, we both prefer the black bean sauce.

so black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 is what i will do the next time for this group. 🙂

egg bittergourd with salted egg

egg bittergourd with salted egg was also my attempt to replicate the famous dish at zai shun. 

i would think it was pretty good.

FM picked this as her no 1 dish. LCH commented the bittergourd had zero bitter taste (which FM didn’t mind). i agreed. for me also i think some bitter taste would be better. basically i cleaned, soaked in water for 1 day in the fridge, changed water many times. will do less next time.

i felt the salted egg flavours did not come out enough though. maybe the salted egg i used wasn’t a very good one. i did not add any fish sauce because of the salted egg, but after tasting, i added some oyster sauce. maybe i will add more oyster sauce next time.

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

& i had my usual chicken rice, now consistently good.

chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou

chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou

ginger sauce

with the whole paraphernalia of chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou.

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

very smooth chicken & sweet with the chili, ginger sauce & tauyou.

& the very fragrant chicken rice. i cooked 3 cups rice for 7pax as WT & I shared 1 bowl, more or less & some may eat less than a bowl. anyhow rice not enough for LCH…lol! ^^

FM’s angkukueh

FM made angkukueh – 6 each of tau sha & peanuts.

FM’s angkukueh

i loved the tau sha, not too sweet. peanuts not my preference.

WT brought mangoes & WM brought 2 melons. LCH brought daifuku mochi from chataraise. KS brought a reisling. we did not drink.

mini cornetto

& i had some mini cornetto.

a very fun dinner.

i started late today as i went jogging with my RI bro, after drannk 100plus, coffee & chatted; & only back 12pm today.

usually i finish cooking by 6pm & relax & wait for my friends to arrive. today i basically prepare the dishes w/o stopping till 7pm… anyway these are close friends & they are very comfortable entertaining themselves while i cook. i was just good ie all done when the last friend arrived, and just perfect timing to start the steam fish (13mins) & fry the egg bittergourd dish.

c.h.e.f andy

Shiok! 过瘾！S$4 Meepok Tar @ Jln Tua Kong 6th Ave on 22Aug2017

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S$4 meepok tar

son wanted to take meepok tar at 6th ave. we went to jln tua kong about 10am on 22.8.2017. ^^

no lots on the street so he parked at guthrie house.

this a go to place for us, the family, though i have not been here for weeks/couple months.

i ordered the regular S$4, son the S$5 large. 🙂

S$4 meepok tar

this meepok tar really shiok! 真过瘾！

so qq, al dente. the chili is indispensable, hotter than most…& so tasty, the minced pork, fish balls, fish cakes, prawns, everything.

most important still the chili la!

S$4 meepok tar

such a nice simple meal, totally satisfied! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

Jln Tua Kong Mee Pok Tar

24 Sixth Ave, Singapore 276481

Good Good Eating House 好好餐室

New Taujeon Lime Sauce Steamed Fish @ 2pax Home Dinner with Sis on 21Aug2017

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4 dishes 

sis stayed for dinner on 21.8.2017.

taujeon lime sauce red tilapia 

we cooked 4 dishes. i made the taujeon lime sauce red tilapia & steamed ikan selar.

& sis fried the 2 vegetables.

taujeon lime sauce red tilapia 

sis wanted to eat tilapia this evening so we bought one from sheng shiong…

tilapia a cheap fish, got muddy taste, flesh is sweet & smooth, so quite ideal for me to experiment my taujeon line sauce for my OPS friend dinner this wednesday…

this taujeon lime sauce is my own creation after trying the excellent steamed taujeon sharks cartilage at zai shun-

  • i pounded 3 tbsp taujeon, squeezed 1/2 a large lime, added 2 tbsp olive oil & 1 tbsp mirin, that’s it. for garnishing, i had 2cm sliced ginger, 1 stalk spring onions, 1 chili padi & 2 tsp chopped garlic. sauce not bad 👍

tilapia of course was no sharks cartilage. i don’t know yet where to get sharks cartilage, but this wednesday i am going to use song fish head 松鱼头 which has a lot of gelatinous parts to approx the sharks cartilage! 🙂

steamed ikan selar 

seldom eat ikan selar till recently at 夜来香teochew muay..quite enjoy it… 

so today at sheng shiong i bought 5 selar fish @ S$8.90/kg. i steamed the largest selar.

steamed ikan selar

it was very good taken with taujeon dip.

very sweet fish with firm meat..& quite cheap. i like it very much…

fried spinach

salted fish fried with celery 

sis cooked the 2 veg

her salted fish fried with celery shoots lagi best! 👍👍

c.h.e.f andy

Good Chirashi Don @ Tanuki Raw Orchard Central on 21Aug2017

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tanuki chirashi don S$22.90 

today i wanted to go singtel comcen to return the modem & set-top box & terminate my EPL Jingxuan subscription.

so arranged to have lunch with sis & bil at orchard central. we went to tanuki raw at level 4 orchard central on 21.8.2017. ^^

tanuki raw @ orchard central 

tables were full at 12.15pm except counter seats were available. we did not make a reservation.

tanuki raw @ orchard central 

we decided to sit on a table outside, not aircon but quite ok.

salad, soup & tea S$2 

tanuki raw does not have a photo menu. kind of inconvenient as cannot really tell what comes in the chirashi don & bara chrashi don (both S$17.80) and the tanuki chirashi don (S$22.90). the server couldn’t explain much except to say tanuki chirashi has better cuts of sashimi.

anyhow we ordered 2 tanuki chirashi don, and a foie gras beef don.

salad, soup & tea S$2 

& added S$2 for salad, soup & tea.

sis thought S$2 was good, but actually it only means that it is a S$24.90 set which actually is quite expensive compared with (say) the S$20 chirashi don lunch set at en sakaba at level one, and sumiya & another jap place at level 12.

tanuki chirashi don S$22.90 

the tanuki chirashi don had quite good quality cuts – a good portion of uni, 2 thick cut salmon, 1 small salmon belly, 2 kajiki, 2 hamachi, 2 tamago, negitoro, 2 very sweet fish i don’t know, 1 hotate, and some healthy rice, but no amaebi, aka ebi or botan ebi, no anago or unagi.

c/w en sakaba’s S$28 chirashi which came with anago & aka ebi – plus minus i guess… 

i guess S$24.90 for this tanuki chirashi don set is ok, quite good but not outstanding.

foie gras beef don S$19.90 

the foie gras beef don is quite special in my opinion.

a huge serving of thick cut foir gras, i tried a little. it was very good.

foie gras beef don S$19.90 

i did not try the beef. there were like only 6 thin slices, maybe 60g!

but the healthy? rice was good & tasty with beef flavours. as i left the restaurant, i saw many people having the foie gras beef don & also the tanuki chirashi..i guess these were popular orders here.

lunch was S$84 for 3pax. quite ok for the food.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Tanuki Raw @ Orchard Central
Address:
181 Orchard Rd, 04-01, Singapore 238896
Located in: Orchard Central
Contact:
6636 5949
Opening Hours:
daily
  • 11:30AM–10:30PM

Enjoyable 6pax Sunday Family Home Dinner on 20Aug2017

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squid ink risotto with squid & prawns 

had some squid ink in the freezer. decided to do squidink risotto, and some pasta & steak this evening on 20.8.2017. ^^

sotong for risotto & pasta 

i prepared some squid & prawns.

for the risotto i prepared small cut pieces about 2cmx2.5cm. for the pasta i cross cut larger pieces of squid. and seasoned them with fish sauce & pepper (say) 2 hrs before cooking.

ribeye, chicken stock, sweet basil, prawns in fridge 

i defrosted 2 pieces (about 300g each) of grain fed black angus ribeye. i also had some chicken stock for risotto.

for prawns, i kept 6 with heads & shells for risotto, just cut the centre to devein.

for pasta, i kept 12 prawns shelled & deveined. i fried the heads & shells in butter & boiled for stock to be used for the squid ink risotto.

& i had some sweet basil which i planted & grew myself.

squid ink risotto with squid & prawns 

i browned 2 whole bulb of peeled garlic for risotto & pasta.

added some chopped yellow onions frozen mixed vegetables & some sweet basil, plus the squid ink to the garlic & oil. then added 2 cups of arborio rice (could not get carnaroli rice) off fire & fried.

added the prawn stock. bring to boil & put in a 210degC oven for 8mins.

squid ink risotto with squid & prawns 

so rice was 90% cooked, alread very tasty…

whens erving, added squid & more stock & boiled a bit more. then added 1 tbsp butter, tossed & mixed.

seafood aglio olio spaghetti 

for the pasta, i just fried cut chili padi wit the garlic oil, then added prawns, followed by squid.

seafood aglio olio spaghetti

the i off fire, added the spaghetti & tossed.

add sea salt to taste…quite a tasty pasta, though i had done better before…

pancharred grain fed black angus ribeye

the best dish was the ribeye.

i only salt & pepper when about to fry. very high heat skillet, charred one side then the other, in butter.

pancharred grain fed black angus ribeye

medium rare, very tender & flavourful beef steam.

an enjoyable dinner for 6pax at home.

c.h.e.f andy

Good 3pax Lunch @ Hong Kong Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记 on 18Aug2017

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black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 S$16

sis came by for lunch. we decided to go nearby to Hong Kong Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记 at commonwealth crescent food centre on 18.8.2017.

black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 S$16

the steamed black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 is a standard order. always good. very fresh fish & lots of gelatinous parts. very shiok!

black bean sauce bittergourd with pork ribs S$12

i had not ordered the black bean sauce bittergourd with pork ribs here for the longest time.

it was actually quite poor. it like i “bak chew kum kum” close my eyes can also cook better than this…basically poor quality pork ribs & poor preparation so all bones not tender, and mediocre preparation fort the whole dish.

black bean sauce bittergourd with pork ribs 

this dish S$16 super not worth like the S$16 song fish head is super worth! (though ther are maybe cheaper ones at S$13 or S$14…

sanlou horfun 三捞河粉 S$10

the sanlou horfun 三捞河粉 always good.

today though not as good wokhae..i think maybe S$6 small serving is enough for 3pax, with the other dishes.

sanlou horfun 三捞河粉 

still enjoyable especially with cut chili & a bit of fish sauce.

lunch for 3pax was S$38. quite ok la! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

Hong Kong Street Chun Kee 香港街珍记

Address:

Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre, #2-102

(Good First-time) Roast Duck on 15Aug2017 (Recipe)

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roast duck

i started cooking & inviting friends for dinners in mar2012. ^^

one year later i started my blog & made my very first post “I am NO Chef!” on 5.3.2013. at first it was on my cooking & dining out. later i added a travelogue for my travels.

i started with western dishes for simple reason. it is so easy to get cheap & very good hawker, zi char & chinese restaurant dishes, so cooking a good steak, lamb, cod, pasta etc western style & later japanese & “fusion” make a lot more sense than making braised duck & chicken rice 白斩鸡.

it was only later that i evolved my own recipes of braised duck, chicken rice 白斩鸡, curry chicken, claypot rice that i find it worthwhile (because they are good & replicable & easy to make) to make these dishes. in fact lately i made mostly these dishes for my dinner invites.

for this reason, there are dishes which i attempted but still don’t cook like sio bak (roast pork), hokkien mee, & hawker stall roast chicken. whereas my steak, lamb, pasta, miso cod etc would better many cafes & maybe equal some restaurants (not the plating & sides & sauces), it is meaningless to do cheap hawker dishes if i cannot do at least as good. of course i am not talking about elaborate fine dining dishes, sauces, foams, sous vide, confit etc. those are outside my league…

today i still think it is much harder to cook good chinese & asian hawker & restaurant dishes than western dishes. these dishes combines many ingredients & so complicated preparation eg a bakchomee vs a pasta, that unless i can make them easily & well, they are not worth doing.

of course views will change when you acquire the technique or method.

AND of course chinese roast duck is one such dishes. i never did a roast duck, so this was my very first attempt.

recently, i had delicious roast duck & best char siew at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 during our 10pax RI bro sutera mall makan, massage & karaoke trip (10 travelogue posts here). 

so that motivated me to try out first my own char siew & now my first time roast duck!^^

roast duck

i debated doing a whole roast 1.8kg duck from giant or 1/2 a 2.2kg duck from sheng shiong to experiment.

decided not to experiment & to roast a full 2.2kg duck from sheng shiong for the  10pax dinner for my RI bros on 15.8.2017. 

roast duck

i picked from 2 youtube recipes – here  and  here!

roast duck

so i cleaned & washed the duck thoroughly with salt (exfoliate), pat dry with kitchen towel, make a marinade & rubbed the marinade on the inside of the cavity & “stitched”. i did not have the longer bamboo skewer so i used what i have (toothpicks & lots of them). and they did a good job holding the marinade inside.

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

the i placed the duck on a roasting rack & left in the fridge for 2days to dry the skin (one of the youtube recipe suggested 4days! but 2 is fine for me).

on the day of dinner, i let the duck come to room temperature, pat dry further, and placed the rack in a 200degC oven (with circulation mode) for 1hr. did not know what to expect, but managed to turn the duck w/o tearing skin at 35mins.

at 1 hr i wanted the duck a bit more charred so i roasted for another 10mins.

roast duck

the duck turned out to be very good.

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

my friends (& later my wife & children – i kept a drumstick quarter for them to try) said the duck was very flavourful. when i deboned the duck, i already knew the meat was tender & juicy, especially the parts near the bones, so i knew texture was good. & the taste & flavour was good too! only that i did not have any tong guai or herb flavours or tea smoked flavours. & the skin roasted, tasty, not tough, but also not the crispy skin of hawker stalls & restaurants.

it was not comparable of course with the delicious roast duck & best char siew at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 la!

still a very successful chinese roast duck, first time or not first time, anyhow i not sure second time will be better also la! lol! 🙂

i also made a simple sauce similar to the excellent sauce we had with london’s four seasons roast duck. 

& it’s very easy to make – 3 tbsp top quality dark sauce, 1 tbsp top quality light soy sauce, 1-2tbsp water, 1 tbsp sugar & mixed.

simple yet so very tasty sauce for both chicken & duck! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • one 2.2kg fresh duck

marinade (dry)

  • 1/2 onion (sliced)
  • 3cm ginger (sliced)
  • 4tsp chopped garlic
  • white stems of 2 stalks spring onion (small cuts)
  • 3 star anise
  • 1-2 cinnamon stick
  • 3 bay leaves

marinade sauce

  • 2 tbsp hoi sin sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp five spice powder
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp honey

bath for basting duck

  • 3tbsp white vinegar
  • 3tbsp honey
  • 1tbsp hoi sin sauce
  • 2cups water

Directions:

  1. clean duck, exfoliate with salt & wash thoroughly, pat dry
  2. fry marinade (dry) to bring out the aroma, then add to marinade (sauce).
  3. marinade rub the inside cavity of the duck & stitch
  4. boil 2cups water & add white vinegar, honey hoi sin sauce. i use a wide wok pan for easy basting.
  5. hold duck by the neck & baste like 20 times, making sure cover every part of the duck including under the wings & drumsticks.
  6. place on roasting rack, cool & put in the fridge to dry the skin for 2 days.
  7. let duck come to room temperature, further pat dry, cover the wing tips & drumstick tips with aluminium foil, & put in 250degC oven for 1hr. turn duck at 35mins (optional – don’t turn if tearing the skin).
  8. let rest for 10mins. debone & serve.

 

 

Doublecooked Belly Pork 回锅肉with Onions & Leek– 38th Teban Gardens Community Breakfast on 18Aug2017

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doublecooked belly pork 回锅肉with onions & leek

did a doublecooked belly pork 回锅肉with onions & leek  for teban gardens community breakfast this morning on 18.8.2017. ^^

this my 38th 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.

doublecooked belly pork 回锅肉with onions & leek

回锅肉 simply means returning to the wok, which means the pork has been cooked once already before cooking again in the wok. so in english, it is translated as doublecooked pork. 🙂

there are of course many such preparation in all cuisine types – western, middle eastern, indian of chinese, asian etc…in teochew cuisine for example there is 半煎煮 usually for fish like 1/2 shallow-fry, then braise…

belly pork after 5hrs in 90degC oven overnight

anyhow i was wondering what to cook for this morning. last evening went to sheng shiong at tanglin halt past 10pm & bought 4packets = 1.6kg of frozen belly pork. after defrosting, scalding & cleaning, covered with water & placed in sealed oven dishes in 90degC oven past midnight for 5hrs overnight.

this morning got up at 7am (alarm set) & prepared the meat & vegetables.

very tender, gelatinous & less oily

belly pork was very tender, gelatinous & also less oily because much oil had been rendered out in the water & discarded.

belly pork after 5hrs in 90degC oven overnight

i did not count but there should be like around 140 slices….these days teban gardens attendance on the rise (for today it might have exceeded 130pax).

onion & leek with oyster sauce

i cut 4 large red onions & 3 stalks of leek. i wanted to save my chopped garlic so browned a whole bulb of peeled garlic cloves instead to flavour the oil.

then fried the onions & garlic, added oyster sauce & covered.

added very little water, & covered to help cook the leek so that the green parts are not tough & “siap”.

tasted & vegetables were tasty on their own.

doublecooked belly pork 回锅肉with onions & leek

i then fried all the belly pork slices in the bit of garlic oil left, and added a bit oyster sauce. this one no water & no cover, just fried over medium heat, to brown & careful not burn. i tasted, pork was tender & very tasty.

then added back the vegetables & tossed. i added just a little fish sauce after tasting. it was quite perfect. then plated it.

the dish looked beautiful & tasted as much. and not really that much effort.

i have been cooking larger & larger quantity as the attendance increased. today there were like 5 or 6 people who were last in the queue & i had served out all the food. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

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D13 durians

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

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

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

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

D13 durians 

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

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

D13 durians on 11aug2017

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

D13 durians on 11aug2017 

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

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

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

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

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

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steamed tangy taujeon sharks cartilage

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

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

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

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

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

zai shoon

zai shoon

we were there about 11.25am.

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

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

carrot soup

carrot soup

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

dongpo rou 东坡肉

the dongpo rou 东坡肉 we all have not tried.

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

dongpo rou 东坡肉

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

dongpo rou 东坡肉

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

haebeehiam

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

egg bittergourd with salted egg

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

indeed it was a very tasty dish.

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

Zai Shun 载顺 Zi Char

Address:

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

Contact:

6560 8594

Opening Hours: 

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

Enjoyable10pax RI Bros Homecooked Dinner on 15Aug2017

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roast duck

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

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

& one of the key dishes was-

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

9 dinner dishes

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

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

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

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

9 dinner dishes

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

poached chicken 白斩鸡

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

poached chicken 白斩鸡

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

poached chicken 白斩鸡

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

poached chicken 白斩鸡

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

chili, ginger sauce, dark sauce mix

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

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

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

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

chicken rice

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

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

roast duck

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

roast duck

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

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

roast duck

will blog the recipe later.

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

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

roast duck

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

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

in fact everyone preferred the duck to the char siew.

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

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

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

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

braised trotters 元蹄

my braised trotters 元蹄 was also pretty good standard.

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

braised trotters 元蹄

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

braised trotters 元蹄

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

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

claypot chicken rice

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

claypot tanhoon prawns

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

claypot tanhoon prawns

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

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

claypot tanhoon prawns

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

fried spinach

fried kang kong

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

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

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

manila clams

my wok fried manila clams was a huge waste.

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

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

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

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spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头  

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

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

hong kong street old chun kee 

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

spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 

here sauce was wetter, more liquid.

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

Hong Kong Street Old Chun Kee

Address:
117 Commonwealth Drive, 140117
Contact:

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

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kaisen don 海鮮丼

did a few errands this morning on 13.8.2017.

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

kaisen don set lunches

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

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

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

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

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

bonta bonta

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

Bonta Bonta Sushi/Sashimi (65)62623207

Address:

4F Wisma Atria , 435 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238877

Contact:

japanfoodtown.sg

Opening Hours:

Weekdays 11:30-23:00

Weekends 11:00-23:00

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

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salmon belly sashimi

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

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

it’s an ala carte buffet, menu here. 

sashimi & sushi platter

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

sashimi & sushi platter

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

salmon belly sashimi

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

sharksfin soup

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

jelly fish & cucumber salad

we had the jelly fish, quite refreshing. 🙂

deepfried fish skin

& the deepfried fish skin, done well too…

saliva chicken 口水鸡

the saliva chicken 口水鸡 was sub-par.

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

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

garlic sauce sliced pork with cucumber

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

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

prawn dragon beard fritter

prawn fritter was ok with the thai sweet sauce.

mussles in thai sweet chilli

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

drunken prawns

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

cereal prawns

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

chili sotong

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

deepfried egg plant in batter with pork floss

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

egg plants & french beans

the french beans & egg plants were ok.

chilli crab

diners allowed one order of chili crab.

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

chilli crab

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

buns for chilli crab sauce

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

red tilapia nonya steamed

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

2 deepfried seabass 油浸金目鲈

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

beef in satay sauce

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

spinach

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

yeemeen 伊府面

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

ice jelly dessert

龟苓膏 guilinggao

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

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

paradiso from swissbake hollandv

 i got 2 cakes for the birthday girl.

black gold from flor patisserie

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

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

TungLok Seafood @ Orchard Central

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

 

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

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dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠

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

we had most delicious lunch here on 21.1.2017.  🙂 

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

quite a perfect plan, i must say… ^^

东北lunch dishes

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

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

i must try cooking this wonderful dish liao!

potato strips 土豆丝

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

very niced julienned potatoes.  perfect texture , great taste.

saliva chicken 口水鸡

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

saliva chicken 口水鸡

麻辣sauce very tasty & chicken breast was very sweet.

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

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

dry wok large intestines 干锅大肠

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

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

claypot ribbon fish 干锅刀鱼

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

claypot ribbon fish 干锅刀鱼

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

claypot mutton 砂锅羊肉

last time we had 水煮鱼, which was good.

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

claypot mutton 砂锅羊肉

it was a competent dish.

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

东北胖妈春饼店Northeast Mom Spring Pancake 

Address:

23 Smith St, (Chinatown) Singapore 058937

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

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

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S$15 duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

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

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

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

or ya wang, the other great roast duck stall.

still, it was pretty good.

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

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

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

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

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

S$15 duck master 鸭师傅 roast duck 烧鸭

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

Duck Master 鸭师傅

Address:

#01-K99 of People’s Park Complex

Opening hours:

10am – 10pm (Monday to Friday),

9am – 10pm (Saturday and Sunday).

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

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seafood strudel

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

my RI friend PL bought 5pax lunch this time.

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

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

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

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

chicken consomme with vegetable tortilini

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

duck confit

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

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

breaded barramundi

the breaded barramundi fillet looked good too.

chocolate banana dessert

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

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

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

c.h.e.f. andy

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

Top Table @ Temasek Polytechnic

Address:

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

My Best Char Siew on 8Aug2017

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my best char siew 

did my best char siew today on 8aug2017.

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

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

char siew & siew yoke 

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

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

my best char siew 

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

so i thought i have another go at char siew.

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

my best char siew

anyhow,

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

my best char siew 

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

my best char siew

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

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

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

marinade (1 tsp each except salt)

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

Directions:

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