nutty latte

this my last entry for our very fun RI bros 10pax sutera mall overnight makan, massage, karaoke trip 24-25Jul2017. ^^

i didn’t actually do the massage as i not hot on massage, but would have done anyway, and will do next time, but for this time i wanted to look see at sutera mall, the shops & makan places…

we had already checked out & deposited our bigger luggage at J Hotel..i had my light backpack with me anyway.

we were catching the 2.40pm bus sw4s for the 45mins journey to second link CIQ, and target to be at sutera mall foyer at 2.30pm to board the bus.

just want coffee

after lunch at Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 we walked round a bit.

we settled for coffee at The Bear & Fish Coffee Bar with the ‘just want coffee’ branding..

greentea & waffle

we tried some wafer…a bit hard & not so flavourful..not quite the standard of daily scoop or udders in singapore.

After coffee & wafer, we walked with our luggage to sutera mall & caught the CW4S bus to second link, then boarded the cw4 on singapore side to jurong east..

c.h.e.f andy

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The Bear And fish ( COFFEE BAR)

breaded pork chop RM18

after breakfast at ah hong kopitiam, some bro wanted to go sutera mall…

a bro bought ma tie soh we all tried. not quite the standard of the ma tie soh we bought at ming ang confectionary near ksl…

i bought some sour sweet for my son.

after that we checked out of J Hotel & walked across the street to 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 for lunch

 

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤@ Taman Sutera

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤, across the road from our J Hotel, was closed yesterday (monday) when we arrived.

it’s open today.

we ordered some of their signature dishes with photos pasted on the wall.

lunch was RM 142 for 10pax. maybe we did not order much…

the breaded pork cutlet, like the ba pao, hainanese pork chops, was good.

bittergourd soup with innards RM32

the bittergourd with innards my friends found too sweet…quite i agree..

the innards were ok, some overcooked, & the soup being too sugary sweet, meant that this signature dish was actually quite below par…

tofu RM15

tofu was ok…but this really a “nothing” dish.

birth intestines RM13.50

the birth intestines 生肠 was quite ok, could be more 脆 & 爽口, & the braising sauce was not the best…

sambal sweet potato leaves RM10.50

the sambal potato leaves were good.

tau gay RM10.50

tau gay was ok…but another nothing dish…

RM142 for 10pax

lunch for 10pax was RM142, cheaper than our earlier breakfast at ah hong kopitiam. 

but food was so so, and the signature dishes like bittergourd soup was something we didn’t think much of…. so everything got to take into the context of the price. at RM142 for 10pax nothing much to complain about la…

c.h.e.f andy

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Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤

dry mee siam

the morning after we walked over to ah hong coffeeshop for breakfast.

our leader KH said the dry mee siam here very good, and also the nasi lemak is popular order here, though he has not tried it yet..

ah hong kopitiam

ah hong kopitiam is just round the corner of the row of shop houses on the other side from our J Hotel..

ah hong kopitiam 

nice, broght & airy place…

ah hong coffeeshop

we were there about 9.45am, after a late night ending at 1am at “i am a singer 我是歌手 karaoke”…

ah hong coffeeshop 

one bro came earlier after his sleepless first half & second half last evening..lol! anyway he joined us for his second breakfast…

ah hong coffeeshop

there are a few popular menu items…

kuay teow soup

2 friends CM & CH ordered the soupy kuay teow soup..

dry mee siam

the rest of us had the dry meesiam & nasi lemak..

the dry mee siam was actually just average by singapore standard..fried chicken wing batter & meat both dry..

nasi lemak – wrong plate 

they served me a wrong plate of nasi lemak, one with fishball skewers instead of chicken wing. they duly changed it.

nasi lemak –

nasi lemak rice was ok fragrant but really nowhere by adam road selera rasa nasi lemak standard..

peanuts & ikan bilis ok…sambal chilli with onions very good👍

bill for 10pax 

breakfast for 10pax was RM$158…ok but not so cheap even by singapore standard.

c.h.e.f andy

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starter platter RM120

earlier we looked at a few restaurants in sutera mall like 大上海, evergreen, 客人来..

we decided on peking duck restaurant, Restoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城…it was an excellent choice..

very expensive seafood 

we didn’t have reservation…the aircon area was full.

so we got a table at a hall that they said have blowers/ventilators…this hall has high ceiling & the tables were spaced far apart. actually it felt more spacious than the aircon hall.

very expensive seafood 

we surveyed the live seafood tanks…

everything was expensive – fish, crab, lobster, prawns etc…everything singapore price or more expensive c/w promotion prices at singapore seafood restaurants eg ah yat abalone forum restaurant…

so we just forgot about these live seafood, & the peking duck also, since we just had very nice meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 for lunch… 

smoked trotters RM18

2 bros made very good food orders. all the dishes were just great!

we had a great starter platter (top photo). all the items were good, crispy, fresh, nicely done.

the smoked trotters were ok, sauce a bit overpowering.

very thick sea cucumbers with brocoli RM158

the best dish for me was the sea cucumbers with brocoli.

sea cucumbers were very thick, superb texture & taste delicious,  and enough for 2 rounds (2 servings/pax for 10pax) and maybe some pieces more..

very thick sea cucumbers with brocoli RM158

it was expensive dish, but quite good value vs singapore prices for such a dish..

roast chicken RM48

the roast chicken was excellent!

skin was so crispy, and the meat was moist, tender & sweet. among the very best roast chicken i had.

i almost like never order chicken dishes outside. this one i will definitely order again when i come.

garlic fried lala – littleneck clams RM67.50

we had the lala. this one was fried with garlic & maybe chai poh, can’t really remember…

garlic fried lala – littleneck clams RM67.50

quite ok…but then i had tasted better preparations…

and i must say the price RM67.50 didn’t mke sense to me, when the roast chicken is RM48…

my own wok fried manila clams 香锅炒蛤蜊

like my own wok fried manila clams 香锅炒蛤蜊 ….

元蹄braised trotters RM45

and we had 元蹄braised trotters.

this was good too, the trotters skin & tendons nicely gelatinous & the braise was flavourful. the lean meat was not sinewy & quite tender & moist..overall a very good braised trotter.

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 RM25

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 RM25

romaine lettuce 油麦菜 was competent, a nice dish, nothing special maybe, but still quite nice complement to the other dishes.

RM 580 for 10pax 

overall the price was RM580nett for 10pax…i thought really quite ok c/w say lunch RM425..

this is restaurant setting, and several dishes like the sea cucumbers, roast chicken were outstanding & the braised trotters were very good, and the starter platter was also a pretty good standard dish, so price was quite good relative to lunch.

c.h.e.f andy

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pekin restaurant sutera

Address:

vigneto wine house @ sutera

after a good coffee at doi chaang caffe, 3 of us went to sutera mall to look see look see. the rest went for massage..

we met later for a drink at vigneto wine house, just across the street from our J Hotel, at 5.30pm plus…

vigneto wine house @ sutera

this place has a nice ambience. it was still early so we were their first customer..

a great place to relax a while before going for dinner…

bottoms up @ vigneto wine house sutera

it’s happy hour, so my friends ordered a few rounds of booze…bottoms up!

bottoms up @ vigneto wine house sutera

i am happy with my ice lemon tea…

vigneto wine house

they allowed us to have our own tidbits, so a friend went to bring some groundnuts he brought…something to munch while we chat & toast..

we stayed for a while..& the guys could really finish the beers..

almost 8pm, we decided to go pekin restaurant sutera for dinner & took a short walk over.

drinks for 10pax about RM260.

c.h.e.f andy

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Vigneto Wine House @ sutera

Address:

doi chaang cafe

after dessert at tian yuan 甜 元, we checked in & got all our 5 rooms at J Hotel

each room gets a welcome americano at doi dchaang cafe a few shops away..

doi chang is a thai producer & distributor of specialty, single origin, high quality arabica coffee.  Doi Chaang Coffee is only grown and produced in Baan Doi Chang, Wawee district, Mae Suai, Chiang Rai.

we had 10pax with 5 free welcome americano, so we ordered 5 more coffee.

i took one of the americano was good, quite flavourful..i like it…we did not cakes etc as we just had lunch & dessert & we were having happy hour later at vigneto & then dinner.

after coffee, 7 went to have massage, 2 others & i went to sutera mall as i have not visited the mall yet…

c.h.e.f andy

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peanut 花生糊

after a quite shiok meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭  & the best char siew lunch, we stopped by tian yuan 甜 元 to have some dessert.

peanut 花生糊 (top photo)，& almond 杏仁糊best here..👍

tian yuan 甜 元dessert

tian yuan 甜 元dessert  is a few shops from our J hotel.

ondeh ondeh

we ordered some ondeh ondeh, coconut dessert with gula melaka inside..quite ok, pretty standard…skin a bit thick though…

rojak

rojak was ok too..sauce was light, just nice, not overpowering…

black sesame 黑芝麻糊 & almond 杏仁糊

black sesame 黑芝麻糊 ok, but peanut 花生糊 (top photo)，& almond 杏仁糊best …

tau huay ginkyo nuts

bean curd with ginko nuts good…

pulut hitam

pulut hitam ok, quite standard..

dumplings in ginger soup

dumplings in ginger soup was quite good, boleh da…

ice kachang

ice kachang was mediocre, not too good actually, syrup not so tasty..

bill was RM99 for 10pax, pretty ok.

after that we checked in at J Hotel, got our 5 rooms, settle down a bit & walked over to doi chaang for free coffee – only 1 americano per room though…haha!

c.h.e.f andy

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Tian Yuan Dessert Hut

Address:

roast duck 帝皇鸭 RM$66

not all the rooms at J Hotel were ready, but we got 2 rooms to put down our luggage.

then LKY, one organiser, led us to Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant 阿明帝皇鸭  behind J Hotel for lunch

must say the roast duck 帝皇鸭 was excellent! and the char siew even more so… 👍 👍the other zi char dishes were ok, average….

char siew & siew yoke medium serving RM$33

char siew here was bestest!👍👍👍

we all love the slight chao tar (burnt) fatty char siew, so tasty & flavourful, we ordered a second helping…

meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭

they are famous for their roast duck 帝皇鸭.

some friends felt that ya wang 鸭王roast duck we had at jln sentosa was better (later i learnt that the stall at sentosa opposite shoon huat bakuteh was taken over by another, and the roast duck & food there are not good now)…

meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭

resturant was just behind our hotel, walked around the block, a few shops from ah hong coffee house.

meng meng famous for roast duck 帝皇鸭

the restaurant & roast duck are award winning.

meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 menu

meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 menu

in addition to one whole roast duck & 2 orders of char siew & siew yok, we ordered a few other zi char food.

roast duck 帝皇鸭

duck was a beauty, and very tasty. skin was crispy…

char siew & siew yoke

roast pork was competent, but char siew was the one that stood out…maybe i will try my hands again at char siew, after having such nice ones here…

lotus root soup

spinach soup

we ordered 6 bowls of soup – 3 spinach & 3 lotus roots..

the server had tried to make us to order 10, but 6 was quite enough..they were quite large servings…anyway we had no problems finishing too la…

steamed red snapper红鸡 fish head

we ordered the cai poh steamed red snapper head..

this a very small serving of 1/2 head, and quite mediocre..

my own nonya steamed fish head is better than this any time, and fresher fish head too…

steamed salted fish minced pork

the steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 is such a simple standard dish, but they didn’t do it well here. minced pork was lean, dry, not smooth, not tasty..

this i can do better anytime la, and i will be serving this in a homecooked dinner with several JB dishes later…

sambal sotong

the sambal sotong was good.

sambal sotong

tasty, and appetizing. 🙂

a fairly standard zi char dish…

fried ikan selar

the fried ikan selar & chili were pretty good.

this a cheap fish though, and nothing special, quite easy to do at home, and is nice fried or steam, though some may find it a bit more fishy…

kang kong

chili kang kong was good.

chye sim

& the chye sim plain fired with garlic too..

tofu dish

the tofu dish was not too appealing…taste wise mediocre, a poor dish overall..

the bill = RM425 for 10pax

lunch for 10pax was RM$425=at RM$42.50pax actually not very cheap for the dishes we had in a makan place like this…

the roast duck though was impressive & the char siew was out of this world…other than those 2, the other zi char food was ok average, nothing too special..

overall, we all enjoyed the makan very much thanks to the 2 outstanding roasts.

c.h.e.f.andy

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Meng Meng Roasted Duck 阿明帝皇鸭