tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

patara used to be one of our favourite restaurants.

my family used to go there often.  if w/o amex discounts, price is high though, so that explains why we have not been there for a very long time.

from my blog post records, the last time i was there was on 19,7,2014.

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

today wife called said there is amex 50% discounts for 2pax again.

alas, we forgot to check, brain doesn’t work so fast nowadays, and only when we sat down & asked then we realized that the promotion is for monday to thursday. so no discount on friday today & have to pay full price.

i guess we should have walked out politely, courteously, which is what i would do when younger & will still do today if my mind had been more active.

we could easily have walked over to labrezza, such great food & greater value.

tom yam talay (seafood) S$23 

anyhow we ordered our usual favourites, key among them tom yam talay (seafood).

this was quite poor really!

the soup had no intensity, aroma. like i told the server “it’s like tom yam soup from some cheap restaurant”. also the prawns & squid were totally overdone(old)…. (we thought the chef has changed but server said no change). to her credit & good service she offered to replace the soup. we had already finished the soup & didn’t really make sense to ask the restaurant to replace it, so we told her it was ok, just a feedback. i said to her surely other diners would have given this feedback too?

roast duck in red curry S$26 

fortunately the roast duck curry was superb, very lemak, fragrant, yummy.

the duck was average, quite tender breast slices. it has always been this way in patara. i think some other restaurants actually give nice roast duck, here it is a bit if western duck preparation.

olive rice S$21 

& luckily the olive rice was still very nice.

thai olive rice @ patara on 19.7.2014

looking at the photo of olive rice @ patara on 19.4.2014, that looke dmore impressive & with more ingredients.

but the one we had today was still pretty good la.

olive rice S$21

so dinner, 3 dishes for 2pax came to S$70++=S$82…

if we came on mon-thurs, with 50% discount for 2pax it would be S$41 (we would have to order 2 main course but since tomyam talay was poor we could order some other main dishes).

i still enjoyed the roast duck curry & olive rice, the tom yam talay, totally not!

maybe i will still come back here when 50% discounts is valid…quite sad really, coming here & not taking tom yam talay.

c.h.e.f andy

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Patara Fine Cuisine @ Tanglin Mall

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

over the last 1/2year my RI friends started doing birthdays for the group of us who meet often, now designated as brotherhood in the group chat…back to high school…haha! ^^

our RI default paparazzi photographer is the permanently appointed organiser who organises birthday lunches plus a birthday gift… 🙂

this time our tai tai kor (big boss man) recommended the lunch venue = french table at waterway point.

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

this my first time to french table.

it has 3 outlets = waterway point, northpoint & west coast plaza.

the signature dishes are duck confit & roasted chicken according to their website, with the duck confit described as the key pride of french table. 🙂

clear vegetable soup

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

cream of mushroom – top-up S$2

there is a 4-course set lunch menu.

soup of the day for the set lunch was a clear vegetable soup. i tried. it was nondescript.

S$2 top-up gets you a cream of mushrrom soup. this was good standard, creamy & flavourful.

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

i decided to go for the key pride of french table ie the duck confit. this one came with linguine. 🙂

duck confit linguine – S$24.80

duck skin was excellent, very crispy, duck was flavourful. the pasta also very nice & flavourful.

texture though was on the dry side & sinewy, not moist.

duck ragout fettuccine

my own duck ragout fettuccine which i made recently on 12.2.2017, the duck meat was much more tender, moist & tastier (the texture of duck rillette).

sirloin steak 4-course set S$16.80

there were 4 orders of sirloin steak which came with a supplement of S$3.90 = so total S$16.80!

steak was quite bad la! tough & quite tendonous, basically an inferior cut of meat.

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

the vongole linguine on the other hand, was simply fabulous!

vongole linguine 4-course set S$12.90

the 2 pastas were all superbly done al dente. this one of the better vongoles I had taken.

chicken wings – 5 for S$5.80

chicken wings – 5 for S$5.80 

we added 2 ala carte orders of chicken wings. quite ok, nothing to crow about la! ^^

vanilla ice cream

the 4-course set came with a drink = iced ocha or iced lemon tea.

chocolate ice cream

and ice cream for dessert.

overall at S$12.90 for the 4-course set, it was very good value. specially when the vongole dish was quite outstanding.

the steak is to be avoided.

for ala carte (since i really do not need to have the drink or dessert of soup for that matter), i stick to their key pride – the duck confit & it was pretty good.

maybe can try their roasted chicken, looks very good in photo.

& maybe can try the clams & mussel soup linguine.

c.h.e.f andy

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

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

wife & i usually avoid the actual day 14feb where prices at restaurants are doubled or tripled & food & service go south or at best same! so we go out earlier for our valentine’s day dinner.

we had a wonderful valentine dinner at me.oue on 12.2.2015. ^^

& such wonderful views too!

at the time me.oue had amex lovedining discounts, 50% discounts for 2pax. now no more.

last year i decided to cook the valentine’s day dinner myself on 14.2.2016.

a wonderful dinner too, with gazpacho, gordon ramsay grilled lobster, and excellent steak.

2pax candlelight valentine dinner

we have been having western mostly, so this year i decided to try chinese.

chinese food is so difficult to cook c/w western la!

valentine decor

2 different friends sent me the same video on valentine food decor.

so i tried the cherry tomato heart & the cucumber carrot flower thingy.

it was not difficult but not as easy as it appears on the video. for the heart especially, alignment very important & especially the shape & size of the 2 cherry tomatoes. otherwise you are left with a broken heart or twisted/wrenched heart…..

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

i decided to do lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗.

for me, it would be so much easier to do a lobster pasta (i did a really beautiful one on 15.5.2014), can’t do much wrong with prego sauce or papa alfredo sauce.

live lobster

i got my live lobster from sheng shiong at S$59/kg.

no offers, no about S$35+ for 600g+ lobster.

lobster – preparation for braising in superior stock

i wanted to parboiled the lobster. but it was too large to fit into my pots.

so i prepared the lobster (humanely the way i learned couple years back).

lobster – preparation for braising in superior stock

my idea of braising in superior stock上汤焗 is to prepare a very tasty, thick, intense stock, place the lobster with the stock, heat up & cover, so that the stock infuse the lobster for taste & the steam cooked the lobster.

lobster in superior stock 龙虾上汤焗

wife loved the lobster. it was fresh, bouncy & sweet. afterall live lobster made all the difference (last valentine dinner 2016 i used frozen lobster)…

i felt though that i could have made the lobster a lot better, made a much tastier lobster. i started with very intense stock & i added to the lobster to let it soak in the taste for a while before cooking. however i think the lobster had a lot of liquid & i should have reduced it again in the wokpan, before adding the lobster. i could feel when i was cooking that the stock was diluted but i could not reduce w/o overcooking the lobster.

the superior stock worked very well for my yee meen subsequently as it was sufficiently reduced.

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

my dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤 may not look like dobin mushi, but it’s the same ingredients, with prawn, scallop, chicken breast, ginkyo nuts, shitake & shimeji mushrooms. no fish slice.

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

soup was very light & tasty! 🙂 wife liked it…

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

i did not have konbu & bonito flakes to make dashi. so i used chicken stock & mushrooms & lots of vegetables to sweeten the stock (carrots, radish, spinach stems, mushroom water).

dobin mushi 日式茶壶汤

& i didn’t have the teapot to serve the teapot soup, didn’t want to use our usual teapot.

anyway it was a very tasty clear soup, served by teapot or not. 🙂

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

next dish i made was a steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼.

it was quite good in texture & taste. i think can be improved though.

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

i had a really superb steamed turbot dish recently at fragrant garden on 8.1.2017.

so i decided to try cooking that.

i bought a frozen halibut steak (just S$3.90 for 500g on offer), and i used maybe 300g.

it’s called “halibut” (as it was called “halibut” at fragrant garden, but when i googled to check, halibut is a large fish & most likely these were turbot & NOT halibut!).

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

i just added the usual cut chilli padi, sliced ginger, chopped scallions, added sliced lemon & sliced tomatoes, then 2 tbsp olive oil, 2tbsp light soy sauce & 1 tbsp mirin. & steamed for 6mins.

steamed turbot 蒸多宝鱼

very easy to prepare, looks quite perfect, & a nice dish small serving not too heavy for a multi-course meal.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

my last dish for the evening to go with the yee meen was a mini pencai 迷你盆菜.

limpets

i did not have 发菜，dried scallops, dried osyters etc, so i just made do with 4 ingredients=prawns, scallops. limpets (proxy for abalones) & chinese mushrooms.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

of course i had carrots, radish, yam, chicken stock, and i added some bamboo shoots i happened to have in the fridge.

i used the same intense chicken stock, mixed with 1/2 the limpets brine in the can, and added some oyster sauce & cornflour to thicken.

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

a fairly respectable mini pencai 迷你盆菜 i must say.

the carrots, radish, bamboo shoots were excellent, so very well infused with flavours. 🙂

mini pencai 迷你盆菜

it was nothing special though, kind of much ado about nothing…not quite the kind of dish that excites my wife & me la. 🙂

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

one of the best dish for this evening was actually the ubiquitous yee meen. this one excites me, and it’s easy to do, just good stock & well reduced.

i bought yee meen from cold storage. it cost S$2.45 & had 4 noodle pieces. i used 1 piece for 2 of us.

yee meen in superior stock 伊面上汤焗

& the superior stock was just perfect for the noodles.

the plain noodles came out very very tasty, so good la! ^^

very sweet korean strawberries

i got some korean strawberries from giant this morning. it was very sweet. an excellent close to round up the enjoyable valentine dinner.

c.h.e.f andy

braised pig trotters 鲁猪脚

my RI organiser friend arranged a 4pax bakuteh lunch at lao jie fang 老街坊 @ upper payar lebar road today on 13.2.2017. ^^

lao jie fang 老街坊 upper payar lebar road

my first time here.

nice neat & airy place with ipad menu electronic ordering at each seat.

RI friends 4pax bakuteh lunch

most important the food was very good.

RI friends 4pax bakuteh lunch

for me the ter kar – braised pig trotters was the best. see top photo!!!

“gar gar” ie gelatinous, fantastic texture & great taste. MIB=best of the best!

prime ribs 龙骨

the bakuteh was very good.

this was as good if not even better than the very good bakuteh at Tuan Yuan 团缘 bakuteh restaurant.

prime ribs 龙骨

4 of us shared 2 bowls so 1 rib each.

i can jolly well eat another rib. i think that’s what i will do next time. haha! ^^

pig liver

pig liver was ok. competent, nothing great…

the poorest though among the other excellent dishes.

braised small intestines

the braised small intestines were super!

braised small intestines

really really good i must say. & something i seldom eat. most enjoyable ….

beejiamkueh

lunch came to about S$13.50 each, so S$54 all in. bakuteh these days quite expensive but i guess this price is ok. 🙂

after lunch we walked over to a coffeeshop & had coffee.

on the way back we passed by a beejiamkueh shop & stopped to try it. quite ok. very nice peanut & the kueh was good too.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Old Street Bak Kut Teh 老街坊肉骨茶

S$4 chicken drum rice + S$1 roast pork 

went to good good eating house at 6th avenue to eat the jln tua kong meepok tar. it was closed.

so i decided to just eat chicken rice at shatin roast 沙田港式烧腊 on 10Feb2017. ^^

shatin roast 沙田港式烧腊

shatin roast 沙田港式烧腊 

my daughter had eaten at this stall several times.

for me this is the first time.

S$4 chicken drum rice + S$1 roast pork 

i ordered the chicken drumstick rice S$4.

& i asked to add S$1 roast pork.

S$4 chicken drum rice + S$1 roast pork 

the chicken was good, tender, very moist, sweet, the skin is flavourful.

S$4 chicken drum rice + S$1 roast pork 

roast pork was ok. comparing the 2, chicken was very good, roast pork was ok competent.

i think overall in taste & presentation, this shatin roast 沙田港式烧腊 chicken rice is better than the chicken rice at the other 6th ave coffeeshop.

c.h.e.f andy

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

shatin roast 沙田港式烧腊

Address:

Good Good Eating House

24 Sixth Ave, Singapore 276481

whole lobster tagli0lini – S$51

had a wonderful 2pax dinner with my OPS friend this evening at labreza @ sr regis this evening on 7.2.2017. ^^

his birthday next week. we decided to have an early birthday dinner for him.

labrezza @ st regis

this the second time i dined at labrezza.

the last time i dined with my wife here on 4.9.2016, i enjoyed the lobster pasta & the angus ribeye very much. ^^

so my plan was to order these 2 dishes la..

focaccia, baguette & breadstick

we had the bread platter of focaccia, baguette & breadstick.

i remembered the balsamic here was really good, & it was excellent, still! haha…

focaccia very good, baguette not that flavourful i had better but still ok. breadstick had good olive oil flavours not the texture of bread i prefer.

whole lobster tagliolini – S$51

the whole lobster tagliolini was a different interpretation from last time. no lobster shell.

they have a new chef de cuisine, armando aristarco, who is from napoli & hailed from a amalfi coast restaurant.

the server did say we could have the pasta with the lobster shell when i asked, but i told her we would have it as the chef would do it.

lobster was just as nice, not overcooked not rubbery, very fresh & tender & sweet. very good standard.

whole lobster tagliolini

the quantity of pasta was very much less than the last time, but was a good pasta serving size as any other top restaurants. (just that serving size was a lot more last time).

duck ragout pasta – S$26

we thought we could have a 3rd dish to share.

chef armando came to our table & we had a good chat. we asked his recommendations between the duck ragout pasta & the signature veal & he recommended the duck ragout.

i think this really one the the very best pasta i had.

the toppest top draw!

foie gras was super, the smoked duck breast tender & flavourful, and the ragout with sweet pumpkin really made the most wonderful pasta!

duck ragout pasta – S$26

i had asked for a main portion (S$35) to share, same as the lobster tagliolini. the chef said he would split for us.

so we each had the above portions ie 2 portions.

when the bill came, we were charged S$26 for the appetizer portion. i guess being friendly with the chef has its privileges la…

300g angus ribeye medium rare – S$42

when the angus ribeye steak came, the chef split for us as well.

300g angus ribeye medium rare – S$42

& the steak was excellent as before! very tender & sweet & nicely medium rare.

vegetables side

& the yellow peppers & mesclun salad were very too too.

300g angus ribeye medium rare – S$42

so when the bill came, it was S$76.40 (after the usual 50% for 2pax amex lovedining discounts) for all these 3 excellent dishes & huge servings for 2pax.

i gave a good tip & rounded up to S$85. the server darmen pointed out to me on the bill that there was already a 10% service charge. i replied i knew but i want to give the tip.

i think that says everything about the service here. food came at a good pace, so we did not wait long. & darmen was very knowledgeable. the lady server was good too.

we had a really enjoyable dinner.

chef armando said he is creating a new menu & will launch the new menu end feb or starting mar. i am definitely coming back to try his new menu.

c.h.e.f andy

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kurobuta platter (S$25) & yakiniku grill stove 

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

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

aburiya 烧屋

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

it was quite crowded this evening.

kurobuta platter (S$25) & negi 

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

hokkaido beef platter – S$40 

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

so for this evening we had that as well.

yakiniku grill stove 

fire was strong.

the pork needed longer time to cook.

they were excellent, all the cuts were good.

yakiniku grill stove 

likewise the hokkaido beef.

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

bibimen

bibimen is one of our regular orders too.

bibimen 

truly excellent flavours & good ingredients.

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

kimchi chigae 

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

kimchi chigae 

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

we enjoyed dinner like always.

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

c.h.e.f andy

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#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

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

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

hachi 

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

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

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

most of the omakase dishes are the usual.

#1 uni isobe age  

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

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

#2 oyster with ponzu jelly 

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

#2 oyster with ponzu jelly 

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

server said it was irish oyster.

#3 ohmi wagyu nimono 近江和牛 with taro

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

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

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

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

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

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

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

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

the best there ever is!

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak 

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

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

next, we had the ohmi wagyu sushi.

server said to start eating from the right.

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

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

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi 

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

#7 ochazuke お茶漬け

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

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

#7 ochazuke お茶漬け 

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

#8 kuromame – black beans, with yuzu jelly 

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

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

ice shavings-cendol & soursop

after our scrumptious 4pax lunch at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) at smith street, we decided walk over to chinatown point for dessert.

ice shavings-cendol & soursop

we settled down at Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 at basement 2.

Egg Pudding (with Ginger)=炖鸡蛋(姜汁)

one friend wanted to try the egg pudding (with ginger)=炖鸡蛋(姜汁).

i don’t remember eating this before. it was pretty good for trying. though after i took the ice shavings, i didn’t really have any urge to take any more.

ice shavings-cendol & soursop

we ordered 2 ice shavings – cendol & soursop.

they were both excellent, but we were partial to the cendol.

soursop was very good, though it was like S$5.50++, like 3x times the price at ice kachang stalls at hawker centres.

ice shavings-cendol

the cendol was excellent. we were provided a bottle of gula melaka. it was very fragrant, tasty & intense. the ice shaving had taste of thick coconut milk, and the red beans, jelly, atap chee (palm fruits) were provided on the side. a friend paid, i think it should come to S$17.

it was expensive, but no more than black balls, or drinking coffee at a cafe. & it was very enjoyable.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品

6 scrumptious dishes

my OPS buddy bought a really scrumptious 4pax lunch today at 東北胖妈春饼店(Northeast Mom Spring Pancake) at 23 smith street on 21.1.2017. ^^

my friend ordered 6 delectable dishes. i not sure which of them, except for the dumplings, were dongbei cuisine東北菜. they seemed to be mostly sichuan cuisine.. lol! 🙂

fried julienned potato 土豆丝

fried julienned potato 土豆丝, a very popular sichuan dish.

today we tried the sour, spicy taste.

for me the normal taste is better, but texture of this dish is always excellent, very crunchy, not soft not deepfried. the slight sour taste was also quite good, though not the taste i am used to for this dish. 🙂

saliva chicken 口水鸡

the saliva chicken 口水鸡 was very good.

crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao’s spicy chicken 口水鸡

i think better than the one i usually had at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

saliva chicken 口水鸡

chicken was very sweet & tender, and the mala sauce very fragrant, making the dish really saliva inducing, even as i think about it while typing this post. haha! ^^

claypot ribbon fish

there was this new dish claypot ribbon fish. both my friend & i wanted to try.

the soup was excellent, a bit oily but very very tasty. one friend picked this as his best dish for this lunch.

claypot ribbon fish

i was considering the (braised ribbon fish with pork rib dish) on the menu vs this one.

because it’s a tasty soup more than a braising sauce, the fish itself is a nicely fried sweet fresh fish but not that tasty. both my friend & i added the sauce from the braised big intestine & that made the fish more tasty.

there were also some nice 凉粉 bean sticks in the soup.

mala poached sliced fish 水煮鱼

the mala poached sliced fish 水煮鱼 is a favourite dish of mine.

one friend correctly pointed out that the fish itself (felt like sutchi overcooked) was too soft in texture. but the friend who bought lunch & i were both enjoying this dish. the key about mala 麻辣 for me is it made the dish very “pang”, fragrant 香. & the wonderful flavours came out the more you take the dish, fish vegetables, bean curd skin & all.

braised big intestines

the best dish for this lunch for me was the braised big intestines.

this dish was so very scrumptious. intestine texture was perfect, a very savoury taste & wonderful tasty sauce & vegetables.

dumplings

the dumplings were very ok.

we tried the sour veg 酸菜 version. the server said this酸菜different form the 酸菜鱼, which uses a salted veg.

6 scrumptious dishes

this was a very enjoyable lunch for me, overeat for sure, but i liked every dish.

lunch came to S$71nett for 6 dishes for 4pax. there is no GST & the restaurant gave my friend 10% discounts so no service charge.

i would be quite happy to pay S$71+ for this lunch. i am sure to come back here again!

c.h.e.f andy

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

东北胖妈春饼店Northeast Mom Spring Pancake 

egg tarts

daughter bought egg tarts from tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 at hollandv this morning on 19.1.2017. ^^

she went at 10am+ on a thursday, and no queue. 🙂

tai cheung pastry 泰昌饼家

tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 is a popular pastry chain in hong kong selling the popular egg tarts since 1954, which the former hong kong governor, chris patten, famously proclaimed “the best in the world”…lol!^^

currently it comes under the tao heung group, one of the mid-price restaurant groups i frequent in hong kong.

egg tarts

following was what i recorded on my blog for a hong kong trip in 2013–

• we came down from the escalator at Lyndhurst Terrace & found the famous Tai Cheung egg tart shop, apparently a Chris Patten favourite. 🙂 we each took a HK$3.50 egg tart each. it was good. egg tart not something I particularly fancied or craved for but I enjoyed it all the same. 🙂

i tried it again at the outlet next to the trickeye mesuem at victoria peak just before a very pleasant peak circle walk in our jan 2016 trip & recorded –

• 1 level down there was tai cheong 泰昌饼家, a brand of tao heung group. this the one where the stall at lyndhurst terrace the last british governor chris patten claimed had the best egg tarts in hong kong. trust the guy to know what is a good egg tart? we tried the egg tart. i have done this more than once at tai cheong 泰昌饼家 including the one at lyndhurst terrace but it was still so-so for me, a little too sweet & nothing c/w the burnt portuguese egg tart.

So basically i am not a fan la…

& c/w portuguese egg tarts, like natas (portuguese egg tarts) at pasteis de belem in lisbon, i think the latter is better la…

anyway today there was no natas to compare.  i put one egg tart to the tabletop oven & baked for 3mins. it was very good actually, the pastry was crispy & flaky & tasted good, and the custard was not too sweet. a bit better than i expected as i was not expecting to like it a lot for a start. so i think pretty ok. just that i wouldn’t take too many, like 1 or max 2.

& c/w my friends pineapple tarts & almond cookies, my friend’s a lot more satisfying for me la…i have been eating them everyday!

c.h.e.f andy

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

tai cheong bakery 泰昌饼家 at hollandv

thai style fish head S$25

family decided to go out for 4pax dinner.

didn’t want to venture far. went to forture restaurant at old holland road to enjoy their thai style fish head this evening on 17.1.2017. ^^

thai style fish head S$25

we have been taking the thai style fish head curry for donkey years, from the time it was S$15 to now S$25 for the same dish.

the most recent time we enjoyed the wonderful thai style curry fish head here was on 12.9.2016. ^^

now fish head curry dishes mostly S$25 anyway & this one is “them” good la! 🙂

fish head very fresh, large & meaty for 1/2 fish head, lots of vegetables & perfect tangy, tasty thai styled curry. so far i think this is the best curry fish head i/we had.

hotplate tofu S$10

we ordered the hotplate tofu.

i don’t remember taking this dish here before but daughter had.

it was good, tasty, nicely done egg tofu, well infused with the gravy & some prawns. very good! this dish i will order again.

cuttlefish kang kong S$10

also ordered the cuttlefish kang kong.

this dish only the sauce a bit not our favourite, a bit sweet & gluey. otherwise the cuttlefish was good & so was the kang kong.

S$49.50nett for 4 dishes inc fish head for 4pax

seafood horfun S$4

we ended off with a small horfun. most of us low carbs so it was quite enough.

good wok hae this evening. this dish can be inconsistent. for this evening it was good.

dinner for 4 dishes 4pax including S$25 fish head was S$49.50. pretty good. this like a go to place for us, almost like homecooked comfort food.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Forture Seafood

Address:

radish pastry 

3 of us OPS friends decided to have afternoon snack at paradise dynasty at OneKM mall on 17.1.2017. ^^

they have 50% off dumsum & ramen & desserts 3pm to 5.15pm. 🙂

peanuts & chestnut appetizer

the appetizer here, peanuts & chestnuts, quite nice so we took it.

i think it’s about $2 & chinese tea like S$1.50pax.

radish pastry 

we ordered 3 dimsum.

the radish pastry was nice. very competent, fluffy pastry, sweet, tasty radish fillings.

xioalongbao 小笼包 

xioalongbao 小笼包 here average. quite ok but other places like crystal jade, imperial treasures etc are better.

skin was ok, thin & held up not breaking easily, the soup was sweet but not as tasty as other places.

even the soup in the 生煎包 at 祥源记xiang yuan ji (405 jln besar on 1.12.2016) were much sweeter, tastier.

spicy dumplings 抄手 

the spicy dumplings 抄手 here very good, the slight mala 麻辣sauce, smooth, great tasting dumplings.

chashu ramen 

the braised pork belly lamian, was quite good, but like my friend said, a long distant behind a good japanese chashumen. the pork belly texture, taste very different, far from a good chashumen standard.

bean paste pancake 豆沙饼 

one friend ordered the bean paste pancake 豆沙饼.

not my favourite dessert, but they do it very well here, crispy skin, not too sweet red bean paste, very good really…

3 dimsum + ramen + dessert + tea & appetiser all added up to S$28…as i said previously one of the best value-for-money dimsum (12.8.2016)!

cendol @ old town white coffee

after the dimsum tea session, we adjourned to old town white coffee for cendol, more like no other place to go for cendol around here (but later we found ther’s another one incik tan or something claiming penang food…we should try that next time).

cendol @ old town white coffee – S$3.90

this S$3.90 ok only not really good.

it maybe thicker than some hawker centres, but zero match to four seasons at toa payoh lor 8.

the gula melaka was totally inferior, looked thick but did not have the “pang” intense flavours, coconut milk too. i think this place 2 times more than enough for me.

c.h.e.f andy

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

chefs appetizer platter

wife & i had lunch with my niece & her hubby at joie by dozo today on 15.1.2017. ^^

they brought along their son, now 15months old. such a cute baby, and so well behaved. a full 2hr+ lunch & he did not cry & scream. and was enjoying every dish in the 6-course set lunch. haha! ^^

first time 3 of us in this restaurant. only my niece had been here with friends before.

my family have frequented dozo since early 2000. my eldest daughter had her 21st birthday lunch party at dozo. i was quite surprised to see yan the proprietor again in such a long while since dozo times, and he was first to recognize me (or perhaps he saw my reservation name..haha!).

we sat in a room with view of the roofttop garden outside

we got seated in a room looking out on the rooftop garden.

lemon sorbet palate cleanser

had a lemon sorbet drink to get us started. bringing back good memories of dozo.

the menu at joie, as at dozo, is the familiar 6-course set lunch (& 7-course set dinner).

we started with the chef’s appetizer platter (top photo).

very nice indeed. the “cured salmon” centrepiece very interesting texture. wife thought it was like carrot juice with some gelatine, later confirmed by yan that it was konnyaku, which has gel properties. the cracker was nice & so was the raspberry thing which burst in your mouth!

button mushrooms gratin

server said the button mushrooms gratin was the favourite dish here. wife & i ordered that.

button mushrooms gratin

served like escargot dish, it was quite excellent. the mozzarella gratin was great.

bailing mushroom paper hotpot

niece got the bailing mushroom hotpot. looked nice, i probably try that next time.

charcoal tempura – yam, eggplant, banana, apple with japanese goma dressing

niece’s hubby took the charcoal tempura.

i tried a small portion. it was quite nice, better than it looked & i expected, especially with the japanese goma (sesame) sauce.

infusion of cepes & truffle

the infusion of cepes & mushrooms is another must-order item here.

i had that. it came with the same truffle piece that you are supposed to place on your tongue to savour the truffle scent. brought back wonderful memories of dozo.

clear tomato soup with spinach dumpling

wife ordered the clear tomato soup. it had chickpeas & there was a spinach dumpling. quite nice soup.

pumpkin veloute

the pumpkin veloute looked ok. niece’s hubby ordered that.

pumpkin veloute

i quite like pumpkin soup. wife doesn’t like though.

grilled monkey head mushroom “steak” on pu ye

coming to the main, the must-order dish is the grilled monkey head mushroom “steak”. wife, i & niece’s hubby ordered that.

it was very good, the “steak” was quite excellent, and the dip sauce was excellent.

duo of spinach & pumpkin ravioli

niece ordered the duo of spinach & ravioli.

it looked great too. i will probably order that next time. 🙂

hawaiian blue

for the drink, i had hawaiian blue.

it’s a mocktail with laichee. i ordered it as this drink was not available at dozo previously.

apple melody

wife ordered apple melody.

it was quite nice, though wife didn’t quite like.

all 5 desserts 

yan ordered all 5 desserts for us to share. a great gesture.

chocolate mousse 

i liked the liquid chocolate the most. great taste & excellent texture too.

truffle creme brulee

& i liked the truffle creme brulee too, and normally i do not. so the truffle made all the difference.

yogurt pudding

the yogurt pudding was quite exciting also.

again great texture, slight sour taste, combined well.

red wine poached pear with lime sorbet 

i guess for me the poached pear was the least interesting of the desserts.

chocolate lava cake

& they had a beautiful chocolate lava or fondant cake as well.

just that like wife said, chocolate lava a common dessert so not so exciting, but this one tasted quite wonderful. 🙂

the 6-course lunch was S$38.80pax. so lunch was S$182nett for 4 pax. we had an extra free dessert, so we tried all 5 desserts on the menu. plus they gave an extra chocolate lava dessert also for the baby. must say the service here quite the extra mile category. ^^

it certainly was the best vegetarian i had, but as yan said, we don’t have to treat vegetarian as vegetarian. instead just another style or offering, like yesterday chinese, today jap, another day joie by dozo…

anyway we enjoyed the lunch very much, & a large part of it watching my grand nephew manouvre to get him feasting on every dish.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Joie by Dozo

baguette & olive oil

my RI friend bought an exquisite lunch at la ventana @ dempsey today on 12jan2017. ^^

this friend not easy to meet up. i enjoyed his company & looked forward to the lunch.

the outside looked a bit untended outside. inside ambience was great. 🙂

breadstick & hummus

there was the crispy breadstick & hummus.

& they also served the warm bread basket – some baguette & olive oil. baguette was good.

tapas – anchovy bruschetta, croquette, a marinated panfried mackarel etc

my friend recommended the S$48 3-course set lunch.

for appetizer, there was a gaspacho, tapas & something else i cannot remember.

friend recommended tapas & we both ordered that.

it was very good! ^^

nice anchovy bruschetta, a marinated pangrilled mackarel??, a nice croquette (or both were croquette?), a potato dish? & grilled jalapeno pepper.

one thing about the service – for a place like this, strange that the server did not explain the dishes they served.

iberico pork & crayfish

for the main course we both had iberico pork & crayfish. i think there was a salmon main option.

this was a really delectable dish. the iberico steak was served slightly pink which i liked.

my friend cannot take pork medium rare, so the restaurant took back & made it well done & served to him nicely presented again. that was good, commendable!

iberico pork & crayfish

i enjoyed this dish! as i did the tapas appetizer.

the inerico pork steak was excellent & not as fatty as the iberico collar that i do.

the crayfish was quite a fair size helping. it was not overwhelming but was more than competent, so overall it was quite a great pairing.

cheesecake tart with strawberry sorbet

server recommended creme brulee, said it’s most popular.

creme caramel stuff really not my preferred dessert. if it was a good pannacotta i meight take.

friend recommended cheese cake, and it was very good. it was done the japanese cheese cake way – very light cheese. it was good!

fruit sorbet

my friend took the fruit sorbet. so nice! i am sure great too, refreshing.

we had a wonderful time, nice food & conversation, great company. something to look back & reminiscence.

my car was in the garage for maintenance, and my friend did not have a car at his disposal last minute so he cabbed to my place to fetch me for lunch. after lunch we cabbed back.

c.h.e.f andy

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

La Ventana @ Dempsey

roast london duck – S$25 

went with my OPs friend to royal london duck @ manadarin gallery for 4pax dinner this evening on 10.1.2017. ^^

it was also my OPS friend who bought dinner last time & introduced me to this place on 4.10.2016.

some dishes 

the 4 of us were meeting to discuss our upcoming trip to hong kong.

we already booked our airtickets & looking to confirm the hotel & the location to book. 🙂

roast london duck – S$25

for the dinner, i ordered the roast london duck, must order item.

didn’t disappoint, good as before, though my friend thought duck has shrunk, not as ig serving as the previous time.

haha! it is the “duck of the draw” la…^^

duck was as good as ya wang in JB

& maybe better than canton paradise,

but having tried it second time, clearly it was NOT as good as Tunglok signatures at orchade parade hotel.

crispy charcoal pepper duck meat buns 

the crispy charcoal pepper duck buns we did not tried before.

it’s like crispy char siew pao is a new take on char siew pao, and this one added charcoal & pepper duck to the inventiveness.

crispy charcoal pepper duck meat buns 

& this was very good! banyak bagus la! 🙂

pepper duck filling very tasty & crispy bun was great as texture enhancement to the dish.

char siew – S$16.80

my friends thought the char siew NOT so great this time.

not flavourful, some parts no charring, overall just didn’t taste that great.

& the pricing is totally out of whack! most places would serve char siew like S$9-S$12.

so we refused to order the siew yoke – roast pork because of the price.

& at this price, i won’t order this again if i come back.

xo carrot cake – S$5.80

the xo carrot cake was competent, not my favourite but ok. 🙂

kek tai (innards) porridge 状元及第粥 – S$8.80

the kek tai (innards) porridge 状元及第粥 ok. price ok too.

the porridge not as smooth & tasty as i expected, since the last time the plain porridge was very tasty.

also like quite small bowl although ingredients were quite ok, maybe that’s what counted.

hk poached kailan – S$9.80

took the hk poached kailan.

already knew that poached treatment don’t have wok hae like the simple garlic fried, but it can be very nice, crunchy, tasty.

this time it was quite mediocre, which i guess means poor. my helper can do this dish a lot better la…

dinner 4pax was S$95. other than the char siew price & the mediocre kailan, nothing much to compain actually.

D13 durians from sin kian choon 

a friend bought D13 durians from sin kian choon @ tiong bahru at S$12/kg.

so after dinner we went to bukit merah view food centre & eat durians.

D13 durians from sin kian choon 

it was quite good, but not anywhere near the best D13 i had previously, mostly bought by this friend from sin kian choon, and couple times from ah seng.

had a great time with close friends this evening.

c.h.e.f andy

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

$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

went to sheng shiong at tanglin halt to get something.

last time i made a post on weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 was on 22.6.2016.

weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

saw a shorter queue atweiyi laksa 唯一辣沙@tanglin halt food centre, so decided to get in line.

started queue at 11.21am. today queued 13mins only on tuesday 10.1.2017. ^^

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

i ordered menu No 6 (chicken, cockles, taupok) S$5, thick beehoon mee.

the stall holder gave me 2 slices 1/2prawns. that should be N05. i think he made mistake.

anyway it looked like no difference. i got a lot of cockles & chicken still PLUS the prawn, maybe a little less taupok?? anyway not complaining.

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 @tanglin halt food centre

i think weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 is still my favourite laksa.

recently i had sungei road laksa on 1.12.2016.

still good i guess, but really this weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 much more savoury & intense gravy, very much my liking.

& i like curry chicken noodles better. but i guess they are just different food. i like both.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Weiyi Laksa 唯一辣沙 @ Tanglin Halt Food Centre

4 dishes for 3pax lunch

went recently to a-one claypot house at starvista with 2 friends for lunch on 29.12.2016.

ok food & price ok with the groupon vouchers.

i had one more S$50 groupon expiring shortly on 13.1.2017.

so today went again with sis & bil on 9.1.2017. ^^

we ordered 4 dishes. lunch was S$61, so S$11 after S$50 groupon which i paid S$26. so lunch 4 dishes for 3pax was S$37. ok la…

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

sis decided on the dried scallop sliced fish porridge. healthy!

unfortunately it was NOT nice. the cuttlefish porridge 艇仔粥last time very much better, but bil cannot take cuttlefish or squid.

sliced fish porridge – S$14.90

porridge not sweet despite dried scallops, unlike the  艇仔粥, and this porridge wrong texture so w/o the sweetness it is quite poor porridge.

my helper & i can do porridge much better than this.

lotus roots vegetables – S$12.90

the lotus roots vegetarian dish was good. very tasty.

fried kailan S$11.90

so was the fried kailan topped with fried silver fish.

fried kailan S$11.90

an excellent vegetable dish really, even better that fragrant garden’s fried kai lan in temrs of wok hae & taste.

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot rice was good, flavourful.

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

claypot pork rib rice – S$12.90

& the soft bones pork ribs were excellent, very tasty.

it may not be a special dish, but immensely edible. goof stuff!

the worst dish for me was the sliced fish porridge. rest were ok. S$37 for 4dishes boleh da!

c.h.e.f andy

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

A-0ne Claypot @ Starvista

ter kar ton – trotter jelly S$16

had 11pax family dinner with brother, sil & family, and sis & bil at fragrant garden this evening on 8.1.2017. ^^

was introduced to this place recently by my OPS classmate who bought 9pax dinner on 30.12.2016.

very enjoyable & cost S$240 for 9pax.

this evening we came at 6pm on a sunday. this a good timing. traffic is horrendous on weekdays. & 6pm is perfect! there were already few tables but basically, everything went smoothly. in fact the food was served just too fast! we were done like in 50mins!

ter kar ton – trotter jelly good as usual.

hae chor – S$18

so was the hae chor. very competent.

these 2 dishes though not like the favourites for my family.

braised duck – S$20

braised duck – S$20

braised duck was quite good here.

lor was “pang” – fragrant, and duck was tender.

no better than my own braised duck though!

oyster omelette – S$20

oyster omelette was good, great wok hae, nice flavour & had good oyster flavour, fresh large plump oysters.

steamed halibut – S$59.50

steamed halibut – S$59.50

fell in love with the steamed halibut during last dinner.

ordered. a bit smaller fish this evening. in any case it goes by weight, so this was S$59.50 whereas the dinner my OPS friend bought it was S$70.

it was enough anyway. everyone loved it & my brother & others had several helpings.

claypot pomfret soup – S$76

claypot pomfret soup – S$76

the claypot fish soup also very good.

i will order it again next time.

soup was very sweet & fish was fresh & large, excellent this!

between the 2 great dishes, i still like the halibut more.

& this claypot pomfret soup i cam make easily la…the halibut? not sure where to buy yet???

crab tofu with brocoli – S$20

crab tofu dish very good. very tasty this!

crab tofu with brocoli – S$20

the stock, flavours, texture of tofu all excellent.

my own tofu prawns

maybe i will do my tofu prawn this way, use egg tofu & do it in large portions.

fried kailan – S$15

fried kai lan was good. good wok hae, but i had even better kailan next day at A-one claypot house at starvista.

teochew stewed vegetables – S$20

the teochew stewed vegetables was very good.

my family, wife, 2 daughters etc all loved it.

teochew chai poh fried kuay teow – S$12

teochew chai poh fried kuay teow – S$12

& so the teochew chai poh kuay teow.

excellent wok hae.

maybe i will try to cook this.

orh nee – S$20

my niece immediately kee chiu for orh nee.

this time i ordered S$20 orh nee. looked great with pumpkin, ginkyo nuts & fried shallots but not like normal orh nee.

orh nee – S$20

until you mixed it.

very “pang” flavourful not too sweet, very smooth, the perfect orh nee la…maybe got lard???

very enjoyable dinner for my family. everyone very happy with the dishes & enjoyed a great makan & get together.

dinner was S$334 for 11pax.

c.h.e.f andy

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

$6 kambing soup – ribs 

went to adam road food centre to take char kuay teow but stall was closed.

so took kabing soup instead at bahrakath mutton soup on 5.1.2017. ^^

bahrakath mutton soup 

the dishes & prices now clearly displayed. the mutton leg with tulang most popular. the tripe looked good too. anyhow i opted for the ribs, which i like also.

$6 kambing soup – ribs 

S$6?S$10 for ribs, which i guess also around the prices for chinese mutton soup.

i ordered S$6. there’s about 10 pieces.

i think the ribs really good, very tender, excellent texture.

$6 kambing soup – ribs  

the soup, at its best, is very good too.

but never quite comparable to good chinese herbal mutton soup like at chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤 at bukit merah view food centre.

this evening, soup not as intense as what i had before. still good but not near the best.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Bahrakath Mutton Soup King

Address:

#01-10 ADAM ROAD FOOD CENTRE, 2 ADAM ROAD, 289876

Opening Hours:

Daily: 13:00 – 03:00