ngoh hiang 

met 2 friends to discuss some things.

we met at toa payoh lor 8 food centre 11.30am on 21.11.2016. ^^

sin sin prawn crackers 

my friend decided to buy ngoh hiang from sin sin prawn crackers.

ngoh hiang 

they had a good spread very neatly laid out.

bee hoon

noodles was plain, and went quit well with the ngoh hiang + chilli.

ngoh hiang 

chilli was kind of sour, but i am pretty ok with it. in fact i had a second plate of chilli.

ngoh hiang was pretty good. quite many items (6 maybe?) for S$13.

i would think though that the ngoh hiang at kim san keng junction 8 locality was better in presentation, chilli & also the food items.

*******

but for me, the indian rojak at ayer rajah food centre was the best, “trumped” all these la… lol! ^^

four seasons cendol 

after that 2 of us had four seasons cendol.

the other friend opted for four seasons cheng tng. same owners but different stalls.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Sin Sin Prawn Crackers @ Toa Payoh Lor 8 FC

ADDRESS

#01-46 Blk 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Market & Food Centre, 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, 310210

OPENING HOURS

Daily: 11:00 – 15:00

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

went to mei chin road food centre in the morning on 17.11.2016.

wanted to have mmepok tar at xin lu (新路) fishball noodles. did not have that for a while.

but it was closed. though today is thursday, not monday.

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

saw this hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 opposite. have not tried it before so gave it a try la…

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

it was good. price was good too.

i had 5 pieces for S$2. but my veg was S$0.60, & the cuttlefish, a humongous piece, was S$1.50, so total S$4.10. they wrote there small $0.60, medium S$1, large $1.50.

i was ok with it la.

yong tau foo – S$4.10 for 7 items 

cilli & sweet sauce were all good.

i had a pig skin, a teochew fish cake, a taupok, a fried dumpling & a green chilli – 5 pieces.

unlike the ytf stall at kopitiam @ SGH, the fish meat in the taupok & chilli was generous, not meagre.

i like all of them.

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

soup was tasty too, with some complimentary taukee & seaweed.

don’t eat ytf much but this a stall i like. will come back again.

c.h.e.f andy

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

hill view yong tau foo 山景酿豆腐 

Address:

#02-18 MEI CHIN ROAD MARKET, 159 MEI CHIN ROAD, 140159

cali wings

not sure how i ended up with 2 groupons for cafe cali.

Groupon S$15.90 3-course meal for cafe cali

maybe itchy fingers & press wrongly??

anyway, found out it is expiring on 20.11.2016.

luckily able to get my sis to come for lunch on 19.11.2016. ^^

cafe cali @ park avenue rochester

i parked across the street from park avenue rochester hotel.

parking still S$0.50 for 1/2 hr, not bad la…

restaurant seating ambience not so great, like a cheap place, but cheap ok la…as long as good. lol! 🙂

cali wings

the other choices did not attract us.

so we ordered 2 cali wings for appetizer. good choice!

presentation was restaurant standard.

the wings also restaurant standard, better than har jeon gai in most of the zi char places.

salad quite nice too, refreshing, and a bit of bearnaise? went pretty well with the wings too.

striploin steak

for the mains, i had wanted to try both the steak & the wagyu burger.

sis thought we should order another dish that is not beef, so we picked pan-fried salmon.

this striploin medium rare standard better than i expected.

i was thinking like coffeeshop or food court or even aston’s, but this was good restaurant standard.

striploin steak

not sure what steak?

not the very tasty wagyu steak of course, but it was sweet.

striploin steak

and tender enuf. some tougher parts & mostly no residue.

not a top steak, but not lousy steak also, and done well la! 🙂

pan-seared salmon

the pan-seared salmon also restaurant standard, both in presentation, taste & treatment.

pan-seared salmon

crispy skin, a good steak, a good potato mash, sauce, very competent la!

pan-seared salmon

moist, good standard. just salmon steak not my favourite la,,,

vanilla ice cream

ice cream, not much to say.

x’mas decor at cali cafe

cafe entrance was in disarray!

doing x’mas decor during business hours while guests were entering & leaving?

service was polite ok but not enthused, not forthcoming nor particularly helpful.

they don’t serve plain water, only bottled water, not a good idea in my opinion but that is the restaurant’s prerogative. seems strange for the market positioning, which is basically cafe, though the food was pretty good by cafe standards.

for S$15.90 nett, i guess the groupon deal was pretty good for this standard of food la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

yong tau foo S$3.50

2 of us went to visit a friend in SGH on 14.11.2016.

after that we went to kopitiam for dinner.

there was a queue at the chicken rice stall, just couple guys at the yong tau foo.

it was 7.50pm. not so many items left.

i picked 7 pieces no noodles = S$3.50, decent price.

there were not many “real” yong tau foo ie with fish meat fillings, so i took mostly the fish ball, fish cake, ngoh hiang, only 1 piece of taupok, & chinese cabbage.

cuttlefish was cut so small…

cuttlefish + yong tau fu from chinatown market

my own white bee hoon ＋ yong tau foo

the fish meat filling in the taupok was quite pathetic c/w what i bought at chinatown & cooked myself at home.

look at the ytf i bought from chinatown market basement 1.

the ytf filling (chinatown market ytf stall’s) were good. they were like 3 or 4 times the filling there was in this taupok!

yong tau foo – S$3.50

other than the limited choice & depleted food items at close to 8pm, the soup & the ytf were quite ok, competent if slightly below expectations.

cold dessert stall

friend bought ytf.

so i went to get cold dessert.

cold chengteng S$1.90 + soursop jelly S$2.10

the cheng teng looked to have good ingredients, and so my friend reported.

soursop jelly – S$2.10

my soursop jelly was definitely good standard. nice jelly & great flavours only S$4 for 2.

this very enjoyable!

c.h.e.f andy

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

kopitiam @ SGH

Address:

Singapore General Hospital(SGH), 6 Singapore General Hospital, Level 1, Singapore 169608

Contact:

kopitiam.biz

xapadillo eel & pork belly – $20

son was back for summer break & wanted to go foc.

so we had 3pax dinner at foc on 18.8.2016. ^^

we had a family dinner here last with our daughters on 23.7.2016. 🙂

el vermouth de dali – S$16

wife & son ordered a drink each.

mushroom croquette – S$10

we started with the mushroom croquette. nice & flavourful.

octopus galician style – S$22

& the grilled octopus.

nice dish still. i guess not able to replicate our experience at lake como or cinque terre.

xapadillo eel & pork belly – $20

we tried a new dish – xapadillo eel & pork belly.

this was good. very tasty, excellent dish to share. ^^

seafood fiduea – S$24

& we always ordered the fiduea, which now not on the menu. i wonder?

seafood fiduea – S$24

always good, and a change from just eating pasta or risotto.

seafood fiduea

very tasty like beehoon dish, well infused with all the seafood stock & flavours. quite wonderful la! ^^

lamb chops – S$22

the lamb chop was tiny today!

i wonder? looked very different from what we had recently, like 1/2 the size!

look at the phot0 here! not sure if it was the same dish leh! 

lamb chops – S$22

anyway still a very nice lamb chop la…just not the same level of shiokness by comparison.

kurobuta pork ribs – S$30

& the kurobuta pork ribs always good, my favourite yet, excellent marbled texture & superb flavours! 🙂

dinner was S$189 all-in for 3pax including 2 drinks. not cheap, but very enjoyable, i guess quite ok la..

c.h.e.f andy

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

1/2 roasted duck S$33.60 

had a S$50 groupon (bought for S$28.80) expiring in few days time, so got my OPS buddy to go lunch today on 7.11.2016. ^^

the restaurant call themselves 小香港. the food has some hong kong standard.

horrors – the 1/2 roast duck price gone up from S$25 to S$33.60 (no 1/2 duck on menu now, only a portion at $16.80 so i asked server, she said 1/2duck price = 2 portions).

canton paradise starvista 

place ok traffic at 2pm.

roast duck+porridge+dimsum 

i ordered porridge & 2 dimsum plus 1/2 duck.

1/2 roast duck – S$33.60 

the duck here has always been quite ok. for me –

• for me it’s about house of roasted duck劉強烤鴨店standard
• not as good as royal london duck
• not as good as tunglok singatures at orchard parade hotel
• not as good as xin cuisine 
• not as good as ya wang 鸭皇 in JB 

basically duck had good crispy skin, fairly good taste but not as flavourful “pang” as the others. among all tunglok’s royal london duck & xin cuisine’s tea flavoured roast duck were the best. 🙂

combo 3 porridge-kidney+liver+sliced beef= S$10.80 

porridge was good. smooth, about crystal jade standard, better than the hawker’s porridge like 鸿记porridge, but still not as sweet as porridge in hong kong street stalls.

combo 3 porridge-kidney+liver+sliced beef= S$10.80 

and actually even the porridge made by the centre director of teban gardens community service centre was better.

har gao – S$6.20 

har gao was pretty good, though not my favourite dimsum.

steamed pork ribs – S$5.20 

and steamed pork ribs were great, smooth, tasty, tender pork, not too fatty.

lunch was S$67. after S$50 voucher = S$17, so total S$28.80+S$17=S$45.50, very decent price for the food we had.

the food we had was good for 3pax. in fact we did not finsih the duck & tapao the remainder.

will certainly get the groupon again when the promotion is back.

c.h.e.f andy

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

char kway teow – S$4 + S$1 cockles

went with wife & daughter to adam road food centre on 6.11.2016. ^^

crowded. wilson parking full, but managed to park on side road, legally…haha! 🙂

adam road food centre @ 830pm sunday

place just reopened. crowded at 8.30pm on a sunday, not easy to find a table.

not sure what has changed. looked like same stalls.

char kway teow stall

wife bought $4 char kway teow add S$1 cockles. 🙂

char kway teow  = S$4 + S$1 cockles 

still the same good tasty char kway teow. 3 of us shared. still quite like it. 🙂

char kway teow – S$4 + S$1 cockles

good wok hae. & kway teow was flavourful with slight sweet taste of dark sauce.

adam road noo cheng big prawn noodles

there was a long queue at noo cheng.

daughter queued for 15mins+

guant size prawns

they had some giant size tiger prawns on display. 25cm? maybe 30cm size, like 250g??

prawn noodles – S$5

she ordered a S$5 prawn noodles dry.

soup was about same as before, quite intense & sweet, not as smooth as why eat har (which is closed now).

prawn noodles – S$5

noodles & chilli ok, still quite tasty.

prawn noodles – S$5

not much change from before renovation la…i guess that os a good thing…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Adam Road Food Centre

indian curry fish head lunch 

my good OPS primary school classmate bought indian curry fish head lunch @ banana leaf apolo bistro today on 4.11.2016. ^^

i turned into clive road & stopped at banana leaf at the corner at 1pm but already passed hastings road, where the carpark entrance was. anyway i was able to find parking on the street at campbell lane. was at banana leaf in good time & my friends duely arrived.

we ordered the fish head, mutton curry, chicken masala, the black ink squid, 3 white rice & 1 bryani rice.

indian curry fish head 

i have taken many curry fish heads this year, including cooking it several times.

but for indian curry fish head, looking up my blog, the last time i had was more than 3 years ago, on 29.8.2013! & that was also at banana leaf apolo, at the other outlet on race course road.

indian curry fish head 

today’s fish head though we all agreed, was quite mediocre or maybe below par.

the curry was very sour, and not sweet & tasty enough. fish meat was ok, quite fresh.

indian curry fish head 

for me, i can’t really remember how it should taste like, only had good memory of tasty indian curry fish head, a taste memory NOT met by this curry we had today.

maybe food standard have gone up so much, this indian curry fish head dish is NOT as appealing as it used to be.

but that really shouldn’t be also, as only 3 years ago, i recorded that the fish head curry was very tasty then.

chicken masala 

the masala chicken was ok, competent.

mutton curry 

curry mutton too. mutton was tender. curries strong in herbs but quite ok.

mutton curry

black in squid 

in my memory, black ink squid was an excellent dish, especially at soon heng then in race course road in the 1990s. that was like 20yrs ago.

today this dish was quite poor. there was no distinctive squid ink flavours. squid dish was still nice, but squid did not appear to be very very fresh. meat though was not not tough so the cooking was pretty ok.

plain rice set with 2 veg items 

we all remembered the good old days, when they served us plain rice on the banana leaf with some side dishes.

it is still the practice. there were 2 side dishes (though it was 3 previously) – cabbage, & what maybe a hal with some eggplants.

plain rice set with curry fish head

so the fish itself was pretty ok. only that the fish head gravy & the other meat curries were quite so so in taste.

the lunch was S$85, which my friend took the bill & refused to split (go dutch!). i guess lunch was not like overly expensive. yet it was below our expectation for an excellent taste curry la!

c.h.e.f andy

ohmi wagyu shabu

introduced my RI buddy to my favourite restaurant hachi today on 3.11.2016. ^^

this same friend organised an incredible 10pax birthday lunch for me at kai garden, and also did a coffee table book collage for me. simply fabulous! 🙂

so my turn to do a belated birthday lunch for him la… 🙂

hachi

hachi had good lunch crowd today.

it’s quite unpredictable, but maybe lunch mostly well taken up, dinner crowd a bit more uncertain.

i honestly didn’t think hachi’s ohmi wagyu omakase could get any better. it’s already so good.

and oh, wife & i just returned from a 5day stay at nikko, autumn hikes. one of the 3 ryokans we stayed this trip was shikisai, a quite good standard ryokan.

and on the first evening of our arrival at shikisai, we were looking forward to a delicious, wonderful kaiseki dinner but the dinner (on the first night) unfortunately was not even 1/2 as good as this hachi’s lunch omakase.

looked at the dishes, really quite far off actually!

Singapore’s food standard is now way up there la….

#1 uni kakiage

omakase started with uni kakiage.

it was a quite generous serving of uni. batter was very good. the other piece is a mushroom, and sitting on a bed of edamame mousse.

it’s a very good quality starter, though i always prefer uni served as sashimi or sushi.

#2 oyster with ponzu jelly

the oyster is huge, served in 2 cut pieces with ponzu jelly.

it’s quite a regular fixture in this omakase.

oyster with ponzu jelly

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

#3 ohmi wagyu nimono

the ohmi wagyu 近江和牛nimono (steamed dish) is a new dish.

the restaurant told me this replaces the sukinabe, and they asked me if i wanted to have back the sukinabe. i was quite happy to try out their new dish.

#3 ohmi wagyu nimono

very good dish anywhere. nice tender, smooth braised wagyu. with sweet potato.

here this was the first of 4 ohmi wagyu dishes, and 2 other wagyu dishes were just incredible la.

#4 sashimi moriawase = akami, kampachi, hirame, bonito

a good sashimi moriawase, with akami (lean toro), kampachi (amberjack), hirame (flounder) & bonito (tuna family).

#4 sashimi moriawase = akami, kampachi, hirame, bonito

lean toro very sweet & smooth, not as good as chutoro which they sometimes serve.

my friend commented the hirame very good. indeed no residue, usually hirame has some chewy part. kampachi & bonito all very sweet & tasty. a good standard sashimi.

#5 grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak

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

grilled A5 ohmi wagyu steak

everything else were excellent, the dried cuttlefish, tomato, & crackers.

#6 ohmi wagyu sushi

next was the wagyu sushi.

one with daikon, minced radish. the other topped with uni & caviar.

ohmi wagyu sushi

server specially highlighted that the preparation already incorproated sauce, so no ned to add wasabi or sauce. 🙂

really top quality sushi la…

#7 ohmi wagyu shabu

the best dish came in a grand ending. a young chef came to serve it himself.

it’s a ohmi wagy shabu, not the traditional shabu but with he said a chopped wagyu gravy/sauce.

in fact nothing like a shabu 涮, 8sec poaching la! the wagyu was thick cut like A5 steak quality not thin slices for shabu.

#7 ohmi wagyu shabu

so marbled, flavourful, awesome wagyu dish!

& after the wagyu, there was the onigiri & pickles, this dish serving as gohan dish to round off the excellent meal.

#8 yuzu sorbet

& for dessert, we had a yuzu sorbet.

very good, totally refreshing & had some yuzu pieces also in the sorbet, very nice la!

yuzu meringue from the patissier

i went to get a slice of a yuzu meringue from next door, the patissier.

they told me this (new) yuzu flavour less sweet than their signature passion fruit meringue.

hachi plated it nicely for my friend with the birthday candle…

yuzu meringue from the patissier

nice cake but i think i kind of went off patissier & the meringue cake a bit liao.

this lunch omakase was so good la…totally awesome! will come back again.

c.h.e.f andy

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

dinner at aburiya, our favourite yakiniku restaurant 

went with wife to our favoruite yakiniku restaurant aburiya on 1.11.2016, again! haha! ^^

it’s our go to place when lazy to think where to dine & feeling like eating bbq. 🙂

this evening aburiya not so busy, just few tables.

sake sampler – S$18 

wife took the usual sake sampler, sweet to dry, very good.

smokeless grill 

they use the smokeless grill with powerful ventilation. i guess most places do now.

USA kurobuta platter (200g) – S$25 

we took the usual kurobuta platter – belly, collar, loin & skirt, something like that la…

all were good! ^^

USA kurobuta sampler plate (200g) – S$25 

200g quite a good serving for 2pax.

harami with negi (scallions) – S$10.95 

we took the cheap harami (skirt). sometimes they were quite good.

today wife didn’t like it much, not sweet & slightly tough, should have ordered the jo karubi (prime ribs).

smokeless bbq

in korea, japan, china etc, gathering around this “hearth” would be a pleasant dining experience in a cold evening. 🙂

kimchi chigae – S$12.95 

yakiniku 烧肉 basically a japanese styled korean bbq 日式韩国烤肉.

i feel it is better in quality to most korean bbq here. one key difference is they don’t serve free banchan 반찬 or side dishes, but you can order kimchi etc from menu.

kimchi chigae – S$12.95 

the kimchi chigae is excellent here.

very tasty, strong, has some belly pork, generally the dish a bit salty.

bibimen – S$11.95 

& wife likes the bibimen here which i came to like as well.

good serving of meat too.

bibimen – S$11.95 

& i like the ubiquitous gochujang 고추장 sauce, peppery, sweet, savoury.

nice dinner! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

11pax makan dishes

had dinner with my OPS friends at beng thin hoon kee on 31.10.2016. ^^

we had 11pax. i ordered 8 dishes.

food was quite delicious. all my friends enjoyed the dishes. 🙂 i have not dined here for a while, and i was enjoying the food also. ^^

duck salad – S$35

i asked for large duck salad. the server who took orders said medium was enough. that was good service.

& indeed salad was enough for 11pax.

duck salad – S$35

this duck salad very refreshing & delicious. enjoyed it every time.

if you just looked at the ingredients – cucumber, melon, mango, a fed shreds of duck, it was very expensive at S$35 c/w say a far more substantive 4-appetizer starter at a teochew restaurant. but really what is enjoyable for the palate is all that counts. so i am very happy with this salad dish as starter.

fish maw soup – S$40

the fish maw soup is always good here, literally choke a block with ingredients.

a very tasty soup because of the stock & crabmeat, great texture & intense goodness.

oyster egg sheets – S$28

the price of the oyster egg is a bit off the charts! large is S$38! oyster egg for $38???

but eating here must order oyster egg leh. so i ordered medium S$28.

oysters were huge, fresh & tasty & quite good serving. the egg were like thin sheets, really well done. i guess i need to apply the duck salad psychology here. just that duck salad is uncommon & a delight, oyster egg is great here but not so special dish.

overall i must say it was a very good dish, even if it was S$28. 🙂

sea cucumber duck – S$80

sea cucumber duck is another excellent dish here at beng thin.

i ordered large, which had a whole duck.

this dish was superbly done. duck was excellent, tender & sweet, sea cucumber added great texture, gravy was tasty, natural.

sea cucumber duck – S$80

very enjoyable dish. ^^

cereal prawns – S$42

for me, the cereal prawns was below par.

it was passable i guess, not sure if could be considered competent.

cereal prawns – S$42

prawns were not the very fresh, or it was over-fried or was left out too long & the shell softened not so crispy.

a complete world of difference from the excellent cereal king prawns i had at ban heng harbourfront recently.

i thought that it was not as good as the cereal prawns by my friend’s son at his house on 6.6.2016.

brocoli – S$28

the worst dish though had to be the brocoli.

brocoli is always a nice vegetable dish to have, no thanks to the cooking.

but this was tasteless, no wok hae, & texture not crunchy enough. most likely blanched not garlic fried & imperfect timing.

brocoli – S$28

also, i was deciding between medium S$18 & large $24 & decided on large, so i am quite certain it was S$24 & not S$28. i did not notice till i got home.

at S$24 it was excessive for me. at S$28, it was like “rolling my eyes” la!

kong bak pao – S$30

kong bak pao was excellent! 🙂

server told me there were 12 slices, anyway enough for 11pax. my piece was very tasty, the broth was excellent, & went very well with the bun.

金瓜芋泥 pumpkin orh nee – $28

the orh nee was i guess average.

not too sweet which was a plus, good texture & ok taste, just not “pang” enough. becos no lard? also no coconut milk on top.

金瓜芋泥 pumpkin orh nee – $28

better than some, and not among the best la! 🙂

we had a great fun time together. food was delicious & very enjoyable overall. & as old friends we shared a lot of jokes & banters.

restaurant was empty, like 3 tables included our own. service was good actually, kept changing plates, new towels, filling up tea pot, taking photos. quite cheerful too. nothing to complain la…

cost of dinner was S$384 for 11pax. i think quite ok for the delicious dishes we had. a friend brought a red wine & they charged S$5 per bottle corkage. that was quite good too.

it has been a while. the last time i was here was 2+ yrs ago on 1.6.2014.

i will probably come back here with my family.

c.h.e.f andy

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

peking duck 五彩北京鸭

from my Facebook dated 28.10.2016 –

today my RI buddies bought me a belated birthday lunch & did many wonderful things for me.

this kai garden 嘉苑  truely the best fine dining Chinese restaurant i have been to…chef & staff from taste paradise…

food & service both super.

green tea cake from flor patisserie also super👍👍👍

special lunch menu

my RI friends arranged this lunch on 28.10.2016. ^^

the friend who organised picked the menu items.

vine tomato in plum sauce

there were 4 items to start off the lunch.

vine tomato in sweet plum

the sweet vine tomatoes was marinated with sweet plum, unique & appetizing. 🙂

marinated cloud fungus with garlic & vinegar

i like the tasty crunchiness of the cloud fungus 爽口.

marinated cloud fungus with garlic & vinegar

& the garlic & slight sourness of vinegar. 🙂

roast pork 烧肉

this roast pork 烧肉 also very good.

roast pork 烧肉

though i did not think it was any better than the roast pork 烧肉 at tunglok signature orchard parade.

tunglok signature’s roast pork 烧肉 – S$12

for me tunglok signature’s looked better & tasted better la. 🙂

xo fried carrot cake

the xo carrot cake was good.

xo fried carrot cake

flavourful, not too strong xo sauce.

fried siu mai

the 4 appetizers were followed by 2 dimsum.

the fried siu mai was a special here.

fried siu mai

it was nice, tasty, i guess uncommon, not sure it was better than normal steamed siu mai.

anyway siu mai not my favourite dimsum, but i know it is for 1 of my friend here. we had to order it in hong kong for him…lol! ^^

charcoal shengjianbao 生煎包

the charcoal shengjianbao 生煎包 was quite excellent, tasty quite juicy there’s actually some soup inside. 🙂

seemed that a friend asked the restaurant if they have squid-ink dish (he said i like to make squid ink dish), the restaurant said no but they have charcoal 生煎包. lol! ^^

charcoal shengjianbao 生煎包

shengjianbao 生煎包 not my favourite. like a ba pao 肉包made as 锅贴. many places no much juice. this one here a bit of soup, but overall experience still cannot compare with a good xiaolongbao 小笼包.

pig intestine soup 猪肚汤

the pig intestine soup 猪肚汤 was really superb!

pig intestine soup 猪肚汤

so very tasty, intense yet smooth. the best!

pig intestine soup 猪肚汤

i think there was 金华火腿 to give it the smooth & deep flavours. there was also intestines & sea whelk.

peking duck 五彩北京鸭

the peking duck 五彩北京鸭 is a signature dish here. see also top photo.

it was certainly visually commanding. impressive la! 🙂

peking duck 五彩北京鸭

there were 5 colours skin & 5 sauces. all the skin were excellent!

peking duck 五彩北京鸭

we could only take 2 pieces each.

i tasted all 5 sauces. for me the original sauce & the sesame sauce were the best.

peking duck 五彩北京鸭

overall, a very pleasing dining experience. though i generally prefer roast duck to peking duck for purpose of eating duck.

tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth

the tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth is another signature dish here. 🙂

tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth

very impressive on bed of chipped ice like sashimi.

server poaching tiger garoupa in lobster broth

the server doing the shabu涮, poaching the garoup fillet in the lobster broth.

tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth

another superb dining experience. ^^

tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth

very tender, tasty garoupa fillet & wonderful lobster broth.

tiger garoupa poached in lobster broth

so good! 🙂

i will try to think up a similar fish fillet dish at home.

salt & pepper garoupa 椒盐班件

they did salt & pepper garoupa 椒盐班件 for the remaining pieces.

salt & pepper garoupa 椒盐班件

salt & pepper 椒盐 not my favourite preparation as many places have too much batter.

salt & pepper garoupa 椒盐班件

this one here was very well done la. 🙂

fried duck meat 炒鸭件

the fried duck meat 炒鸭件 not so popular.

we were all quite full by then.

it was not badly done, but i prefer just to eat the duck, just as i like to eat roast duck.

minced chestnut mushroom dumpling

the mushroom chestnut roll in pumpkin sauce was a fine piece of cuisine.

minced chestnut mushroom dumpling

looked nice, tasted great, but not particularly a dish i need to eat la, especially i saw it cost S$22 on the menu.

grilled scallops on noodles on chawanmushi egg white

the noodles on a bed of chawanmushi like steamed egg white was quite excellent.

grilled scallops on noodles on chawanmushi egg white

the grilled scallop was very well done, and the poached kailan crunchy & sweet.

grilled scallops on noodles on chawanmushi egg white

a nice dish to round off a fabulous meal.

i tried creating this dish at home, but not too successful. will give it another go!

flor patissierie macha jelly cake & complimnetary longevity buns

my friend went to get a macha jelly cake from flor patissierie.

flor patissierie macha jelly cake

lovely cake! really nice.

the restaurant provided the longevity buns. quite odd that the only complimentary item they provide & it was quite bad. the lotus paste was dry not moist & tasty. the complimentary buns at hung kang & swatow all better than this. maybe they bought this item from some supplier???

this was a really enjoyable lunch for me.

my friends did me several great very pleasant surprises la! very memorable this lunch, so must commit to record on my blog & FB! ^^

among the best fine dining dishes i had so far.  for me, majestic, tunglok & xin cuisine all very good chinese fine dining. for elaborateness & presentation, kai garden maybe more fine on some/most dishes.

the other notable thing was the service was superb throughout from every server. & almost the entire staff came in to sing the happy birthday song. we stayed quite long & late & they served us very well.

i think my friends gave them a good tip.

c.h.e.f andy

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Kai Garden 嘉苑

cold crab S$48

my dear OPS friend WT bought me a birthday dinner recently at element @ amara recently though his birthday is in the same month as mine, so i might as well by buying him dinner. haha! 🙂

anyway tonight’s my chance to return the favour. i had a S$100 e-voucher with chui huay lim expiring this month. came in handy la!

we had a great enjoyable dinner including 2 of my close RI friends at chui huay lim on 28.10.2016. ^^

chui huay lim – very crowded

i have not been to chui huay lim for a while. find the food rather expensive here.

still, it is very crowded on this friday night, something not always common even in good makan joints.

chilled pig trotter’s jelly S$10

i ordered the pig trotter’s jelly.

wife found it too porky, too strong. i must be influenced. also thought it was not so great.

strange thing it was not served with serng ni chou (minced garlic vinegar), we had to ask the manager for it.

my own pig head’s terrine 猪头冻 

wife said my own pig head’s terrine 猪头冻 is better la. ^^

prawn rolls S$10

the prawn rolls & achar were ok.

roast suckling pig S$188

there was a suckling pig promotion at S$188.

i was asking about fish thinking to order a treadfin tail, a teochew dish. but was told it’s S$10 per 100g & servings are 1kg. S$100 for treadfin tail? & garoupa is served in portions at S$98??

i think the prices just not right!

so it was easy for me to decide on the S$188 suckling pig la. 🙂

roast suckling pig S$188

& this was very good, among the best i have taken.

certainly far better than the suckling pig we had at ban heng recently!

cold crab S$48

i ordered a cold crab S$48. 🙂

it had good amount of roe. crab was firm & sweet.

cold crab S$48

i was telling my friends somehow teochew cold crab was just much nicer than the cold seafood served at restaurant buffets…

cold crab S$48

the crab was quite enough for 6 of us.

braised duck with tofu S$18

i ordered the braised duck.

duck was good, much better than the goose at ban heng. very pang – tasty!!

they also serve braised goose, of course more expensive.

prawn with yellow chives S$48

everyone loved the yellow chives. every nice veg.

prawn with yellow chives S$48

the king prawns were very big.

prawn with yellow chives S$48

& done well, bouncy, plump, great bite texture & taste.

kailan with tipor S$24

we were very full actually, especially 3 of us had an excellent lunch earlier.

anyway we could not cancel order of the last dish. the kailan at S$24 was kind of expensive (like c/w the S$18 braised duck), but it was an excellent dish. kailan was crunchy & sweet, nicely done! tipor added special flavours, both the veg dish (the yellow chives as well) had ti por for added taste.

6pax dinner was S$302 nett after S$100 discounts. i guess quite ok considering that the suckling pig alone was S$188++.

c.h.e.f andy

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Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine

Address:

#1 1/2 suckling pig ok not the best 

wife bought 6pax family dinner at ban heng harbourfront on 26.10.2016. ^^

we were seated in an inner room that could seat 3 tables. 1 was occupied in addition to ours. & there was a balcony outside overlooking sentosa. 🙂

6pax suckling pig dinner S$298 

we had 1/2 suckling pig.

it was a long menu, many dishes including sharksfin, fish, scallops, braised goose, abalones, so i guess can be said to be a good value set.

#1 1/2 suckling pig ok not the best 

the suckling pig was ok still nice but not the best.

2 days later i had suckling pig at chui huay lim & that was far better.

#2 crabmeat sharksfin soup

#2 crabmeat sharksfin soup – average 

the crabmeat sharksfin soup was average, not the thin gluey tasteless soup, had enough ingredients, ok aste but also not great.

#3 steamed garoupa – sauce excellent fish a bit over 

the hong kong steamed garoupa had very tasty sauce.

#3 steamed garoupa – sauce excellent fish a bit over 

the fish itself though was a bit over.

honestly we do much better ourselves at home every time la…

#4 braised goose – braise was tasty meat so so 

i asked the server if it was duck or goose as stated in the menu.

the server replied duck but i guess it was really impossible to tell. seemed like large sliced pieces.

#4 braised goose – braise was tasty meat so so 

the braising sauce was quite “pang”, but the meat was so so, not so tasty, flavourful.

2 days later we had braised duck at chui huay lim & it was a lot better.

#5 scallops brocoil – brocoli was excellent! 

the brocoli was crunchy & sweet, quite excellent!

scallops were ok good, fresh & sweet.

#6 abalone spinach – usual good restaurant standard 

#6 abalone spinach – usual good restaurant standard 

the abalone spinach was a competent dish, the usual good restaurant standard.

#6 abalone spinach – usual good restaurant standard 

nice big abalone! nicely braised very well done.

#7 cereal king prawns – excellent!

the cereal king prawns was among the best dish this evening!

#7 cereal king prawns – excellent!

king prawns were very large prawns, nicely fried, succulent & tasty. cereal was flavourful, sweet but not like the sickeningly sweet milk powered prawns at 3 chefs.

#8 yeemeen – tapao ‘cos too much food

#8 yeemeen – tapao ‘cos too much food 

we were too full to eat the yeemeen so tapao.

yeemeen was mediocre.

#9 orh nee – poor not good

#9 orh nee – poor not good 

orh nee was poor, quite tasteless, not “pang” at all!

dinner was S$361 for 6pax with 1/2 suckling pig & lots of dishes with good ingredients. but preparation & taste was kind of a bit below par, and really we don’t need to eat so much food, so a few good ones will do la…

daughter bought carrot cake from cake spade 

daughter bought a carrot cake from cake spade.

daughter bought carrot cake from cake spade 

good to try but not my favourite.

c.h.e.f andy

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Ban Heng Harbourfront

lobster,alaskan crab, spanner crab, oysters

my dear OPS friend WT arranged an early 5pax birthday dinner for me on 24.10.2016. ^^

element @ amara

the place was element at amara hotel.

the price for dinner buffet is S$65pax.

we had a special staff price at 50% discounts.

crayfish,lobster,spanner crab

i have not been to element for more than 10 yrs.

the buffet is very different now. good standard ya. 🙂

there were crayfish, lobster, spanner crab at the cold seafood station (above photo), & crayfish & alaskan crab legs.

i picked some lobster, spanner crab, alaskan crab legs, & oysters (top photo).

spanner crab was good, meat very compact.

cold seafood station

the alaskan crab legs were so so, not so sweet. cold lobster also so so, quite average, also not so sweet.

likewise the oysters, not creamy & plump.

i didn’t take the mussels.

oyster, crayfish, spanner crab

cold crayfish same, same.

spanner crab

for me, this (spanner crab) was the best for me among the cold seafood. a friend though thought it was bothersome to eat.

c/w the S$62pax lunch i had at the line recently, the cold station station would be far superior to the line.

perhaps dinner at “the line” would also feature lobster etc…

i am kind of not much into the western cold seafood thing. somehow they are not so tasty & seem a waste of lobster etc. & somehow western cold crabs are never quite like teochew cold crabs (which i also don’t take often).

sashimi/sushi station

chef ah yau at the sashimi station is a friend of my OPS friend WT.

sashimi moriawase = kajiki, sake, maguro, cooked prawns, tako, sake toro, more maguro

we had a very nice plate of sashimi moriawase = kajiki, sake, maguro, cooked prawns, tako, shake toro, more maguro.

it was good sashimi, not superior standard. kajiki & shake toro (salmon belly) best!^^

mayo aburiya salmon sushi

& we had a plate of mayo aburi (flamed) salmon sushi. very nice sushi dish! 🙂

temaki – hand rolls

i had a temaki, good standard too! 🙂

cooked food station

black pepper crayfish, roasted cod with bonito, kailan

i took some roasted cod with bonito flakes, black pepper crayfish , & some kailan.

the cod was good! i had another helping afterwards.

the black pepper crayfish quite ok too, more tasty than the cold crayfish becos of the pepper sauce. 🙂

peking duck station

there was a peking duck station.

peking duck & kailan

i tried some peking duck. i thought it was below par, maybe just too much food to contend with la…

carving station for roast-striploin

i tried the roast striploin.

roast striploin

it was pretty good standard la….

salad station

took the smoked salmon & smoked duck.

roast-striploin, smoked salmon, smoked duck breast, more roasted cod, scallops

not the very flavourful type so don’t leave much impression. say whereas the smoked duck breast i got from phoon huat for the recent Second FGS Charity Dinner was quite distinctly flavourful & special.

cooked food & miso ramen sation

i tried the chicken miso ramen.

miso ramen

it was pretty good. broth was tasty & ramen nice.

obviously not quite comparable to the broth of a S$16++ ramen (which i like never want to pay S$16++ for).

cempedek creme brulee

chef ah yau recommended the cempedek creme brulee.

the cempedek quite distinctly flavourful so a delight to try. just a little on the sweet side i thought.

fruits

& we had some fruits.

it was a very enjoyable dinner for me. WT also ordered a very nice chocolate truffle cake for me. we had a great evening together.

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

this element buffet is a good standard hotel buffet.

at S$65pax i wouldn’t myself be interested.

at 50% discounts it was definitely worthwhile, more so than “the line” lunch which though have much greater variety of food but not really standout food.

anyway at my age, not good to have too much buffet la…. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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Element Restaurant @ Amara Singapore

samsui chicken & mushroom brocoli

a friend bought lunch @ soup restaurant 三盅两件at clementi mall on 26.10.2016. ^^

we ordered 2 dishes – samsui chicken & mushroom brocoli. 🙂

samsui chicken – S$18.90

i have not been to soup restaurant for probably more than 10years.

samsui chicken a long time signature dish of soup restaurant.

it really is an excellent dish!

samsui chicken – S$18.90

this dish is like 白斩鸡, the chicken rice chicken, but is served with minced ginger sauce & no chilli.

the chicken is tender, moist & sweet, and the minced ginger sauce is a perfect condiment. 🙂

definitely better than the 白斩鸡 i made.

it is taken with lettuce, but i was quite happy eating the chicken on its own. 🙂

mushroom brocoli – S$12

the other dish was brocoli with mushrooms, nice & tasty.

a competent dish, nothing special.

lunch for 2pax was S$37. quite ok.

c.h.e.f andy

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Soup Restaurant 三盅两件 @ Clementi Mall

teochew muay dishes 

went with sis & bil to ye shanghai at bukit merah view for 3pax lunch today on 27.10.2016. ^^

rain was heavy & carpark full as usual even at 1130am. anyway i managed to park after dropping sis & bil. 🙂

sis ordered 8 dishes (fish, sotong & 6 veg) for S$23 including 3 porridge.

yellow croaker 小黄鱼 – S$5 

fish was excellent, fresh & sweet, especially taken with tau jeon.

chilled sotong – S$8

the teochew chilled sotong was a large one, pretty ok.

eggplant 

all the veg dishes were good.

today the eggplant was average, so so.

cabbage with ikan bilis 

cabbage was best with ikan bilis.

bittergourd 

bittergourd with black bean sauce was good.

veg

veg

2 veg dishes were good too.

& the leek dish was very good.

red fish – S$3

sis went to get 3 more dishes, for another $6. a red fish for $3, and 2 more veg dishes.

leek

she ordered another leek. it was well done very tasty.

ocra 

and ocra, quite ok.

lunch was S$29 for 2 fish, sotong & 8 veg dishes. really cheap & good here.

c.h.e.f andy

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Ye Shanghai Teochew Porridge (夜上海潮洲粥)

Address

#01-217, Boyang Coffee Shop, Blk 117 Bukit Merah View, 151116