xiaolongbao 小笼包

4 of us visited HCA Hospice at jalan tan tock seng on 26.5.2016.

we handed over the S$16,948 donations collected at our recent RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner on 20.5.2016, a homecooked makan & chill get-together held at a friend’s home, 🙂

we had a good chat with the HCA staff & toured the facility. 🙂

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after that one had to leave first, so 3 of us went to tunglok teahouse at square 2 for lunch.

i was a bit surprised actually the food at tunglok teahouse is really quite below par!

the xiaolongbao 小笼包 broke off when i tried to lift it gingerly onto my spoon, i don’t have that at impreial treasure or canton paradise. the soup was sweet ok, the meat fillings less so.

har gao

the har gao was quite poor. the skin looked & was thick & doughy, the prawns were ok.

some dumplings

couldn’t remember the name of this dumpling. looked like the 潮州粉果. i was quite sure the name was not.

more importantly it was good, the skin, the texture, the taste. 🙂

crispy char siew pao

this looked like any other crispy char siew pao.

crispy char siew pao

but the fillings were not so tasty, the skin was a bit harder than most.

i had this at red house with my sis & bil the day before & again on sunday when my wife invited friends there. red house’s crispy char siew pao was very good, so no comparison la.

steamed pork ribs

the steamed pork ribs were actualy ok, tasted good, but c/w red house photo, presentation was messy lacked the same class, and did not have yam.

chicken feet

chicken feet was also quite good.

spinach beancurd三层楼

this spinach beancurd三层楼 i cannot understand.

i think it was really bad by tunglok & 三层楼 standard. the first 三层楼 i have taken was at tunglok’s zhou kitchen i think at alexandra point (which is now the tunglok teahouse brand) maybe 15-20years back. it has always been good, & still good at tunglok signatures.

spinach beancurd三层楼

but this tofu was hard & chewy not crispy & soft inside. downright bad!

1/2 roast london duck S$28

1/2 roast london duck S$28

the 1/2 roast london duck was S$28. it is S$32 at tunglok signatures.

taste was still ok though i think still quite a gulf…presentation & texture was totally off. it’s like reheat or leftover parts instead of 1/2 duck.

tunglok signature’s 1/2 roast London duck – S$32

xin cuisine’s tea infused duck

canton paradise star vista’s 1/2 roast duck

see the roast duck at the other places!

can tell the difference???

i find that quite difficult to understand? don’t they use central kitchen & just differential pricing?

or it was just very bad quality control in terms of food storage, presentation etc?

salted egg custard bun流沙包

the salted egg custard bun流沙包 was also poor. both the salted egg custard & the skin were poor.

lunch for 3pax came to S$79 after 35% amex palate discounts. not too costly.

but before price, the food must meet some minimum standard, so for me this was not value for money not a place i would return to.

there’s one last thing still to be said.

the attitude of the lady captain was very bad!

she walked off with a black face after unsuccesful on getting us to order some expensive recommendations. fortunately the service was at least redeemed by some chinese waitress who was quite polite & ok service with a smile..

c.h.e.f andy

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spicy dumplings 红油抄手 – this was bad! skin stiff, hard

youngest daughter wanted to have lunch after her church, suggested going to food pavilion 好食城 clementi central on 22.5.2016. ^^

good outing with daughter.

but food was poor la…

i had some great xiaolongbao 小笼包here previously, like a year ago.

but they no longer sells xiaolongbao 小笼包, so we ordered spicy dumplings 红油抄手 S$3.50. this was bad! skin stiff, hard….nothing like the spicy dumplings 红油抄手 in crystal jade lamian xioalongbao!

tantan noodles 担担面 – S$4 nothing like crystal jade lamian xioalongbao

the tantan noodles 担担面 – S$4 was passable, but nothing like crystal jade lamian xioalongbao.

1/2 roast duck – S$19

the 1/2 roast duck was still flavourful.

1/2 roast duck – S$19

but it was also a bit dry, & like not so fatty, moist & juicy. not sure why?

colour-wise & texture also, it was quite different the very nice ones here the last time..

luckily it still tasted pretty good with the sauce & also the chilli.

don’t think i come back here again for a long while la…

c.h.e.f andy

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porchetta – S$14

daughter arranged a birthday dinner for our help Bes at io osteria on 13.5.2016. ^^

the last time we had dinner here was a yaear ago on 15.4.2015.

one thing to mention is that this hillv2 place is notorious when it comes to parking, there were very few lots on only 2 levels & the barrier raised for our car to enter yet we drove level 1 level2 back level 1 unable to find parking. it was about 7.30-ish pm on a friday….

io osteria 

the restaurant ambience was great. restaurant basically full. it’s a family & friend place yet quite hip. 🙂

io osteria 

i had better photos the last time….

porchetta – S$14

the porchetta was good.

it was S$14. i checked my 2015 post. it was S$9 then?? that’s a very steep increase. but i must say i would still order this if i come next time la…

burata – S$35 

we had the larger serving of burata.

burata – S$35 

i felt it was not as good as valentino.

but it came with a good serving of parma ham, and overall still quite good. this also i would order if i come bext time…

beef carpaccio 

nothing much to complain about beef carpaccio as well. beef was sweet.

this dish i don’t mind having but not a must-have…

clam pasta – S$34????

the clam pasta was a special on the board.

it was good tasting but nothing special really & totally did not justify the price. there were some artichokes. maybe that was expensive???

the moral of the story for us is “do not order the specials..they are special rip-offs”

lamb ragout penne pasta – S$18 

the lamb ragout which was on the menu was just S$18.

it was good too. for me it was as good as the S$34 special. couldn’t say it was better only because if they were the same price the clam pasta was still worth a try. a S$34 it mist definitely was NOT!

seafood bouillabaisse – S$16 

daughter made 2 orders of seafood bouillabaise to share by 7pax.

it was good as before. checking our 2015 visit it was S$14 then. i guess S$16 now was ok.

seafood was good, & the soup was good too.

assorted pizza (medium) 

daughter wanted to try the assorted pizza.

there were 4 different types. i could not remember them but they were all good.

assorted pizza (medium) 

one thing i remember was that the salami was very good.

salami can be quite tiugh but this one was quite excellent.

ribeye – S$38

the size of the ribeye steal surprised us.

& it was very well done. though wife & family though my steak was better but really it was just the quality of the meat used.

if just consider the cooking technique, i think this steak was very well done, the standard of a top class steak restaurant, very charred outside & medium rare inside, and a very tasty meat even though it might not be a better quality meat. 🙂

dinner was S$298 for 7pax including 500ml table wine (wine not too bad actually). i guess it was quite ok.

c.h.e.f andy

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IO Osteria

Address:

4 Hillview Rise, #02-01, Hillv2 Singapore 667979

Contact:

67107150

Opening Hours:

Monday to Sunday 10am – 10pm daily

thai chilli lobster – S$88 

had 3pax dimsum with wife & daughter at red house @ prinsep street today on 16.5.2016.

really enjoyable lunch!

wife & i were here recently for a good friend’s birthday dinner on 4.5.2016.

i also came for a friend’s lunch treat, so this first time i came for lunch myself. 🙂

thai chilli lobster – S$88 

the thai chilli lobster was the best, at a special promo price of S$88

server said it was a 800g lobster. w/o promotion lobster would be priced at S$145/kg.

on the bill it was described as blue lobster. not sure if i can make this myself.

prawn fun cheong – S$7 

all the dimsum were good, very pleasantly indeed above our expectations.

there is a 40% discount available daily at Prinsep Street 11am – 230pm (last order 2pm) from now until 31 December 2016. 

truffle mushroom dumpling – S$6 

very nice mushroom flavours, skin & fillings both excellent, look great too! 🙂

har gao – S$6 

har gao was good. skin & filling both good. no better than the good dimsum places like crystal jade & imperial treasure.

steamed pork ribs – S$6 

steamed pork ribs better than many places. yam very nice, pork ribs not too fat.

chilli crab bun – S$10 

chilli crab buns a bit ex. after 40% discounts it’s S$6.

chilli crab bun – S$10 

it was good though, certainly worth trying. the chilli crab sauce with bits of crabmeat really quite impressive la…

crispy char siew pao – S$6 

the crispy char siew pao slightly sweet for me.

crispy char siew pao – S$6 

competent if not as good as timhowan in hong kong.

salted egg custard bun – S$6 

the salted egg custard was good.

salted egg custard bun – S$6 

the skin though, both my daughter & i felt it was thicker & not as soft as the better ones at crystal jade etc.

i also had a S$100 chope voucher for S$90, so S$10 discount which could be used here.

lunch came to S$143nett. so with S$10 chipe duscounts, it was S$133nett

less the lobster, that would be S$33.60++=S$39.50nett!

quite good eh?

c.h.e.f andy

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Red House (Prinsep Street)

三楼米粉 (from a subsequent second try)

my OPS primay school friend treated me to a very nice lunch at seng kee on 12.5.2016. ^^

seng kee’s 香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon

one dish i was very much impressed was the 香煎米粉. i thought it was really good, crispy very fragrant good wok hae, bee hoon & ingredients inside tasty, not mushy, not burnt.

bagus la!

三楼米粉crispy fried beehoon

三楼米粉crispy fried beehoon

三楼米粉 (from a subsequent second try)

suddenly felt like giving it a try today on 14.5.2016.

took out leftover sotong tentacles, some prawns, chicken breat from freezer & defrosted.

had 1/2 chinese cabbage in chillier, 2 leaves turning bad liao. cut 1/3 from the 1/2 & removed the spoiled portions.

1. cut chinese cabbage into very thing strips & fried with cut chilli padi & oil first & fish sauce till soften. added the leaves & fried a bit more then added 1 cup water, turned to low & braised. chinese cabbage was to add veg sweetness as stock (i didn;t have any chicken stock).
2. while cabbage braising (about 15mins), i cut the defrosted prawns, chicken, sotong tentacles & seasoned separately with fish sauce & white pepper.
3. i removed the cabbage with little soup left & transfer to a bowl. then i added butter & fried the prawns, chicken, sotong tentacles maybe 80% cooked. removed them & set aside (i think this step not necessary but i was not sure how much stock to add & whether i had time to cook them before drying out the beehoon).
4.  i added oil, onions, chopped garlic into pan & fried till fragrant, turned fire high & added 2 eggs & scrambled.
5. then i returned the stock to the pan added the beehoon (soaked in water & drained) together with the prawns, chicken, sotong tentacles & braised the beehoon.
6. i turned fire to high to dry out the beehoon, then i added the scrambled egg & mixed.
7. the last step was to make the beehoon crispy. i was able to do it in parts but could not flip over & make it into a pancake presentation.

anyway the result was still a very tasty, fragrant, quite excellent tasting beehoon with very good wok hae.

i added coriander (& some cut spring onions earlier). daughter commented the coriander flavour really nice (a bit like eating orh lua, a crispy fragrant egg dish matches well with coriander la)…

anyway now i have a good feel of the dish so can very the steps a little as provided below.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 120g beehoon
• 8 small prawns.
• 1/2 squid – 12 slices
• chicken breast or pork – 8 slices
• 1.5cup chicken stock
• 1 cup thinly sliced chinese cabbage
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 sliced yellow onions
• 1 cut chilli padi
• fish sauce (about 1.5tbsp in all)
• 1 stalk cut spring onions
• 1 bunch coriander (for garnishing)

Directions:

1. add oil, onions, chopped garlic into pan & fried till fragrant. turn fire high & add 2 eggs & scramble. set aside.
2. fry chinese cabbage & cut chilli padi with oil & fish sauce till soften. add 1.5 cup chicken stock, turn to low & braise. reduce to 1/2 cup or so.
4. marinate prawns, sliced chicken breast (or pork), sliced sotong with fish sauce & white pepper.
5. add beehoon (soak in water & drain first) together with the prawns, chicken/pork, sotong & braise the beehoon.
6. turn fire to high to dry out the beehoon, then add the scrambled egg, cut spring onions & mix.
7. flatten out the beehoon & press to crisp over high fire. flip over if possible. if not, crisp enough parts of the beehoon. garnish with coriander & serve.

curry rice dishes

an old friend bought lunch today at toa payoh lor 8 today on 30.4.2016. ^^

there were several well known stalls, from carrot cakes to ocean fish head curry to white beehoon.

toa payoh lor 8 food centre

we decided to have the scissor cut curry rice, so we can sit down & chat & not have to queue at separate stalls.

curry rice dishes

scissor cut curry rice was not yet fully ready & display all their dishes.

we were the first customer at 11am on a saturday, so no queue, we just collected the dishes.

my friend paid S$15.50 for 4dishes for 3pax, about S$5pax. pretty good.

mainly it’s the curry that attracts me! pouring over the rice.

actually come to think of it, it is almost same as japanese sweet curry (also poured over the rice!)

the curry here was almost as good as that at loo’s which we had recently. well, maybe loo’s a bit better la.

curry chicken wings

curry was good. chicken wings ok just so-so. not sure why they don’t serve chicken thighs?

kong bak

kong bak was very good in texture, taste too, sauce the a bit gluey type, slightly sweet not enough “pang”.

steamed egg with pork & water

steamed egg was good. this a childhood dish still common today.

i remember having it at RI canteen at grange road.

spinach

spinach was usual. pretty ok, not much different from the $10 romaine lettuce at paradise dynasty ion orchard.

both were ok but can do with a bit more oil as the plain veg can be a bit “siap”.

overall, it was a pretty good lunch at S$5pax.

chengdol

my friend went to get the chendol, the stall that former PM mr Goh Chok Tong likes.

chengdol

this the really authentic version. very nice kidney beans, quite a lot of palm fruits (atap chee) & very flavour gula melaka & coconut milk, very nice, enjoyed it!

my 2 friends had a good chat about photogrpahy which they were quite expert & knowledgable about.

c.h.e.f andy