egg fried rice

fried rice the simplest of dishes.

& really not easy to do it well i guess.

i do a pretty good seafood fried rice.

i did that during a 9pax 12-course dinner for my friends on 15.7.2014 which everyone liked it a lot.

c/w photo of the real thing – crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao seafood fried rice, i guess it was still kind of far off.

egg fried rice

w/o the seafood, egg fried rice is even more basic, no “wow” dish, but a good staple & accompaniment for meat and also for my recent 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for my niece’s birthday.

i have the cooked long grain fragrant rice ready. usually i put slightly less water, about 1 to 1 instead of 1.2cup water to 1cup rice.

i had a non stick pan on medium fire, 2 tablespoon oil & 1 tablespoon chopped garlic. then i turned up the fire & added 1 bowl of rice pushed to one side. immediately i cracked 2 eggs on the empty side. then i pushed the egg over the rice & mixed.

i added fish sauce to taste (about 1 tablespoon) or light soy sauce if it is vegetarian, or either no or much less (again to taste) if i am adding chilli sauce (sichuan chilli or xo chilli).

the whole process is very short, so i usually do on high fire so that the rice is not overcooked & mushy & so that the aroma of the fish sauce comes out & gives the wok hae & the rice are individual grains (we say “sun sun” in teochew).

c.h.e.f andy

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

went to adam road food centre to ta pao (take out) nasi lemak round about 830am this morning on 15.9.2015.^^

no queues at both stalls, adam’s nasi lemak, and selara rasa.

every time my son back in singapore, he would buy from his favourite, the second stall ie selara rasa. and it seems that more also prefer the second stall to the first, judging by the usual queues at both stalls.

for me, i prefer the first stall, adam’s nasi lemak.

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

i had the fish set + chicken wing S$4.50. adam’s included kachang (peanuts) which selara rasa does not.

there is also the fish cake.

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

other than that, the 2 stalls almost similar, and price-wise too.

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

the rice was perfect, very fragrant & individual grain. chilli was tops too. don’t feel much difference between the 2 stalls.

for chicken wing, selara rasa’s is more crispy. i didn’t feel it was better than adam’s previously but for today, adam’s chicken wing a bit average. the ikan kuning fish was quite standard.

both were better than that at mizzy corner at changi village food centre which i had last week with friends before we went for the uniquely Singapore pulau ubin “cooling off” walk.

and the horrendous sri sujana nasi lemak also at changi village food centre.

c.h.e.f andy

lai heng S$4 bakchormee

wife & i sent son to airport on 6.9.2015.

after he had checked in, there was some time so we proceed to kopitiam at B2 at T3.

there was a long queue at lai heng fishball noodle stall & we queued for 20mins. this a bakchormee i like. the last time i sent my son off we had the bakchormee here as well.

lai heng S$4 bakchormee

this the tai hwa crawford-style with mushroom sauce & lots of vinegar. the meepok was QQ, done just right. i like the vinegar, the mushroom & chilli sauce were great & there were lots of ingredients.

soup

soup was tasty with lots of minced pork.

my wife still prefers the jalan tua kong meepok tar at 6th avenue, i like both. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

chirashi sushi don

the chirashi sushi don at kuriya dining is one of our perennial favourite, so when son is back it is one of the goto place.

son arranged for a 6pax dinner on 5.9.2015.^^

chirashi sushi don

the S$62 lunch chirashi sushi don set at kuriya dining is great value. it includes salad, chawan mushi, miso soup, dessert & coffee.

there is chirashi sushi don w/o the set for dinner ala carte, and it was S$78, so quite a bit more. still we all love the chirashi sushi don, with its large serving & quality sashimi cuts.

chirashi sushi don

we ordered 4 sets. 2 of us (include me) had 1 by ourselves & the others shared the remaining 2 sets.

jap wagyu ikura uni don

i ordered a jap wagyu ikura uni don for sharing.

jap wagyu ikura uni don

it is a very small bowl of don heaped with very tasty marbled japanese wagyu & uni & ikura. a bit ex at S$68 but good quality stuff.

kimchi katsudon

the kimchi katsudon was ex also at S$32.

flavour-wise it was no match for aburiya’s kimchi chigae at S$11.90, fraction of the cost. but here we had katsudon not sliced belly pork so it was not apple for apple for apple comparison. still for shiok factor, i will go for aburiya’s kimchi chigae anytime!

kurobuta pork

we had the kurobuta pork, something we all liked.

kurobuta pork

it was done very nicely, tender & tasty!

sashimi moriawase

i had something to celebrate so i was buying dinner for the family. we ordered a sashimi moriawase.

uni

it had heaps of uni with nori (seaweed) as a roll.

aburi toro

& about 7 pieces of aburi (torched) toro,.

sashimi moriawase

and nice salmon cut include belly, kampachi, and chopped hotate (which was not as good as usual sliced hotate). 🙂

food was great & dinner was very enjoyable. sashimi just arrived on the day & quality was super!

price a bit ex actually at S$150pax & we brought our own very good sake and paid the S$30 cockage.

c.h.e.f andy

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

flat white large

had a flat white with son at dutch colony pasarbella on 3.9.3015.

last time we came here was on 26.12.2014, also when son was back from london.

flat white large & small

i had the large S$5.50 & son had the small S$4.50.

one of the best coffee i had was a nice cuppa with wife was at chye seng huat at tyrewhitt road on 17.9.2014.

after that i was introduced to assembly coffee, and later carpenter & cook by my daughter.

another friend introduced me to aeiou.

for me, assembly coffee have the best barista & latte art, and chye seng huat & dutch colony have among the best coffee. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

beef brisket noodles

family went to have dimsum lunch at imperial treasure at taka on 23.8.2015.^^

we used to come here many times when children were younger. i was telling son i had not been here >2.5yrs, probably much longer than that. how do i know? well, i started blogging on mar2013, & i have not blogged about imperial treasure nanbei yet. 🙂

beef brisket noodles

daughter ordered a beef brisket noodles. this was very good as it used similar belly cut with the collagen layer. very much better than the noodles restaurant or the brisket king.

beef brisket noodles

texture was excellent! the braise was a bit more beefy, c/w what a friend made for my homecooked dinner recently. i would prefer my friend’s briskets actually, but not a lot of difference that.

chargrilled pork collar 炭烧猪项肉

the chargrilled pork collar 炭烧猪项肉 was really good. we like it every time.

chargrilled pork collar 炭烧猪项肉

i recently started to make char siew again, and i made a very good char siew both times. was trying to feel the taste, maybe can make some adjustment in my marinade. 🙂

har gao 虾饺

har gao 虾饺 was good.

har gao 虾饺

but i didn’t think it was better than crystal jade or canton paradise. think crystal jade’s still better.

prawn fun cheong

prawn fun cheong good too.

prawn fun cheong

smooth & good tasting light sauce.

radish pastry

son loved the radish pastry.

radish pastry

still good as before.

spicy dumplings 抄手

spicy dumplings 抄手 was good.

spicy dumplings 抄手

but still think crystal jade’s better.

steamed chicken feet

steamed chicken feet very good.

steamed chicken feet

as good as any here or in hong kong.

steamed pork ribs

same for the pork ribs.

steamed pork ribs

among the very best.

xiaolongbao 小笼包

& the xiaolongbao 小笼包 – that’s the best of all! maybe better than crystal jade’s.

xiaolongbao 小笼包

very sweet broth inside. skin was thin, smooth & don’t break.

daughter was telling us how it was made. the broth is small frozen block, then wrap inside then steam. smart girl!

fried yellow croaker 煎小黄鱼

we used to always order the fried yellow croaker 煎小黄鱼. it was S$7 then, now S$10.

fried yellow croaker 煎小黄鱼

we all enjoyed it.

crabmeat dried scallop egg white fried rice

fried rice still good.

crabmeat dried scallop egg white fried rice

and they still have the haebeehiam chilli. really good. now though i prefer the spicy seafood fried rice at crystal jade lamian xionglongbao a bit more.

salted egg custard bun

salted egg custard bun was excellent! very good salted egg flavours.

salted egg custard bun

the best i think, much better than timhowan, crystal jade, canton paradise etc.

c.h.e.f andy

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙

went to sheng shiong @ commonwealth mrt to get some items for tomorrow’s dinner.

walked by tanglin halt food centre & saw the queue at  weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 was just about 7pax. still it took about 15mins.

my last post on  weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙 was on 24.3.2015.

S$5 weiyi laksa 唯一辣沙

after trying a few places like teck hin @ food loft clementi which is sometimes inconsistent (i had a very bad one once recently), decided that this is still the best.

the sungei road laksa is good of course but it is somewhat different, not as substantial & savoury.

there are many combinations, i chose no.6 (chicken, cockles, fried beancurd) & S$5 option. cockles were big & plump and quite many, chicken meat was sweet, very nice & the bean curd & laksa gravy was excellent.

yum yum! (as a korean pal said on facebook 배고파요^^=i am hungry) ^^

c.h.e.f andy

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

Weiyi Laksa 唯一辣沙 @ Tanglin Halt Food Centre

poached & pan-fried octopus

wife & i joined a group of friends for a west cape howe wine dinner at zafferano on 19.8.2015.^^

we had 7pax this time. the last time i joined a wine dinner she organised at halia @ raffles hotel was in dec 2013. we had a larger group then.

i had not been to zafferano before. it’s located on level 43 at ocean financial centre & the terrace outside the restaurant had a good view over marina bay.

zafferano west cape howe wine dinner menu

i saw the food menu & thought it was quite ok for the price of S$88++, even minus the wine, as i do not take much wine at all.

canapes – tuna, salmon & cheese tomatoes

we started with a chardonay & some canapes.

the tuna was best!

\\

dinner started with some focaccia.

#1 hokkaido scallop carpaccio

#1 first course was hokkaido scallop carpaccio.

#1 hokkaido scallop carpaccio

scallop was fresh, sweet, very good slightly gummy bite texture & nice artsy presentation. 🙂

#2 poached & pan-fried octopus

#2 for me, the poached & pan-fried octopus was the best dish for the evening. octopus was very tender almost like a sous vide or low temperature braise preparation but just only poached according to the chef. for me it was very as good indeed –

as good as that at monterosso miky in italy, &

almost as good as that at alle darsene at lake como, the best i had.

again presentation was elegant…was it more of the same?

after the dinner though, one friend said his octopus was tough. odd! not sure why?

#3 veal ravioli

#3 3rd course was veal ravioli, veal reduction.

#3 veal ravioli

it was a good pasta, great ravioli texture, maybe a bit beefy, not really my favourite. 🙂

#3 cheese ravioli

the restaurant replaced it with a cheese pasta for a friend who doesn’t take beef. she said it was very good, and perhaps that would actually be a better choice than the veal ravioli. 🙂

#4 black angus tenderloin tagliata

#4 next black angus tenderloin tagliata, served with pan-fried foie gras.

the dish sounded good. unfortunately for me & my friends, it was donwright poor!

foie gras

the foie gras was not creamy enough & did not come with some citrus matching palate.

#4 black angus tenderloin tagliata

& i don’t understand the beef.

it is hard to damage a good beef, and this was black angus tenderloin.

#4 black angus tenderloin tagliata

beef was hard, not tasty, not flavourful.

#4 black angus tenderloin tagliata

tenderloin not much marbling but should at least be tender & sweet.

my own tagliata di manzo

sorry to say, but i think my own tagliata di manzo is many times better than this, taste & texture wise, cannot match the presentation of course.

did not have photo of the cod which the restaurant replaced for a friend who does not take beef. she said it was very good.

chef marco of zafferano

the chef came to talk to us.

55% dark chocolate & hazelnut mousse

dessert was ok, but not my favourite.

55% dark chocolate & hazelnut mousse

overall, my wife & i had derived much lower satisfaction than we expected from reading the menu.

S$88++ was ok with the canapes & wine. for the food, octopus & scallop were my best dishes, veal ravioli neutral, tagliata poor & dessert indifferent.

i don’t know how much the wine dinner we had recently at da luca cost, but the food was superior to this, and i thought the wine this evening was also mediocre.

c.h.e.f andy

mikuni chirashi don

son was back for summer vacation. we were all thinking of having a good chirashi don.

for me the 2 best chirashi don in singapore are at mikuni & also at kuriya dining. so we went to mikuni for 4pax family lunch on 16.8.2015. ^^

prawn crackers

we were served the usual prawn crackers.

sake

wife ordered a sake.

salmon, eel & deepfried eel bone

usually we order ala carte but this time there was a very good special unagi course lunch menu at just S$120pax. son went ahead & ordered his chirashi don & added a kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe.

3 of us ordered the set.

with 50% amex FAR (feed at raffles) discounts, the set was S$60pax. if you compare the dishes, this was far superior to the S$68pax GOTO omakase lunch.

salmon, eel & deepfried eel bone

the sakizuke(先附) – a selection of small appetizers, was exquisite! ^^

there were 3 salmon wrapped in radish – sweet salmon combined with a cool, juicy radish texture. 🙂 there 2 pieces of eel was superb, very flavourful, and i finished the deep fried eel bone. 🙂

special eel set dinner

the other items were served like a bento & not individually.

sashimi moriawase – otoro, uni, ika, hamachi, hirame

the sashimi moriawase was top quality.

sashimi moriawase – otoro, uni, ika, hamachi, hirame

very good uni & otoro. ^^

sashimi moriawase – otoro, uni, ika, hamachi, hirame

sashimi was one item that attracted us to take the set. we all liked the unagi kabayaki in the set but sashimi was one of the main attraction. 🙂

eel sunomono

the sunomono (vinegared dish) was great too! very nice vinegared eel, ginger flower, tomato etc. 🙂

unagi kabayaki don

the unagi kabayaki was a large serving.

if there is one complaint about mikuni, we thought the rice was somehow not as good as (say) kuriya dining!

pickles

there were the usual pickles that came with a gohan (rice) set. these though were one of the best quality pickles we had. not salty at all & excellent in sweetness & juicy texture. 🙂

mikuni chirashi don

my son went for the chirashi don. i would have done the same but this time we were attracted by the set.

mikuni chirashi don

it’s easy to see why, all the top quality sashimi cuts, which i described in some details here.

kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe

son added the kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe, which is also one of my favourite dishes here.

kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe

such excellent beef.

there was a good dessert too, but i forgot to take photo & we were chatting away & i cannot recall what items were in it.

c.h.e.f andy

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

went to people’s park complex to make some remittance.

i decided to drop by chai chuan tou at bukit merah view for some chinese mutton soup on the way back on 15.8.2015. ^^

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

it was 11am, & the queue was like 10pax. but service was quite fast.

chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤

i enjoy mutton soup here at chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤 everytime. this time was no exception. 🙂

recently i had chinese mutton soup at chinatown beef noodles stall @ food republic at vivocity. i thought then that the soup was not as good as chai chuan tou.

but having tried chai chuan tou again today, i thought both were equally good. chai chuan tou’s is more intense, but the one at chinatown beef noodles stall @ food republic at vivocity was smoother with nice herbal balance, and the meat was thicker & meatier though higher price. so that’s a stall i would want to take mutton soup at again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

S$5 fishball noodles

went with friends to watch fantastic 4 at lido at 12.30pm on 12.8.2015. ^^

show was a bit lacking storyline, basically just an intro of how f4 got their powers, this time via teleporting to another dimension instead of exposure to cosmic rays, whatever…

after the show went down to food republic in the basement for a bite. the last time i had the beef noodles at brisket king 牛腩大王 here. this time i decided to try the fishball noodles stall, toa payoh lor 7 teochew fishball noodles.

S$5 fishball noodles

i took the S$5 meepok tar. it came with 5 fishballs. fishballs were bouncy, sweet, easy to the bite.

fishballs were as good as xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles (formerly from margaret drive) at mei chin road food centre.

S$5 fishball noodles

the noodles though were a let down. they were not QQ!

S$5 fishball noodles

there were a bit more sauce & colour c/w the one at xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles.

the look & colour was more like the one at food opera at ion orchard, which i also thought was poor.

and of course it was S$5, c/w with S$3 at xin lu.

anyway it a very average stall and not one i will pick.

c.h.e.f andy

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

organised a belated birthday for a close friend at oso on 11.8.2015. ^^

oso SG50 5-course menu

we took the SG50 5-course dinner menu. we had 7pax.

bread tray

we were served some rye bread & focaccia with olive oil & balsamic. quite ok.

cured salmon with caviar

first was a cured salmon with caviar & some shaved fennel. 🙂

cured salmon with caviar

it was nice. not exceptional but a great starter. 🙂

cream of cauliflower

we had cream of cauliflower soup.

soup was smooth, quite tasty, a bit thick. pretty ok but no better than my own cream of cauliflower.

amatriciana – bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

pasta was also average.

amatriciana – bacon, red wine, tomato pasta

good pasta certainly, but quite ordinary, no stand out.

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

we had 4 orders of veal cheeks & 3 orders of fish. dory not my choice fish.

dory fillet in lobster-orange sauce

i tried some from my friend. it was pretty ok. i guess good for a dory fillet.

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

the braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto was excellent though.

braised veal cheek with beetroot – stracotto

tender, totally consistent & not very beefy, quite gentle & quite excellent bite, not the sinewy stewed meat type. i would say one of the best braised meat.

crotata – choc lava tart

& the crotata – choc lava tart was marvellous.

croatata – choc lava tart

it’s like any good choc lava cake, with the tart giving it very good combination of texture.

tiramisu – buon compleanno

the restaurant was told that it was a birthday celebration, so they provided a tiramisu cake for the birthday, a good gesture practiced by most good restaurants.

however, when i called to reconfirm the reservation on the day, the person who answered told me he reserved a nice quiet corner for us. but in fact we had 7pax seated on a table 6 with 1 chair at the end & next to the kitchen with a lot of traffic. that would have been quite fine if the restaurant was full but it was just 50% occupied, so i think that was not quite the level of service for a good restaurant.

anyway we had a great evening. food was good, especially the braised veal cheeks & the choc lava tart. the cured salmon was pretty good as well.

dinner was S$50pax for 5-course. we were all quite happy with the meal & ambience.

c.h.e.f andy