just another homecooked makan 

it’s father’s day on 19.6.2016.

wife & youngest daughter away. eldest daughter bought me a really nice T. she asked if i wanted to go dinner. it’s our practice not to go on the actual day, almost guaranteed poor food poor service pay a lot la!

i told her might as well go when the others are back. so daughter had her own program.

sis & bil were away in chiang mai, chiang rai for 4 days break. got message that they were back last evening. anyway all 3 of us got nothing on, so might as well they come my place for dinner.

i bought song fish head松鱼头 & mullet乌鱼  from sheng shiong day before, so just grabbed what i had in the fridge la.

just another homecooked makan 

we had 4 dishes, 2 fishes + the 2 veg.

hk steamed song fish head港蒸松鱼头 

i did the standard hk steamed song fish head港蒸松鱼头 – ginger, chilli padi, spring onions; & light soy sauce, olive oil mirin. then 13 mins in steam oven, voila!

very nice, we just love this fish head. of course the spicy black bean sauce is better. i will have to experiment that in due course, currently only sure of hk steam港蒸 la…

teochew chilled mullet冻乌鱼 

teochew chilled mullet冻乌鱼 like easy to prepare. no effort really. steamed 11mins, cooled down, put in fridge for 1 hr.

mullet was wonderful especially with tau jeon…

stir-fried kang kong

stir-fried romaine lettuce 

stir-fried veg the usual also.

very fresh tasty veg, got wok hae, may not be good like a good zi char but competent enough la.

a good fun if quiet way to pass father’s day also… 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

1/4 roast duck S$16

my OPS buddy bought 3pax dinner at 劉強烤鴨店-House of Roasted Duck at Bugis+ on 16.6.2016.

plain porridge & 1/4 roast duck

roast duck is their specialty.

as we ordered a few dishes, decided to go light on carbs. in any case my this friend didn’t take any at all, even lower carbs than me, lol! 🙂

had just 1 plain porridge to share between 2. it was really good, very smooth, consistent, tasty, absolutely hong kong standard. just the right 火候&功夫!

kong kong chef lau wai keung was previously with excelcior hong kong, no wonder right?

1/4 roast duck S$16

roast duck was good. my friend ordered the drumstick quarter S$16 on the menu.

it seemed very large serving, maybe special for my friend who is a regular customer.

skin was very crispy, flavour was ok but not the very “pang” ones i had at－

• JB ya wang 鸭皇,
• tunglok signatures,
• xin cuisine or
• canton paradise.

the meat looked very slightly old老 in the photo & was not as smooth, tender, moist as the other places. price for 1/2duck was S$28, more ex than canton paradise, cheaper than xin cuisine & tunglok signatures.

so for me, the duck was ok but did not quite impress.

deep-fried big intestines S$10

the deep-fried intestines were very good, totally hong kong standard, very crispy 脆 & tasty.

deep-fried big intestines S$10

i think may not get this standard also in many places in hong kong, street or restaurants.

it is NOT my favourite food though. i much prefer the braised big intestines at the kuay chap stalls.

the best siew yoke 烧肉

the siew yoke 烧肉  was the best. skin was very crispy 脆 & fine, very thin, not chewy at all.

the best siew yoke 烧肉

texture & flavours of the meat & fatty parts were superb. one of the best i had. may not really be better than (say) imperial treasure, but this would up to any la…

this my best dish for the evening.

some 韭菜饺

the 韭菜饺 was so-so, a part of the skin broke also…

siew mai 烧卖

siew mai 烧卖 was pedestrian also…

i think red house (prinsep) dimsum a lot better than here. currently with 40% discounts, cheaper too.

杨枝甘露

the 杨枝甘露 was very good. 杨枝甘露  is very common in restaurants & most very average. this one was really good, just the right tangy sweetness, lots of pomelo & nice mango taste & smooth consistent texture.

dinner was S$64 for 3pax. pretty good.

i like especially the roast pork & porridge, will come back here with my sis for the “hong kong” experience. maybe also with the friends on our jan2016 hong kong trip also. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

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passion fruit meringue tart & earl grey lavendar loaf

today a good friend’s birthday on 15.6.2016. ^^

we were wishing happy birthdays on whatsapp. then another friend offered his chauffeur driven service on his new car. & they decided to drop by my place. not exactly sure how that worked out. 🙂

mao shan wang 猫山王 & tawa from ah seng

anyway i happened to be at ah seng to check on the reservations for a 20jun durian party. it was kind of complicated. ghim moh market closed for cleaning on 20, 21jun so a friend reserved the durians on 19jun. some of us wanted to hedge a bit rather than getting all the durians one day earlier & kept in the fridge so decided to 1/2 the orders. evidently too complicated for ah seng also so just as well i went to check & got the numbers right.

anyway ah seng has 2 deliveries at 1.30pm & 5.30pm. i was there at 1.45pm & all mao shan wang 猫山王were sold out only left 1 already vaccum packed. i figured it was the ok leftovers saved from not so good durians??

anyway ah seng himself got me to buy 2 tawas (S$19 for 2 fruits) & WTH i just buy the last packet S$25 also. 🙂

so these 2 friends came to my house & we had some durians. fortunately both the mao shan wang 猫山王 & tawa (bitter & very tasty not as creamy as MSW) were very good. these 2 too kek ki insisted on leaving for my family so we didn’t eat much though.

passion fruit meringue tart

we went nearby for coffee. decided on carpenters & cook as assembly coffee closed & one friend had tried dutch colony before.

i ordered the tea for 2 S$19.50 which included 2 cakes.

the server recommended the passion fruit meringue tart.

earl grey lavendar loaf

& the earl grey lavendar loaf. & we had 2 flat white. she said it was S$3 cheaper to get the combo, & it was!

& added a cappuccino.

the last time i came was a year ago on 10.4.2015. i thought the coffee was ok.

but today my flat white was very poor. very dilute not much aroma & not smooth, silky, velvety like a good flat white should be in the other coffee places. i am never taking coffee here again!

later 3 more friends came to join coffee.

the friends were divided on the cakes. some prefer the tart & some the earl grey loaf. the earl grey flavour was good. i too generally prefer a tart to a pound cake. the passion fruit meringue tart was a bit too sweet.

lemon meringue cake & chocolate tart

i bought some cakes back for my daughters. the chocolate tart was very good. the lemon meringue was again too sweet. of the 4 i think the chocolate tart was the best.

for me coffee was priority so not good coffee then not coming again la.

c.h.e.f andy

alaskan crab tanhoon

brother & sis celebrated their birthday at ah yat seafood restaurant at the grandstand on 13.6.2016.

i did their birthday dinners for last many years. this year my brother organised 2 tables & invited us.

he often host dinners here so they offered him a good menu at S$400 per table.

longevity buns 寿桃

we had the complimentary  longevity buns 寿桃.

roast duck

roast duck was flavourful, tender.

roast duck

quit good standard like canton paradise. tunglok etc.

la la

la la was ok.

la la

didn’t stand out.

steamed soon hock

the steamed soon hock was good.

steamed soon hock

very fresh, tender and disappear fast too.

scallops with asparagus

they gave lots of scallops.

this dish was quite good. frying was good, nice wok hae.

hot plate deer meat

deer meat was poor!

hot plate deer meat

i think at zi char deer meat mostly poor, kind of artificially tender with bicarbonate.

this one even poorer with quite strong gamey smell.

hk kailans

hk kailans was good, very competent.

alaskan crab tanhoon

the alaskan tanhoon dish was very good. very flavourful, pepper, coriander etc.

alaskan crab tanhoon

the alaskan crab meat was super, very sweet, & easy to remove shell too.

i am going to try out a prawn tanhoon dish for the first time tomorrow. read some recipes yesterday. 🙂

pepper crab

pepper crab was also top standard, very flavourful peppery taste.

pepper crab

don”t eat pepper crab much but this was a very good specimen.

not been to ah yat for quite long…had a great, very enjoyable dinner & chat with family!

c.h.e.f andy

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loo’s curry rice 

my busy jet-setting RI friend postponed his indonesian trip so free to buy lunch at loo’s curry today on 13.6.2016. ^^

i was here most recently on 27.5.2016. 🙂

loo’s curry eng hoon street 

loo’s curry at the other corner.

we were there at 11.30am to avoid crowd & parking. the tables were still close to being fully occupied.

hainanese pork chop

friend ordered the usual hainanese pork chop.

curry sotong 

& curry sotong. both nice!

onion eggs 

also onion eggs.

long beans with tofu 

tofu & long beans.

cabbage 

& cabbage.

we liked the hainanese pork chop & curry sotong especially. & the 3 veg items were all competent, quite ok.

lunch was S$21 for 3pax 5 items, quite ok. not so long queue maybe 10mins at this hour. nice makan & chat.

c.h.e.f andy

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Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice

7pax dinner dishes

daughter finished an exhausting term & asked me to do a dinner for her friends after their exams on 10.6.2016. ^^

i did 5 dishes & my helper did the excellent quinoa pumpkin tofu salad, a popular dish among my friends that my wife first made after having it at marmalade.

7pax dinner dishes

we were going to let them have dinner themselves.

daughter asked us to join dinner so we had 7pax dinner. 🙂

wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu salad  

salad was as wonderful as it looked, very refreshing. 🙂

cherry tomatoes & mesclun

i bought some perino cherry tomatoes so my helper made another salad with mesclun. 🙂

spanish omelette 

i did the usual spanish omelette, not my best, but it was quite ok la…

prawn spaghetti in pink sauce

i did the 2 pastas an hour earlier as we were planning to go out & let my daughter & friends have dinner by themselves.

spaghetti was al dente & very tasty when i prepared it. i put it in aluminium foil to keep warm but it got a bit soggy. taste was ok but texture was out so overall experience not great.

squidink pasta 

squidink was much better, still al dente & tasted great. there was a bit leftover & wife told me it was still good the next day.

pan-grilled chicken thighs

the pan-grilled chicken thighs were excellent. very tasty. i had the usual thai yellow curry dip.

additionally, i experimented on a patatas bravas sauce as a dip for the chicken, a spicy tomato based sauce. every one loved it.

it’s an excellent sauce, i will record the recipe later. daughter’s friends used the leftover sauce to add to the tomato pasta.

pan-charred grain fed black angus ribeye 

i had my usual reverse searing pan charred ribeye steak, and i did a mock kurobuta using pork collar too.

this evening though these 2 meats were ok but not the usual excellent steak i made.

c.h.e.f andy

OPS friend’s homegourmet makan

my OPS primary school mate invited 6 of us for dinner on 6.6.2016. ^^

including his family of 4, we had 10pax.

OPS friend’s homegourmet makan

i was 15mins late, last to arrive. it was raining cats & dogs & my GPS actually led me astray (strange!) & i passed the KJE exit, hesitated as google map showed the next exit. stopped by on the road shoulder to check the map. it was clearly wrong & i U-turned at mandai exit to get back.

after that was ok except that i passed micasa condo instead of turning into CCK ave3, so had to again U-turn back.

should have checked the map clearly instead of just relying on google directions w/o a mental register of the location.

friend’s fish head curry lagi shiok!

my friend made a good curry chicken. i had it twice most recently at another bigger OPS primary schoolmates makan & chill session on 21.5.2016 at another friend’s place.

just sidetrack a bit – i said in that blog post “little did we know what our friends were capable of. the food were absolutely better than eat out or catered – no question la!^^”

this first time i tried his other dishes.

the fish head curry was excellent! quite unique, some special nonya flavours, must get recipe from him la..

another friend kapo my fish eyes when i was not looking! now got competition liao…just kidding haha! 🙂

friend son’s cereal prawns

friend’s 24yr old son made cereal prawns.

it was good standard! taste was good (which is key), prawns fresh & shell crispy enough. i ate with the shell.

really not bad for a young man. i tried cooking this dish only once 2 years back, not as good as this. yet to try it since.

braised chicken

braised chicken was a good comfort food. one friend said she didn’t take thighs.

bakuteh

bakuteh was another good comfort food, and it’s also easy to make. the prime ribs were fork tender (we had a private T-rex joke 🙂 …).

i actually prefer pork ribs & pork in general to have a bit more bite myself, but most people would love it fork tender. i took a second piece. this was softer than the first so i liked the first more.

french beans to hae bee nonya style

i think this dish was french beans. & i heard something about minced haebee (dried prawns)…probably chatting other things, forgot to ask. will find out later.

french beans to hae bee nonya style

most importantly it was very tasty, also some nonya taste.

maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg

a friend brought durians for tiong bahru, like 2 maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg, 2 red prawns 红虾 – S$13/kg, and 2 D13 – S$12/kg. must have cost him S$140, so costly to eat durians in singapore nowadays.

but….everyone is buying more not less durians. maybe 1 of us should start a durian stall la, like ah seng at ghim moh…

maoshanwang 猫山王 – S$15/kg

one friend must have been waiting for durians the whole dinner, proclaiming it the highlight of the evening.

what was she thinking? not politically correct la…dinner was the highlight of the evening…haha! i sense she going to hammer me liao….

just kidding la… we lucky folks had 2 highlights in one evening. lol!!!

moral of the story = we must have more durian parties!

red prawn 红虾 – S$13/kg

for me MSW was the best.

the red prawns & D13 were very good though, and all agreed the MSW was actually not as good as some better ones we had tried. still for me, not the best MSW still better than the best red prawn & D13, so creamy & tasty.

D13 – S$12/kg

the D13 was also very good. my friend’s daughter preferred it the most, though she said the red prawns also very good after she had taken the MSW.

another friend’s konnyaku jelly

another friend brought the konnyaku jelly. she brought last time also at the bigger makan & chill on 21.5.2016.

another friend’s bachang

she also brought bachang.

one friend, mama mia, took 2 bachang before dinner (although it could be other friends teasing him & he only took 1 before dinner…don’t know who to trust these days & when it is banter & when serious…hahaha!)

he said it was better than his mother’s. don’t know what he would have said to girls when he was younger. lol!!! i learned the words “just kidding” from this friend…

another friend’s bachang

i took one. i was already really full, but it was ok.

a fun evening with good friends. all these began only end of 2015 when a primary schoolmate visited from USA. we have been spending lots of time together ever since, thanks to group whatsapp, daily chat & greetings.

i really enjoyed it!

c.h.e.f andy

S$4 bowl fish soup + S$8 for tau gua tau pok kong bak

after bathesda bedok bread of life (BOL) community lunch, 4 of us went over to bedok north food centre for lunch on 4.6.2016. ^^

last we had here the-

• teochew porridge &
• yong tau fu.

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

the fish soup here is good.

hougang lee chen cooked food fish soup

one friend (who bought us lunch) went to queue, the rest settled at one clean table at the centre portion which was windy.

S$4 bowl fish soup

the fish soup was quite cheap, S$4 for a large bowl with plenty of fish. fish was fresh & sweet too.

S$4 bowl fish soup

the soup was bland though.

i don’t fancy this dish much & this particular stall was so so to me, apart from the fact that it was just S$4.

for a really good fish soup, try yu mei mei shi 屿美美食at havelock food centre, expensive but real good la! 🙂

kong bak + lor nerng

the kongbak, lor neng…

tau kua & tau pok

& also the tau kua & tau pok were all quite good.

S$4 bowl fish soup

the chai buay ok too.

all 3 side dishes cost just S$8.

so lunch was S$6 per head, S$4 for the fish soup & S$2 for the side dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

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Hougang Lee Chen利珍 Cooked Food 

Address

#01-54, Blk 216 Bedok North St 1 Market and Food Centre,

Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1, 460216