Klang Herbal Bakuteh 巴生肉骨茶 on 8Mar2016

Posted on March 9, 2016 by chefquak

herbal bakuteh

had a really wonderful JB trip with my RI friends yesterday, and especially enjoyed the bakuteh at shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶 in Sentosa JB & roast duck from ya wang 鸭皇 opposite.

it was different from our singapore version peppery bakuteh, and just very mildly herbal & very tasty.

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

i was looking for something simple to cook today on 8.3.2016.

found this kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup base packet. i think my sis bought for me the last time.

it’s different from the usual cheap & good ILC packet i use.

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

巴生肉骨茶, the klang herbal bakuteh is a different style, but i remembered previously, long time ago, i tried at race course road it was quite herbal which i didn’t really like.

herbal bakuteh

for this kee hiang klang packet, it was very mild in herbal taste, with avery mild sweetness on top of the meat sweetness. it was close to the shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶, which i guess was a lot better so not making a comparison here.

herbal bakuteh

making it was easy-

just cut the ribs (for this time i used 500g frozen ribs from sheng shiong)
scald with boiling water to remove scum.
add packet with 1 bulb of peeled garlic cloves to 1litre+water & boil
add cleaned pork ribs & boil for 45mins (i like it with bite, if you like it really soft & falling off the bones, boil for 1 hr)
i remove the ribs & boiled 4 pieces of taupok (cut to 16strips) for 10-15mins so thye are soft enough to soak in the soup.

unlike ILC which is salty enough without adding salt, this one needs salt to bring out the flavour. just add to taste.

you can garnish with coriander or tang orh & add any toppings like liver, kidney, tau kee, small intestines, fish maw etc like in JB. for me i just added taupok.

very tasty soup & nice ribs. for me i still prefer ILC to this kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup base, but if c/w the real thing at shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶, then shoon huat is clearly better la.

c.h.e.f andy

RI G20 Mar2016 Dinner – Good But Expensive Food @ First Culinary on 24Feb2016

Posted on March 6, 2016 by chefquak

cold dishes

it’s been a few months since our last G20 dinner at moi lum on 26.11.2015.

we did have another RI get-together attended by 28pax on 3.12.2015.

anyway this time the organiser arranged dinner at first culinary at ITE college central 2 Ang Mo Kio Drive on 24.2.2016. 11pax attended.

S$468 menu

we had the S$468 menu.

food taste was good actually. but it was quite expensive for the type of dishes & ingredients. we paid S$55 each.

deepfried mantous

some didn’t like the longevity buns so we had the deepfried mantous instead. they were nice though they didn’t fit into the dishes & perhaps the original longevity buns would do.

cold dishes

the cold dishes was quite good standard. all were quite tasty. roast pork nicely done & standard of any good restaurants like tunglok, imperial treasure etc.

fish skin, baby octopus, ribs & the egg were all good. 🙂

fish maw soup

our group now more environment conscious, so sharksfin changed to fish maw soup. bravo! 🙂

fish maw soup

the fish maw was also very good standard, tasty, with good amount of crab & fish maw, not the gluey starchy type.

fish maw soup

& the stock, soup base was good, so a sweet, tasty soup, beng thin standard la... 🙂

wasabi & peanut sauce prawns

there was a wasabi & peanut sauce prawns.

wasabi & peanut sauce prawns

both were very well down. same preparation deep-fried very nicely & added sauce. first time i had peanut sauce. it was good too.

steamed soon hock

we had a large soon hock, probably 1 kg size.

steamed soon hock

it was HK steamed 港蒸, very nicely done too, fresh, quite the perfect timing, very good.

abalone spinach duck web

the abalone dish was good standard but nothing special.

abalone spinach duck web

abalone is abalone, the duck web & brown braising sauce ok but nothing special, bot specially tasty..i had better la…

scallop broccoli basket

scallops & broccoli were all good. the basket was not yam basket but some potatoes, so so to me, no one took much.

yee meen noodles

yee meen noodles were pretty tasty.

sea coconut dessert

sea coconut was the usual.

it was another wonderful evening of old friends coming together, great chat & sharing, strengthening of friendship & bonds.

overall the food was ok or good but pedestrian. nothing special except for the price, which was rather expensive at S$55nett each for the type of dishes. price was not outrageous but not great value also.

still between good value but mediocre food & this, i would rather have good standard food preparation & taste, and not so great value.

i heard hong kong people talking in the streets (actually in the MTR station), “sin you ho sek, yin hao dai sek” 先要好吃，然后抵吃…so first good taste, then good value la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

First Culinary Restaurant (ITE AMK)

Address:

#01-09, ITE College Central, Ang Mo Kio, Block A, 2 Ang Mo Kio Drive, 567720

OPENING HOURS:

Mon – Sun: 10:30 – 15:00

Mon – Sun: 17:30 – 22:00

PHONE:

+65 64815500

Great Fish Head Curry @ Curry Wok on 4Mar2016

Posted on March 6, 2016 by chefquak

S$62 4 dishes set meal for 3-4pax(2) = curry fish head, pig trotters, ngoh hiang & chap chai

S$62 4 dishes set meal for 3-4pax = curry fish head, pig trotters, ngoh hiang & chap chai

went with sis & bil to watch a movie monster hunt 捉妖记 on 4.3.2016. a friend joined the movie. i quite enjoyed it actually – effortless, relaxing. haha!

curry wok @ coronation road

before the movie 3 of us went to have dinner at curry wok. friend was busy having dinner with his family.

curry wok @ coronation road

i have not been here for very long as son is away no one to eat the pig trotters with me la.. 🙂

S$62 4 dishes set meal for 3-4pax(2) = curry fish head, pig trotters, ngoh hiang & chap chai

we ordered the S$62 set meal, with 4 dishes for 3-4pax. we computed the ala carte price would have been S$67 so just S$5 discount. well still a discount if you wanted the dishes, so ok la.

curry fish head

it came with curry fish head (angkoli), pig trotters, ngoh hiang & chap chai.

curry fish head

the fish head was yum yum, very good, drank up all the curry.

fish was fresh & sweet, quite enough meat for 3 of us.

i like this curry much better than that at sanpo food court, blk 431 clementi ave 3 (like for like). somehow that curry taste a bit off for me, not the one i had in mind whereas this one fits perfectly.

& i like this better than the assam fish head at dulukala peranakan restaurant at beauty world centre. that was a different style & assam not bad too but i prefer this chinese style fish head curry.

braised pig trotters

the braised pig trotters was something i missed, not taken for a long time.

braised pig trotters

it was still good, especially the gelatinous skin, but actually quite below my expectations.

braised pig trotters

the starchy sauce was so so for me, & the quite sinewy meat was below par for me thought the skin & gelatinous parts were good.

i think my own braised trotters much better than this in terms of both flavour & the texture of the meat, tender, with bite & not sinewy.

ngoh hiang

the ngoh hiang here was really good. crispy skin, & tasty fillings with some crunch. tops!

chap chai

chap chai was good too. better than dulukala’s version of chap chai.

dinner for 3pax was S$70. i supposed ok but no particular good value.

i may still come back here for the curry fish head la, but no more the pig trotters.

c.h.e.f andy

Coffee & Waffles & Cake in a Jar @ Grin Affair Bishan on 3Mar2016

Posted on March 6, 2016 by chefquak

grin affair

after a nice late lunch at kim san leng food centre, another friend joined us & 4 of us walked over to grin affair for a cuppa on 3.3.2016. ^^

the place was recommended by a friend’s daughter. these days, it’s the young folks that recommend hip places to us. 🙂

coffee @ grin affair

i had my usual flat white. did not take a photo.

coffee was good, though nothing so different. i would say carpenters & cook, assembly coffee, dutch colony, CSH etc has better ambience & overall experience, and some have better pastry.

this place is ok.

grin affair discount voucher

there was a 1 for 1 promotion for the waffles at S$5.90.

it was pretty good. came with ice cream (we picked durian, strawberry, earl grey etc), and very nice cookie & cream soil at the bottom. at S$3 it was quite good & the small portion of waffle was just nice for us each.

there was some other voucher on the table so i took a snap.

cake in a jar

bought some cake in a jar for my daughter also – a laichee passion fruit & a greentea.

she was good with it. i tried 1 teaspoon myself…laichee was good, green tea so so for me la…

c.h.e.f andy

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

Grin Affair

Address-

#01-408, 505D Bishan Street 11, 574505

Desserts, Western

Good Lunch but Quite Ex @ Kim San Leng Bishan on 3Mar2016

Posted on March 4, 2016 by chefquak

late lunch @ kim san leng

went with 2 close friends to watch stephen chow’s mermaid at GV Bishan yesterday on 3.3.2016.

maybe it was a lightweight movie. a friend & i talked over whatsapp whether to watch spotlight (best picture oscar) or revenant ( leonardo dicarpio best actor oscar) at shaw lido & decided that we would have a light-hearted relax show this time. 🙂

i quite enjoyed the show. for me it was not slapstick, quite respectable in fact, & nothing so irreverent as kungfu hustle. i not much into stephen chow’s show like 1 of my friends, but kungfu hustle i like actually. 🙂

after the show we walked over to kim san leng food centre.

kim san leng food centre @ bishan

it’s a coffeeshop, and a huge success story. the guy pulled in the good hawker stalls, so it’s crowded, good traffic even though its along the food & away from junction 8. 🙂

kim san leng food centre @ bishan

i like this place & the food, though they are not cheap.

S$7.50 ngoh hiang

the ngoh hiang was pretty good. 🙂

4 items for S$7.50.

ngoh hiang

well, sicc’s bukit cafe S$9.50 ngoh hiang (6 items) pretty good too, maybe the sauce better than bukit cafe.

c/w the S$22 indian rojak at ayer rajah food centre (which was excellent), price also ok. i like the indian rojak a lot better though. 🙂

yu kee’s S$10 braised duck & S$3 kueh chap

yu kee lor arh

yu kee’s braised duck was good too. i don’t eat this often these days but this was good – flavourful, smooth, not tough.

braised duck

S$10 for quarter duck with drumstick i guess not that ex too.

kueh chap

the S$3 kueh chap very tiny plate, but also quite tasty. what can you buy with S$3 these days?

bugis street ming kee S$11 chicken rice & S$6 veg

bugis street ming kee chicken rice

my friend queued up to buy a S$11 plate chicken from the bugis street ming kee chicken rice. he could not recall the price of the beg, which i guess was S$6. we had 2 rice to share among 3.

bugis street ming kee S$11 chicken rice

chicken was good, but nothing special for me really. no much different from xin ji 新记chicken rice at mei ling food centre.

overall the lunch would come to about S$38 for 3, that should be consider ex. maybe we just ate too much…lol! ^^

i like the duck best, chicken & ngoh hiang a toss up. but chicken have to queue so i guess ngoh for my choice. haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Nonya Curry Chicken – 7th Teban Gardens Community Breakfast on 4Mar2016

Posted on March 4, 2016 by chefquak

nonya curry chicken

this morning i made nonya curry chicken. ^^

this my 7th friday breakfast community meal at teban gardens community service centre (CSC).

i first started doing a community meal dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

the centre was started in 2002 after much effort & challenge by our RI friend who is a pastor of pasir panjang hill brethren church (pphbc) which owns & runs the CSC.

nonya curry chicken

i used my usual nonya curry chicken recipe here.

for this recipe, i don’t use curry powder but make the curry paste from scratch.

so last evening, i made the paste, deboned 2×1.5kg chicken, & boiled the bones of 1 chicken with 1 cut carrot, 1/2 cut radish in crockpot to make stock for this morning.

this morning i fried the cinnamon bark, star anise, clove & curry leaves in 2 tbsp oil, added the curry paste & fried till fragrant, then added the deboned chicken & coated them. then added 2 cups of chicken stock & covered, lowered fire & boiled for 10mins (20mins if not deboned). then i removed the chicken & boiled the cut taupok & potatoes for 15mins, till taupok was soft & soaked with curry but not falling apart, & potatoes broke in 2 when pressed with a fork – just right & not overcooked.

nonya curry chicken

it was a wonderful tasting dish, incredible aroma & taste.

yum yum!

taupok

love the taupok too, and the potatoes also very tasty, just don’t take much for the carbs la…

nonya curry chicken

of course the potatoes & taupok need not be cooked separately, but 2 chicken in a pot was quite a lot to manage & i wanted to make sure the chicken were tender & not overcooked, and likewise the taupok & potatoes, so easier to manage them separately la…

c.h.e.f andy

So-so Perankan Food @ Dulukala Peranakan Restaurant Beauty World Centre on 29Feb2016

Posted on March 2, 2016 by chefquak

dulukala peranakan restaurant @ beauty world centre

had another expiring groupon to use, and went with sis & bil to dulukala peranakan restaurant at beauty word centre on 29.1.2016. ^^

met my daughter & her bf at the food centre. she was left unsatisfied the other day when we were here as top1 was closed. this time her wish was granted. i will try the stall another time. 🙂

we had 5 peranakan dishes

i had a S$80 groupon voucher. we ordered 5 dishes including the S$25.90 assam fish head. it came to S$83.70 including service no GST, so effectively about S$51.50 (S$47.80 for S$80 voucher). 🙂

wall display – dulukala peranakan restaurant

restaurant was simply furnished, just some display & framed sketches.

peranakan silver belts 1930s

they had a classic nonya silver belt. this one has 4 tingkat layers on interlocking rings.

assam fish head S$25.90

assam fish head was ok. fish was fresh, quite meaty. assam was ok, we still finished all the gravy, but it was not like specially tasty, just average, so-so really.

assam fish head S$25.90

overall the dish fell far short in terms of shiokness c/w the thai style fish head at forture, the zi char at old holland road.

sotong hitam S$13.90

the sotong hitam was quite poor. it was artificially sweet – sugar…a small serving for S$13.90. my first impression was we got a small serving because of groupon discount?? but i didn’t think so as except for this & the small serving of chap chai, the other dishes seemed ok.

sotong hitam S$13.90

i would say this was quite poor dish. the very nice unique squid ink flavour was absent.

ayam buah keluak S$13.90

the ayam buah keluak did not resemble anything like the restuarant photo (which looked wonderful!)

ayam buah keluak S$13.90

chicken itself was very so-so, dry, but the serving was substantial & the gravy was quite excellent, didn’t feel so at first taste but it gets into you. like the dish overall though it is easy to have the chicken a lot more tender.

chap chai S$10.90

the chap chai also did not resemble the restaurant menu photo.

chap chai S$10.90

a very small serving. taste was pretty good with the tau jeon.

lady fingers with ikan bilis S$9.90

the lady fingers with ikan bilis was tasty. i must try cooking some dishes with ikan bilis.

the simple ikan bilis bee hoon (very ex at S$4) we had recently at ayer rajah food centre also very tasty.

overall with the groupon discounts, S$51.50 for 5 dishes including fish head was quite good price.

still it didn’t give me the same satisfaction of a good S$10 curry rice for 2pax like that at hoower food court in haig road; or a

good nasi padang like that at sinar pagi nasi padang at geylang serai food centre.

on balance, ok to try but for myself don’t think i would want to take this again.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Dulukala Peranakan Restaurant

ADDRESS:

#04-04, Beauty World Centre, 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road, 588177

OPENING HOURS:

Daily: 12:00 – 15:00

Daily: 18:00 – 21:00

PHONE:

+65 64652036

Valentine’s Dinner at Home on 14Feb2016

Posted on February 29, 2016 by chefquak

valentine’s day dinner at home

for this year’s valentine’s dinner, i had planned to do a small 2pax dinner for my wife on 14.2.2016. ^^

we usually do not go out on the actual day as most places ridiculously ex & quality of food & service not great vis a vis price.

this time, i got some IQF (individual quick freeze) frozen cooked lobsters from giant couple weeks before, so i would do a gordon ramsay grilled lobster. ^^

white cucumber gazpacho

we started with a white cucumber gazpacho with croutons.

it was very good, wonderful refreshing flavour of cucumber tempered with yogurt, red wine vinegar & olive oil. croutons were ok very crispy & moderate cheesy.

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce was very good. very tasty & wonderful tomato taste.

pasta spicy tomato sauce

i used prawn stock, papa alfredo traditional italian pasta sauce & canned tomatoes, and reduced before tossing.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

my gordon ramsay grilled lobster was the best.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster with chilli garlic butter

i spooned the chilli garlic butter marinade over the lobster & left it in the fridge for 3hrs.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

lobster was very flavourful with the chilli garlic butter, brandy flaming & hot grill.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

lobster was very good really, meat was bouncy & very tasty, even though it could not compare with live lobsters.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster＋prawn pasta in pink sauce

the tangy tomato pasta complemented the lobster perfectly. ^^

australian wagyu ribeye

my last course was the wagyu ribeye.

now i use the new method, rubbing the steak liberally with sea salt & pepper & placing in a 60degC oven for 2 hrs. that provided consistent medium rare interior & also did a bit of dry edging.

australian wagyu ribeye

after that just 1 min each side on a very hot pan. it was such a flavourful steak.

the evening was one to savour, excellent food & wine & music, spending time together.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Pasta Lunch @ The Palate on 25Feb2016

Posted on February 28, 2016 by chefquak

bruschetta

bought a groupon in dec2015 expiring 1st week mar2016. arranged with friend to have lunch at the palate on 25.2.2016. ^^

this was the previous spizzico place. i din have post on spizzico so i guess have not been here for 3+years. spizzico was ok, not must have for me. 🙂

S$6 bruschetta

bruschetta was pretty ok. nice garlic bread with tomato salsa, overall quite nice taste.

S$18 beef carpaccio

carpaccio colour looked a bit anaemic, this preparation w/o the olive oil balsamic but pretty good with cheese & natural sweetness of beef. ok la..

S$24 squidink pasta

squidink was very good!

especially good with more sauce at the bottom. friend said a bit salty but it was ok for me.

S$24 squidink pasta

a very tasty pasta, with enuf seafood topping.

S$25 seafood pappardelle

i asked server for recommendation between seafood pappardelle & the tagliata pasta since we already have a seafood squidink. he seemed more inclined on the seafood pappardelle.

S$25 seafood pappardelle

& it was real good! better than the squidink even la…for those who like cheese.

S$25 seafood pappardelle

a really, really nice pasta!

the lunch for 2 came to S$73+service no GST so S$80.30, just about good for my S$80 groupon which i made about S$40nett. so pretty good deal! & the groupon can be used for dinner monday to saturday.

1 for 1 mains weekday lunch

they also have 1 for 1 mains for weekday lunch. not bad also, just take pasta no need appetizers. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

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

The Palate

Address:

81 Clemenceau Avenue #01-13 UE Square Shopping Mall Singapore 239918

OPENING HOURS:

Mon – Sun: 11:30 – 16:00

Mon – Sun: 18:00 – 22:00

PHONE:

+65 62352889

1st Jiakfreelicious Community Lunch Dish for Newgate Learning Hub on 27Feb2016

Posted on February 27, 2016 by chefquak

community lunch at newgate learning hub

i first started doing a community meal breakfast dish for teban gardens CSC on 8.1.2016.

thus far i have done 6, once every week.

community lunch at newgate learning hub

2 of my close friends have been helping out at newgate learning hub by bathesda community at bedok which provide free saturday lunch for the old folks in the community.

so i arranged to do alternate weeks, a friday at teban gardens breakfast & a saturday at newgate.

community lunch at newgate learning hub

the weekly lunch, started by another RI friend, was funded and managed by a few volunteers including himself & D, the person in charge. 🙂

quite similar to teban gardens CSC, they already provide bee hoon & noodles, and the RI friend who started, his father does a pulut hitam dish for them almost every week. ^^

so i had just to add a dish.

stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡

to start off for the first time, i decided to do the stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡. 🙂

stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡

the main difference in logistic is that here they don’t have tables, the folks sit on chairs & they portion & serve the food-

which means i need to make dishes that provide for more than 80 pieces

so for today, i debone 2 chickens, cut & counted to make sure i have more than 80 pieces

i still plan to ask my helper to do some dishes eg the bean sauce pork cubes & the cloud fungus chicken, but it means i have to prepare/cut the chicken & pork myself for her to cook to ensure that there are >80 pieces to be served.

stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡

after i deboned the chicken, i made a tasty stock of chicken bones, carrots & radish (happens to have it in the fridge) in crockpot overnight.

the cut chicken were marinated with 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp light soy sauce & mixed with 1 tbsp corn starch for 1 -2 hrs.

i finely julienned 2-3cm of ginger, cut 1/2 large yellow onions, finely cut white part of spring onions, 1 cut chilli padi, and threw in some basil & fried in a tbsp butter + some oil. then added some minced garlic.

having a nice aroma & fragrance, i then added the cut chicken & fried.

then i added 2 cups of the chicken stock, 1tbsp oyster sauce & 1 tbsp corn starch, brought to boil & covered for 10mins (chicken pieces already deboned so cooked for shorter time).

then i removed the chicken pieces & left only the wings & reduced.

i off the fire & added 2/3 of the cut spring onions & mixed.

stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡

then i transferred to the aluminium tray & added the remaining spring onions.

stir-fried chicken with ginger & spring onions 姜葱鸡

i tasted. sauce, mildly starchy was very tasty, the chicken were tender & sweet. ^^

bee hoon mee with chicken

at newgate learning hub, we all helped to serve the bee hoon mee & chicken.

bee hoon mee with chicken

there were 80 plates & all were taken up.

community lunch at newgate learning hub

there were more than a dozen volunteers including ourselves.

they had a sermon before the lunch at 1pm, & they have people to sit down with the folks for 15mins before lunch starts to talk & understand more about the folks.

this part is different from teban gardens CSC.

some NTUC canned food to take home

they also collected canned food courtesy of NTUC to give out free to the folks. very good! 4 times a month can mean fair savings for many.

c.h.e.f andy

Real Good Curry Rice @ Hoower Food Court on Haig Road on 17Feb2016

Posted on February 27, 2016 by chefquak

curry rice

after i sent my china relatives off (my second nephew & his wife & daughter family of 3pax) at changi airport, i dropped by a primary school classmate’s place near haig road at about 12.45pm.

hoower food court on haig road

he tried a new curry rice stall at hoower food court at haig road recently, so he took me there for lunch. this only his second time here.

hoower food court on haig road

the coffeeeshop also served zi char & foo chow fishball noodles.

curry rice stall

we ordered from the curry rice stall. there was only 1 person before us, basically no queue.

my friend ordered 4 dishes – curry chicken, curry fish, kong bak & fried egg plant.

curry chicken drumstick

the curry chicken was as good as any curry dish, sweet & tasty.

competent dish certainly.

for my personal preference, i prefer the nonya very lemak type previously at river valley nasi rendang (now closed)

& the nonya curry chicken at sinar pagi nasi padang very good too.

curry fish

the curry fish was very good standard.

curry slightly tangy, fish fresh, firm & sweet.

kong bak

the kong bak (braised belly pork) was the best, really good texture & flavours.

fried egg plant

egg plant also very good, very tasty.

curry rice

for me among the dishes, kong bak was best followed by curry fish, egg plant & curry chicken. but even the curry chicken was pretty good.

my friend said it was S$10 all-in including the 2 rice.

doesn’t sound possible to me at this price, but anyway i will be very happy to go back & check it out again!

c.h.e.f andy

Good Muah Chee @ 天下小吃 Blk 79A Circuit Road Food Centre on 24Feb2016

Posted on February 25, 2016 by chefquak

muah chee

hmmm…very nice muah chee!

again something i hardly take….

天下小吃muah chee

we had this after the U yong tau foo.

the proprietor said he doesn’t serve tea now as he is OMO (one man operation) too busy to manage.

we were still early so placed our orders & sat down.

there was quite a constant queue, not long but quite constant orders.

S$2.50 white muah chee

S$2.80 black sesame muah chee

the proprietor advised us to order 1 black & white each, no point to order the combo since we were ordering 1 plate each. it was cheaper that way.

at this price, the muah chee was i guess slightly more ex, but it was quite a good helping, and mush chee was nice, especially the peanut & black sesame with brown sugar dusting.

cannot really compare with japanese mochi, warabi mochi etc though.

anyway, quite shiok! i enjoyed it, together with great company of friends.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Heavenly Snacks (天下小吃)

Address:

Blk 79A Circuit Road Food Centre Stall 106

Operating Hours:

11.30am to 9.30pm (Tues –Sun), Close on Mon.

Great Yong Tau Foo @ U Hakka Niang Tou Fu Circuit Road Food Centre on 24Feb2016

Posted on February 25, 2016 by chefquak

yong tau foo釀豆腐

some friends arranged to go for yong tau foo at blk 79 circuit road food centre on 24.2.2016. ^^

i was coming from the west after my weekly jog with a close friend. it was easy to get to circuit road from PIE shortly after exit 11. 🙂

U hakka yong tau foo

the stall is open 6am-12pm closed monday. we were there about 11.15am no queue.

U hakka yong tau foo

i had not taken yong tau foo for quite long time, so S$0.60 for fish stuffing & $0.70 for meat seemed expensive to me, but i guess that;s the price these days.

we had 4 bowls costing S$26, so about S$6.50 each.

yong tau foo釀豆腐

the yong tau foo釀豆腐 was good. stuffing were tasty. i enjoyed it!

the flat mee pok with minced pork very nice with the chilli & sweet sauce. 🙂

yong tau foo釀豆腐

soup tasty too. a friend went to top up, add more soup.

yong tau foo釀豆腐

my bowl was a bit lesser than average so maybe S$5.50 or S$6, really quite ok price, especially when it was much better than the usual stuff.

after makan, we walked back to blk 79A where we were parked & took the muah chee. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

U Hakka Niang Tou Fu

ADDRESS

79 Circuit Road
#01-46 Circuit Road Food Centre
Singapore 370079

OPENING HOURS (CLOSED MONDAYS)

06:00am – 12:00pm

PHONE

+65 97267764

Not So Great Stuff @ Beauty World Food Centre on 23Feb2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by chefquak

S$5 hong wen chinese mutton soup红炆羊肉汤

went with daughter to beauty world food centre on 23.2.2016. ^^

actually she wanted to try the top1 home made noodles but the stall was closed.

we already parked the car & did not want to drive to another place so made do with what stalls we could find.

hong wen chinese mutton soup红炆羊肉汤

i decided on hong wen chinese mutton soup红炆羊肉汤.

S$5 chinese mutton soup羊肉汤

unfortunately it was not good.

nothing like chai chuan tou chinese mutton soup 柴船头羊肉汤 at bukit merah view.

nor any of the 2 mutton soup stalls at whampoa market.

nor the mutton soup at vivocity.

the soup was tasteless except for slight unnatural sweetness of herbs. usually this is balanced by the savoury & robust flavours of the mutton so the soup should be smooth, herbal & very tasty & intense, everything that this was not.

the mutton was soft. there were few for S$5, and basically tasteless even with the chilli.

益康fish soup

daughter settled for the fish soup. not her favourite, but something she would take & she finished all.

S$4 fish soup

i tried the soup. it was sweet.

S$4 fish soup

should be competent la…couldn’t be too bad also.

nothing much about the food, but good time & chat with daughter la..

c.h.e.f andy

Good 1-for-1 S$55 Lunch Buffet @ Furama Riverfront on 23Feb2016

Posted on February 23, 2016 by chefquak

maki, prawn, tako, salmon sashimi, pickled ginger

a friend bought lunch today. we were to meet at the square @ furama on 23.2.2016.

silly me did not find out that it was furama riverfront at havelock road (did not come to mind altogether) & just went to furama at eu tong sen street. & i parked at clarke quay for free parking 12pm to 3pm, and walked to furama. that was rather inconvenient since it was the wrong hotel. so i took a cab to furama riverfront & my friend sent me to clarke quay after lunch. 🙂

the square on level 2 serves buffet. there is 1 for 1 promotion at S$55 for lunch, so quite ok, not too pricey.

we were seated near the window area, very pleasant.

salmon sashimi

started with the sashimi station. with the current GBS (Group B Streptococcus) scare, there was a sign stating it was “salt water salmon”.

salmon was very good sweet & fresh. i took very few by my usual standard, just 4 slices.

sashimi

had the cooked prawns (good), tako, skipped the shell fish.

smoked salmon & cold cuts

took a pieces of slami & some smoked salmon.

sushi

& 2 maki – a reverse roll & a spider maki.

root veg confit, asparagus, amerircan prawn salad, sundried tomatoes, salami, turkey salad

i wasn’t expecting much of the buffet actually. there are usually so so.

but these were quite good. turkey salad best, asparagus was good, the prawn salad was good (nothing unusual but good), sundried tomatoes, and the vegetables confit tasty too. i didn’t quite like the beetroot, had much better beetroots before.

tasty curry chicken noodles (not the real curry chicken noodles)

i had to try the curry chicken noodles. it was nothing like (no comparison with) the ah heng curry chicken noodles of course. i would say basically 2 quite different dishes. still the curry was very tasty as a curry dish.

main courses

i was surprised by the main courses too. i almost w/o fail avoid main courses in buffet except for semi-buffet as a single alacarte order. i guess buffet main courses have improved!

i tried nearly every dish.

main courses

pork rib was good, tasty. roast prime rib was competent. fish au gratin was good, but the steamed fish was overdone (both were the same cheap sutchi fish. i am thinking of doing this for my community meals so tried both). oxtail was competent, the braised sauce & vegetables were good. my friend especially liked the deep-fried belly pork. it was just ok for me. there was a mid-eastern lamb preparation i think, very nice too.

pork collar & ham casserole

& the pork collar casserole, surprising quite good. meat looked (& felt when cutting) tough & overdone ut it was actually quite tender.

fish au gratin

as said earlier, fish au gratin was the better preparation.

cheese platter, dried fruits, nuts

i took the 3 cheese – a brie, a blue & another cheese, some dried apricots, sultanas & walnut.

dessert – water melon, new york cheese cake, jelly shooter

not impressed with dessert. anyway not expecting much.

peanut paste (unedible)

the peanut paste was unedible & should not be served. need a hong kong chef.

i quite enjoyed this lunch, chat with friend & trying out different food. one of the few times i actually bordered to try out the main courses, usually just took lots of sashimi…lol..

c.h.e.f andy

Good Hokkien Mee just OK Fishball Noddles @ 六十年代 on 21Feb2016

Posted on February 23, 2016 by chefquak

S$4 fishball noodles dry

went with wife to togoyo at CT Hub kallang avenue on 21.2.2016. bought some gardening & household stuff. ^^

came here with my primary school classmate earlier in the week. 🙂

六十年代fishball noodles

this stall 六十年代fishball noodles i never tried before.

the photo really evokes nostalgia la. ^^

chinatown

my friend pointed out the space in front of 大中国 tai chong kok in sago lane.

his dad used to run a stall there selling 烧腊char siew, siew yoke & roast duck. 🙂

六十年代fishball noodles

pricing quite ok i guess, more ex than hawker stalls but equal or cheaper than food courts.

S$4 fishball noodles dry

there was 2 fishballs. 1 meatball, minced pork, some fish cake. you add your own la pok (deep-fried lard cubes), spring onions, birdeye chilli etc.

S$4 fishball noodles dry

a friend on facebook commented it looked so good. unfortunately it was ok but not that good. chilli had no kick (better after adding some birdeye chilli), not enuf vinegar i think. noodles was qq, and la pok was flavourful if slightly soft (lau hong).

it was passable la & at S$4 better than many at food courts.

but for good tecochew fishball noodles, i point my friend to jalan tua kong meepok at 6th avenue.

for good mushroom sauce bakchormee to ming fa @ upper thomson

& for a very good bakchormee that also lacking kick in chilli & vinegar but very tasty, ah hoe mee pok.

S$5 fried hokkien noodles

the S$5 fried hokkien mee was very good, tasty.

S$5 fried hokkien noodles

i think i am going to try making fried hokkien noodles myself la… 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good S$5 Prawn Noodles @ Adam Road Noo Cheng on 20Feb2016

Posted on February 23, 2016 by chefquak

S$5 prawn noodles dry

came by adam road & decided to try the noo cheng big prawn noodles on 20.2.2016. ^^

adam road noo cheng big prawn noodles

i had not taken from this stall for many many years. some how the impression was that it was so so, so didn’t really want to try it.

adam road noo cheng big prawn noodles

turned out that it was really not too bad la! 🙂

i recorded on my facebook post as –

It’s actually not bad for $5…though I ordered the bakut but they don’t have only gave me sliced pork…chilli pretty good actually..

soup tasty & intense don’t have why eat har’s smoothness with underlying sweetness…I think why eat har chilli better also…

but this noo cheng far better than I expected

S$5 prawn noodles dry

they gave 2 medium prawns + 1 small prawns for S$5.

S$5 prawn noodles dry

i asked for bakut but they gave me sliced pork. i guessed they ran out of bakut…i had the bakut when i tried again the next day & it was good too.

S$5 prawn noodles dry

overall i think it was quite good leh…maybe comparable with ah hui prawn noodles at balestier food centre.

c.h.e.f andy

OK Lor Mee @ Penang Kitchen Amoy Street Food Centre on 19Feb2016

Posted on February 23, 2016 by chefquak

S$3 lor mee

went to shenton way to picj up something on 19.2.2016.

on the way back i dropped by amoy street food centre. have not been there for ages, though i would look around. didn’t see the chinese herbal mutton soup stall, & also the lor mee stall on level 2.

it was past 5pm, and most of the stalls were closed. later a friend told me there was some good zi char stalls here that opened only at 6pm. will come & try that out later.

penang kitchen

found penang kitchen 槟城小厨at level one.

S$3 lor mee

that was what what recorded on my facebook that day –

So-so no better than beo crescent soon heng lor mee

but much better than ghim moh hock lye prawn mee & lor mee…

maybe meiling food centre hai tang lor mee the best..but I reaching my limits for lor mee liao

S$3 lor mee

basically, this one had good ingredients, not the gluey one at ghim, ok taste especially after adding the garlic chilli, but maybe beo crescent one still tasted better, and so far my best was at meiling street.

lor mee not my favourite for a start, so enuf of trying for me for a while i guess, unless some friends bring me to other good stalls to try.

c.h.e.f andy

Special Italian Dinner for My RI Buddies on 18Feb2016

Posted on February 19, 2016 by chefquak

#1 spanish omelette

made one of my best dinners for my RI buddies on 18.2.2016. ^^

i had wanted to do the dinner the following week as this week a close friend is traveling in wakayama, but wife is busy. she will be traveling the following weekend so we made it last evening.

it was a small group, just 3 friends. my jogging buddy came with his wife & son. they recommended a carpenter which did some really nice furniture for us. awesome! 🙂

tittot 疏园

they also brought a wine & beautiful gift. ^^

#1 spanish omelette

i did the spanish omelette very well this time, very tasty & nicely layered inside with potatoes & onions. a simple to do & great appetizer.

#2 cream of carrot soup on dinner table

the cream of carrots soup was wonderful this evening. i had lots f vegetables (red capsicum, celery, yellow onions, tomatoes) in addition to carrots & also added prawn head/shell stock. there was also brandy & thickened cream.

an excellent, very smooth & tasty soup. several friends had a second helping.

#3 squid ink spaghetti with squid

the squid-ink spaghetti was again par excellence!

#3 squid ink spaghetti with squid

distinct squid ink flavor, qq al dente pasta, succulent not chewy squid done just right, and nicely creamy with butter added when tossing. one of my best for this evening.

#4 prawn spaghetti in pink sauce

the prawn spaghetti too. i am doing it better these days.

recently i did a great pasta & steak lunch for my friends on 15.12.2015. ^^

#4 prawn spaghetti in pink sauce

a key to make tasty pasta is to ad good stock (chicken or vegetable) & reduced so its more tasty & intense, and of course al dente pasta

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

the roasted vegetables was my first. i had yellow onions, celery, red capsicum, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, japanese cucumber, eggplants, sprinkled liberally with sea salt & coarse black pepper & 2 tbsp olive oil, then 250degC oven for 30mins.

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

it was very good. my friend’s wife commented “very sweet”.

#6 grilled chicken with thai yellow curry

my friend’s wife & son don’t take beef, so i had a last minute addition, grilled chicken thighs with thai yellow curry sauce.

#6 grilled chicken with thai yellow curry

this was something i recreated after busaba’s excellent grilled chicken green curry fried rice.

i served this numerous times including for 30+pax lunch for my duaghter’s party last year.

#7 grain-fed wagyu MBS4/5

recently i adapted a new steak preparation after a friend sent me a video.

this preparation involved put the steak ( iused a wagyu ribeye) in a 55/60degC oven for 2 to 3 hrs, then searing in high heat to produce the maillard reaction.

#7 grain-fed wagyu MBS4/5

i must say it consistently produced a very intense flavoured (“pang”) steak. it actually works better with a more marbled steak as the low temperature cooking helped to reduce some fat which flavours the meat & also has the effect of accelerated aging to produce more intense flavours.

#8 cut peaches

the peaches this evening were soft & sweet, very good!

#9 banoffee (banana toffee) pie

i made a banoffee pie. it was quite good, great combination of bananas with a very thin caramel layer over the biscuit base & freshly whipped cream on top.

this cake though is not my wife’s favourite nor mine either, but we had tiramisu too many times lately so i did this for a change.

eleven madison park – the cook book

a friend, owner of a top architect firm, dropped by for coffee & cake. he brought us a book – “eleven madison park – the cookbook”!

we all had a wonderful evening, nice chit chat & watching oldies on yotube – stylistics, bee gees, 3 degrees & also the recent ones – john legend, ed sheeran, sam smith..

c.h.e.f andy

Stir-fry Chicken with Ginger & Spring Onions – 6th Teban Gardens Community Meal on 19Feb2016

Posted on February 19, 2016 by chefquak