Char Kuay Teow @ Adam Road Food Centre on 26Oct2015

char kuay teow @ adam road food centre

char kuay teow @ adam road food centre

this feels almost like a joke..lol.^^

we had quite poor food for the price at chotto matte on 26.10.2015.

the kind of feeling where we felt not shiok enough, no point ordering more food, might as well go tapao char kuay teow from adam road food centre. 🙂

wife & i prefer hai kee’s char kuay teow, with its huge, plump, luscious “hum” or cockles

but we were not about to wait 45mins for it. so adam road would have ot do. anyway youngest daughter prefers adam road.

char kuay teow @ adam road food centre

char kuay teow @ adam road food centre

it was pretty good. nice wok hae, tasty.

we ordered 2 packets, each S$3 plus S$1 extra cockles.

but cockles were so tiny, have to put on glasses to find them. still likes hai kee’s better la!

c.h.e.f andy

Very Poor Food for the Price @ Chotto Matte on 26Oct2015

grilled wagyu - S$38

grilled wagyu – S$38

we were celebrating a family occasion on 26.10.2015, not sure why we ended up at chotto matte.

they have uob 15% discount & dbs 1 for 1 main course for dinner & lunch (limited to only 1 free main course for each table).

chotto matte

chotto matte

we were there at blair road about 7pm, but i could not find any parking, & ended up parking at the hdb carpark next to everton park. my daughter & her friend came later but managed to park along the blair road itself near chotto matte.

restuarant was tiny.  most of the recent reviews on hungrygowhere were poor, but mostly about the service. we had a chat with the male server & his attitude was actually quite good & helpful enough, but i think limited training & knowledge about the menu & the discount practice. ok la i guess.

sake - S$95

sake – S$95

wife liked the sake after trying 1 carafe from a new bottle they opened. we told them we would take the whole bottle if we liked it, so we did. 🙂

we ordered the grilled wagyu, grilled kurobuta, onsen egg wagyu don, mentaiko pasta, chirashi don & a salmon maki.

we were expecting to try out some decent food first, and then order more.

but was disappointed enough to tapao 2 packets of char kuay teow from adam road food centre afterwards. no kidding…lol… sigh! 😦

grilled wagyu - S$38

grilled wagyu – S$38

the grilled wagyu. can’t exactly say it was bad, but it’s mediocre maybe S$18 or S$22 ok, not S$38.

c/w my own tagliata, i think anyday my steak is infinitely better!

of course that’s just my opinion. haha! 🙂

grilled kurobuta - S$35

grilled kurobuta – S$35

the grilled kurobuta. i think it was a disaster! you just cannot serve such a dish in a restaurant. i wouldn’t order this for S$12 la!

grilled kurobuta - S$35

grilled kurobuta – S$35

it was dry, hard? i mean any normal pork would be a lot better than this in taste & texture, no need kurobuta!

just look at the iberico pork rack at foc. so flavourful, moist, marbled.

if foc’s is 9 or 10, chotto matte’s would be 1?? not sure 1 even if it is worse than normal pork.

onsen egg wagyu don - S$35

onsen egg wagyu don – S$35

the onsen egg wagyu don. ok lah, i guess it was more of the same as the grilled wagyu main. so same ok standard, just ex.

onsen egg wagyu don - S$35

onsen egg wagyu don – S$35

the sushi rice though was quite poor here.

mentaiko pasta - S$18

mentaiko pasta – S$18

mentaiko pasta. my wife & daughter quite ok with this, though it was a tiny portion for S$18.

for me, i think my own mentaiko pasta was a lot better. 🙂

chirashi don - S$45

chirashi don – S$45

& the chirashi don? this is not a S$45 chirashi don. this is a S$25 chirashi don

chirashi don - S$45

chirashi don – S$45

must say though that the sashimi were all fresh, sweet & good. the sushi rice was not! there was 1 piece of chutoro, 2 good hotate, maguro, kampachi, kajiki etc.

c/w mikuni’s chirashi don, also S$45 after 50% feed at raffles discounts. well nothing to compare.

or with kuriya’s S$62 chirashi sushi gozen set. what’s there to compare right?

salmon maki - S$16

salmon maki – S$16

the salmon maki was pretty ok.

salmon maki - S$16

salmon maki – S$16

anyhow, after the few signature dishes that failed badly, we did not want to add any order.

the bill came to S$290 (including a S$95 bottle sake) after dbs 1 main course discounts. so less that it would be close to S$180nett for 5pax. may not be expensive on per pax basis but we did not order that much food & the standard was really poor for the price.

we went to adam road food centre afterwards & tapao 2 packets char kuay teow! 🙂

never come back again for me!

c.h.e.f andy

Chotto Matte

  • reservations@chottomatte.com.sg
  • 54 BLAIR ROAD, #01-01
    SINGAPORE, 089954
  • +65 6222 8846
  • +65 6222 8845
  • Mon-Sun:
    11:30-midnight
    (Last order for lunch at 2pm)

Excellent Dinner @ Xin Cuisine on 25Oct2015.

lobster noodles - S$22

lobster noodles – S$22

we decided to take chinese since the next day we are having japanese at chotto matte.

& we did not want to have outdoor zi char becos of the unhealthy haze, so we went to xin cuisine again on 25.10.2015. 🙂

we were here at xin cuisine some weeks back on 1.10.2015.

si chuan sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤2

si chuan sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤 – S$9

we had a very nice lie tong 例汤 the last time here. this time they had the chinese liang teh base 凉茶, so we decided to try couple other soup.

si chuan sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤2

si chuan sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤 – S$9

the seafood sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤 – S$9 was very good standard, fragrant & also lots of seafood ingredients.

i would say a very good soup except this kind of gluey soup & just a bit sweet (though it was ok for this type of soup) for me not really my preference.

lobster bits soup

lobster bits soup – S$18

this soup actually had lots of lobster bits. the soup itself (ie the stock base) was also very tasty, but again the gluey texture not my favourite.

lobster bits soup

lobster bits soup – S$18

at S$18 i am not sure i would order it again, the  lie tong 例汤 or the seafood sweet & sour soup 酸辣汤, at S$9 made a lot more sense. 🙂

tea infused duck - S$28

tea infused duck – S$28

this tea infused duck is a must-have at xin cuisine.

tea infused duck - S$28

tea infused duck – S$28

the duck was so flavourful, you could smell the aroma of the tea fragrance when the dish was served & on the table. 🙂

tea infused duck - S$28

tea infused duck – S$28

we ordered 1/2 duck for 2pax. it was a large portion but we still finished everything. 🙂

lobster noodles - S$22

lobster noodles – S$22

wife did not want too much carb items so we ordered just 1 loster noodles to share.

lobster noodles - S$22

lobster noodles – S$22

i must say this was extremely good, very tasty, both lobster & noodles were good.

i must definitely order this again the next visit.

dried mustard vegetable with small cabbage 梅菜烹娃娃菜

dried mustard vegetable with small cabbage 梅菜烹娃娃菜 – S$18

we had the dried mustard vegetable with small cabbage 梅菜烹娃娃菜 – S$18 again.

dried mustard vegetable with small cabbage 梅菜烹娃娃菜

dried mustard vegetable with small cabbage 梅菜烹娃娃菜 – S$18

this was really an excellent dish. the 梅菜was so flavourful.

i must really try to do a 梅菜 dish at home. in fact today when i was in sheng shiong i bought 1 packet of the dried 梅菜.

aloe vera with lime sorbet

aloe vera with lime sorbet

we shared 1 dessert.

wife didn’t quite like it.

aloe vera with lime sorbet

aloe vera with lime sorbet – S$10

for me it was perfectly ok. lime sorbet was great, so was the aloe vera jelly, very refreshing. i do agree with my wife that the couple dessert we took at tunglok signature were better.

for the dinner, we only spent S$67 after 50% amex palate discounts for 2pax.

it was really an excellent meal for that price. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Doable Lunch @ Itacho Ion Orchard on 23Oct2015

unagyu oyako don S$12.90

unajyu oyako don S$12.90

had lunch with a friend at itacho ion orchard today on 23.10.2015. ^^

we were there at 1.15pm, hardly any queue & friend already seated at a table when i arrived.

this friend is quite active in charity work. she is receiving some award from the msf minister this evening.

chirashi don S$14.90

chirashi don S$14.90

i came here couple times when it just opened, must be like 4 years back? never been since, so no prior record on my blog.

i ordered the chirashi don for myself, S$14.90. 🙂

chirashi don S$14.90

chirashi don S$14.90

there were 2 amaebi, 2 tamago, 2 salmon,, 2 hotate, 1 hamachi, 1 tai, 1 kajiki, 1 ika & 1 saba. total 13 pieces.

chirashi don S$14.90

chirashi don S$14.90

quite decent really at S$14.90. hotate was very good. so was the amaebi. tamago & salmon were pretty good. only the tai was tough. sushi rice was not good. i made better tasting sushi rice.

salmon sushi S$0.60

salmon sushi S$0.60

there were promotion items like the salmon sushi for S$0.40, but 1 person could only order 1 piece.

salmon sushi S$0.60

salmon sushi S$0.60 

so i ordered the salmon sushi with mentaiko for $0.60.

unagyu oyako don S$12.90

unajyu oyako don S$12.90 

my friend had the unajyu oyakodon. it looked ok.

unagyu oyako don S$12.90

unajyu oyako don S$12.90

she said it was good. 🙂

fatty salmon2 S$5.10

fatty salmon2 S$5.10

& she ordered some fatty salmon.

fatty salmon2 S$5.10

fatty salmon S$5.10 

it looked good, but for S$5.10 it was not great.

lunch was S$41.65 for 2pax.

quite doable but nothing great.

c.h.e.f andy

Simple Home Dinner with Dry Wok Prawns on 22Oct2015

only 2 of us for dinner.

helper prepared some prawns & asked me to cook. it’s my usual dry wok prawns style – recipe here.

prawns were very fresh, so very bouncy, good bite & sweet. 🙂

this method of cooking is like baking the prawns in the shells, very flavourful becos of both the bbq charred flavours & the aroma of the fish sauce in a very hot pan.

sambal kang kong

sambal kang kong 

helper did a nice sambal kang kong. 🙂

sambal kang kong

sambal kang kong

sambal was nicely done.

sambal kang kong

sambal kang kong

a bit better to reduce it more to get more intense flavours.

it was a nice, easy, quick dinner. with just a little rice.

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent + Value Set Lunch @ The White Rabbit on 21Oct2015

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

had a great lunch with wife at the white rabbit on 21.10.2015. ^^

wife was meeting a close friend and had tea first & was waiting for me to join lunch.

i was here recently with another friend just few weeks back on 30.9.2015.

the white rabbit set lunch menu

the white rabbit set lunch menu

the uob 1 for 1 promotion is until 31.10.2015. it is really good value = an excellent 3-course lunch at S$42 for 2. 🙂

wagyu carpaccio. truffle cream

wagyu carpaccio. truffle cream

the wagyu carpaccio with truffle cream was really good. so i ordered that again. 🙂

basically both of us shared all the dishes – appetizer, mains etc. 🙂

wagyu carpaccio. truffle cream

wagyu carpaccio. truffle cream

carpaccio was really good, & just superb taken with the truffle cream.

seared bay scallops. white choc veloute

seared bay scallops. white choc veloute

wife ordered the seared bay scallop.

seared bay scallops. white choc veloute

seared bay scallops. white choc veloute

it was competent, but by comparison with the wagyu carpaccio, a rather mediocre dish. scallops were small. the white veloute was ok.

& no better than my own pan seared scallops really.

i used IQF (individual quick freeze) scallops but my scallops were much larger, double the size. actually i think mine was much better.

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

the alaskan king crab tagliatelle with pork broth & konbu was good.

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

alaskan king crab tagliatelle. pork broth

pasta was al dente & broth was very tasty. it’s the kind of good restaurant pasta. not my most preferred pasta but something different from what i do at home. a great dish. 🙂

36hrs short ribs. truffle miso glaze. parsnip puree

36hrs short ribs. truffle miso glaze. parsnip puree

i thought the 36hr beef short rib was really excellent! i think awesome is the oft used word! ^^

36hrs short ribs. truffle miso glaze. parsnip puree

36hrs short ribs. truffle miso glaze. parsnip puree

the beef was really tender, flavourful. i think maybe i will try to make this at home. 🙂

fresh fruit melange. grapefruti shaved ice

fresh fruit melange. grapefruti shaved ice

like the fresh fruits. there was a grapeful shaved ice. very refreshing combination. 🙂

fresh fruit melange. grapefruti shaved ice

fresh fruit melange. grapefruti shaved ice

chocolate was a good match i guess, but i could do without.

chocolate fondant

chocolate fondant

the chocolate fondant was kind of below expectation for me. no much lava at all.

chocolate fondant

chocolate fondant

flavour wise i think my own chocolate lava cake also better.

overall, i think it was really a superb value quality 3-course set lunch at S$21pax after uob 1 for 1.

at the full price, it was actually ok quality but nothing special, so not something i would be much wowed bu.

eg if you (say) c/w les amis 4-course set lunch at S$45, les amis would be a lot better deal.

of course les amis doesn’t have this now, but the point is that is it is S$42pax then i would be looking around first none too anxious to try it.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Ice Kacang @ Sing Heng Dessert (& Bad Pig Trotters ) Mei Ling Market & Food Centre on 20Oct2015

ice kacang

ice kacang – S$1.40

we were at mei ling market & food centre & had the S$13 song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头 at hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃.

& also pig trotters & pig liver & kidney soup (below).

i was looking around for ice kacang. the sing heng dessert stall was a bit hidden but i found it anyway. 🙂

ice kacang

ice kacang – S$1.40

at S$1.40 it’s probably the cheapest ice kacang in singapore. 🙂

the one i usually goes to is at adam road food centre. that is S$2, the usual price charged in most food centres.

i was thinking maybe they have a thing or 2 to learn from adam road when the lady  hardly added any evaporated milk. it’s like just a trickle whereas adam road pour like 20ml…lol.. onto the ice kacang.

surprisingly though, it was very good, even though i still prefer more evaporated milk. haha!

sing heng dessert

sing heng dessert

& that’s why i decided to record this. a good ice kacang.

pig trotters stall

pig trotters stall

to add to our song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头 lunch, we ordered pig liver & kidney soup & pig trotters from the stall selling them together with bakuteh & kueh chap. the stall proprietress is a vietnamese.

pig liver kidney soup

pig liver kidney soup – S$5

the soup was tasty, so maybe the bakuteh would be good. i won’t really want to try because the pig trotters was really bad & i lose confidence on the stall.

pig liver kidney soup

pig liver kidney soup – S$5

the pig liver & kidney were so so. i had much better ones….

pig trotters

pig trotters – S$5

the pig trotters i think was a disaster!

pig trotters

pig trotters – S$5

the braising sauce was tasteless. how could it be tasteless?

pig trotters

pig trotters – S$5

when i saw it, the colour & look were all wrong. maybe the taste & texture would be ok, but they were not, downright bad!

there was no gelatine texture & bite.

definitely a stall i will not try again.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Song Fish Head @ Hong Man Ji Delights 鴻满记小吃 Mei Ling Market & Food Centre on 20Oct2015

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

was with my sis & b-i-l this morning & originally we drove to alexandra village to take the song fish head. but even at 11am the carparks were completely full & many cars were waiting.

we turned back out at bukit merah & queensway to go to hong kong street chun kee 香港街珍记 at commonwealth crescent, but decided to drop in at mei ling market & food centre to try out the stalls on 20.10.2015.

hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃

hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃

since we wanted song fish head, we picked the zi char stall at the hawker centre, hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃.

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

the song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头 was S$13. they also served the black bean sauce fish head but sis decided to take hong kong steamed. it would be S$18 at alexandra village & at hong kong street chun kee 香港街珍记 at commonwealth crescent.

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头

the song fish head hk steamed 港蒸松鱼头 was good, as good as the established places, not sure if the fish head was smaller?

sitr-fry kailan

sitr-fry kailan S$6

stir-fry kailan was also very good, anyway better than i expected.

sitr-fry kailan

sitr-fry kailan

good wok hae, tasty! S$6 for a small portion.

sitr-fry kailan

sitr-fry kailan

this stall actually quite good food for the price. becos we wanted to try the pig trotters etc from another stall we did not order other dishes.

not sure i will come specially for the zi char.  but if i do, i don’t mind to try their other dishes. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Quite Poor Zi Char @ Ban Leong Wah Hoe on 18Oct2015

chilli crab

chilli crab

daughter wanted to buy dinner for family + close family friends at ban leong wah hoe to celebrate an occasion. we went there for a 7pax dinner on 18.10.2015. ^^

ban leong wah hoe

ban leong wah hoe

i looked up hungrygowhere & openrice. the latest 7 reviews in hungrygowhere 2015 & 2014 were all bad. mostly about the bad service but also about lousy food & non transparency. only a single good review going back to mar2014 on hungrygowhere. for openrice it’s going back to 2013.

i noticed also the absence of pricing in the menu. i think that is quite an unacceptable practice today in zi char, restaurant or hawker centre, haha! so that’s why so many comments about non transparency.

ban leong wah hoe

ban leong wah hoe

we found the service ok actually, no nasty lady boss. service was ok & kind of expected for a zi char place.

but the place was quite crowded, so people were coming. youngest daughter managed to find street parking on the next street from casuarina road.

butter prawns

butter prawns

food though was quite poor. quite below the standards of the usual zi char places like –

butter prawns

butter prawns

butter prawns was poor. quite dry. maybe should have ordered cereal prawns instead. the breadcrumbs were the tasty bits so that said much about the prawns.

chilli crab

chilli crab

chilli crab?

ok i guess. the sauce was quite tasty like any chilli crab, not spicy at all (i prefer spicy!)

chilli crab

chilli crab

crabs were good though, firm & meaty! ^^

this crab made me appreciate my friend alan’s homecooked crabs even more. his chilli crab sauce had more intense & lingering crustaceans flavours whereas this sauce was mostly sauce just some crab taste.

alan’s crabs themselves though were not as good, not so “solid”. it could be that the sauce flavours were more intense because he used a lot of crabs (6 crabs!).

toasted buns for chilli crab

toasted buns for chilli crab

anyway ban leong wah hoe’s chilli crab sauce was still nice, and great with the toasted “mantou” buns.

prawn past chicken - har jeon gai

prawn paste chicken – har jeon gai

prawn past chicken or har jeon gai was tasty, nice flavours.

prawn past chicken - har jeon gai

prawn paste chicken – har jeon gai

but the breading was not great, hard & crusty. actually our friend (my daughter’s guests for the evening) does a much better fried chicken, and so does my helper.

dou miao

dou miao

dou miao was mediocre, i think quite poor. i can do a better fried dish with more wok hae anytime.

worst tofu ever!

worst tofu ever!

the tofu dish was almost not edible, hopeless dish! chunky roasted pork (& a quite bad roast pork to boot!). not sure how to comment on this.

zi char dishes

zi char dishes

basically quite poor for zi char.

mee sua

mee sua

mee sua with quails eggs was supposed to be a singature dish??

mee sua

mee sua

it was ok, edible, but i won’t even say competent.

2 crabs were S$120. not cheap but i supposed ok. dinner for 7pax was S$222 or thereabout, so like S$32pax..

a very far cry from my recent zi char dinner at whampoa keng fish head steamboat, which also cost S$33pax

i guess sometimes it depends on whether we order the correct dishes. still, based on this quite poor experience, this is a place where i have no interest to try again.

c.h.e.f andy

Delectable Teochew Muay (Porridge) Dishes on 16Oct2015

teochew muay dishes

teochew muay dishes

after the very enjoyable 9pax lunch at ye shanghai recently, i am planning to do a teochew muay lunch for my friends. ^^

i can already make several nice dishes –

i just need to try out some vegetable dishes, & also the spicy sting ray dish (which is dependent on the supply of fresh sting ray at sheng shiong on the day!)

for today, as i saw some manila clams when in sheng shiong, i bought about 550g. 🙂

i made some excellent manila clams previously! ^^

it was easy to make-

i fry 1 cut chilli padi, sliced ginger (2cm piece) and 1 stalk of curry leaves (discard the stem) in oil in a pan till fragrant

turn on high fire & place manila clams in the pan, stir-fry & cover. add 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1tbsp corn flour, 1-2 tsp (to taste) fish sauce mixed with 1/2cup water

cover & reduce till shells open up, just few minutes

when done just right, manila clams is plump & juicy & tasty, the curry leaves giving them excellent distinct flavours. i love the curry leaves. 🙂

spicy tau jeon sting ray

spicy tau jeon sting ray

the spicy tau jeon sting ray was my first attempt. very tasty with the salted vegetables & spicy bean sauce.

spicy tau jeon sting ray

spicy tau jeon sting ray

they turned out pretty good-

soak 1/2 packet of salted vegetables & cut into thin slices

fry 1/2 cut chilli padi, 1.5 tbsp spicy bean paste & sliced ginger till fragrant

add sting ray (500g diced) to wok & stir-fry to coat the flavourful sauce

add 1.5cup chicken (or vegetable stock), cover & reduce (about 10mins)

it is important to reduce the sauce to make the flavours intense & the sting ray very tasty. 🙂

spicy black beans bittergourd

spicy black beans bittergourd

the spicy black beans bittergourd also my first-

cut the bittergourd into 1/2′ by 2″ pieces & soak in water for 4hrs (i added 1 tsp salt). rinse thoroughly in slow running water to remove some of the bitterness

add 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/2 cut chilli padi & 1tbsp spicy black bean sauce & stir-fry till fragrant

add bitter gourd & stir-fry to coat it with the tasty sauce

add 1.5cups stock, cover & reduce

spicy black beans bittergourd

spicy black beans bittergourd

the bitter gourd turned out to be very tasty, excellent dish among the 4 other dishes (the manila clams were superb!)

i did about the same for the other 2 dishes – stewed cabbage & stewed egg plant. basically add cut chilli padi, chopped garlic & fry, then add the vegetables, oyster sauce, fish sauce or light soy sauce, then add stock, cover & reduce.

they were both very tasty, though nothing special.

the egg plant was my second try. this time i did not add tomato sauce.

but the taste still different from ye shanghai’s excellent egg plants.

the egg plant was not as tasty as the wafu 和风 egg plants i did previously.

maybe i will try tsuyu to replace light soy sauce.

teochew muay dishes

teochew muay dishes

each dish takes about 10-15mins, so i did all 5 in about 1hr.

not too difficult & very enjoyable dinner with wife & daughter.

c.h.e.f andy

RI G20 11pax Dinner @ Whampoa Keng Fishhead Steamboat on 14Oct2015 – Good Food Fair Price

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

organiser of this month’s RI G20 dinner selected whampoa keng fishhead steamboat. ^^

it’s a place i wanted to try but never did. it seems it was the same with the organiser as he was overseas when a group of friends went & sent him nice photos. i told him 1 of the pluses of G20 was we get try places we somehow didn’t get to go ourselves.

3 of us decided to go early for a cuppa at the wheeler’s yard. i took flat white. strong coffee with very smooth frothed milk. i liked it.

great ambience & lovely coffee (apparently food not so good & the cakes looked unappealing)

i went early at 5.45pm & managed to get free parking on the road on jalan ampas next to the tai pei old people’s home. 🙂

Whampoa Keng Fish Head Steamboat

Whampoa Keng Fish Head Steamboat

after our cuppa, we drove over to whampoa keng fishhead steamboat. i parked at ah hood gardens (HDB) along ah hood road (lots of parking) & got to the restaurant before 7pm.

Whampoa Keng Fish Head Steamboat

Whampoa Keng Fish Head Steamboat

restaurant was plastered with photos of the owner, his wives & staff & the more famous patrons. 🙂

pig trotters lagi shiok!

pig trotters lagi shiok!

our friend the organiser ordered a S$288set for 10, and changed some dishes.

the signature braised pig trotters replaced the salted egg sotong.

pig trotters lagi shiok!

pig trotters lagi shiok!

excellent call! this pig trotters lagi shiok! the best of texture not overly soft & mushy & tender meat falling of the bones. my friend liked the star anise flavours. for me that was just slightly over.

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

the best undeniably was the fish head steamboat. my friend ordered the red garoupa.

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

this really a supremely good tasting fishhead steamboat! ^^

the murky soup was such intense goodness. 🙂

& the refills were also not just water or light tasting soup, but almost the same intense stock. i guess the same stock minus the additional taste from the steamboat content.

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

not sure if it was just the head or a whole fish but it came with lots of meat too.

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

super tasty red garoupa fishhead steamboat

i think i must go round trying out fishhead steamboat liao! 🙂

stir-fried brocoli with scallops in XO sauce

stir-fried brocoli with scallops in XO sauce

the stir-fried brocoli with scallops in XO sauce was a pretty nice dish. there was a good serving of scallops.

stir-fried brocoli with scallops in XO sauce

stir-fried brocoli with scallops in XO sauce

& there was also something that tasted like the cheaper canned shellfish. a friend thought it was gluten but i felt that the texture was shellfish. not sure.

salted egg prawns

salted egg prawns

my friend changed the prawns in the set to their signature salted egg prawns.

salted egg prawns

salted egg prawns

it was a good competent dish, looked nice & tasted good too.

salted egg prawns

salted egg prawns

i guess it was nothing special just a standard dish in any zi char or restaurant.

fried tofu dish

fried tofu dish

we had a tofu dish. it was apparently a seafood sauce & the tofu was made by blending egg with silken tofu, or so according to other reviewers.

fried tofu dish

fried tofu dish

didn’t leave an impression with me.

i think the tofu dish at kok sen & also at muliangzai liang kee were a lot tastier.

pork ribs with deep-fried cod strips

pork ribs with deep-fried cod strips

the pork ribs with deep-fried cod strips was another signature dish.

pork ribs with deep-fried cod strips

pork ribs with deep-fried cod strips

it was competent but like any 排骨王, it’s a passable dish not my favourite.

crispy boneless chicken 金龙鸡

crispy boneless chicken 金龙鸡

the crispy boneless chicken 金龙鸡 was another signature dish.

a friend thought it was too processed. i totally agree! i think i like the “not favourite” pork ribs better than this.

chicken

crispy boneless chicken 金龙鸡

crispy skin was there, but the sweet, moist, flavourful taste of a roast chicken was gone!

alas! i like my roast chicken at 6th avenue coffeeshop better leh!

we had too many dishes liao so did not get to try their 2 other signature dishes – the prawn paste chicken & the hae chor (teochew ngoh hiang). apparently those were quite good.

vegetarian egg tofu dish

vegetarian tofu dish

the no. 11 friend is a lacto vegetarian (dairy no egg). he could only joined after 8.30pm.

vegetarian egg tofu dish

vegetarian tofu dish

my friend ordered a tofu dish (we didn’t know it was egg tofu).

stir-fried shanghai greens

stir-fried shanghai greens

plus a shanghai green.

anyway he did not take much & we ended up finishing off the egg tofu & the greens.

the dinner was S$33pax, a little more expensive than the usual zi char stalls like-

but quite fair price for the food (i would say better food, maybe except for kok sen), especially the alluring fishhead steamboat!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Bakuteh – Gourmet Made Easy

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh is like a dish anyone can make anytime. ^^

bakuteh spices

bakuteh spices

there are innumerable bakuteh spices in the supermarts.

i use the cheapest ilc brand S$1.50 for 20g spices packet.

bakuteh

bakuteh

this suited the 600g pork ribs i was cooking. for 1kg i use the larger 30g packet.

frozen spanish baby ribs

frozen spanish baby ribs

the last time i used indonesia fresh pork from sheng shiong, price around S$19/kg to S$21/kg.

this time though i am just using frozen spanish baby ribs from QBFood. 🙂

water + garlic + spice packet

water + garlic + spice packet

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh

bakuteh

for the preparation-

  1. add a bulb garlic & the spice packet (20g) to 1.5l water & boil
  2. cut defrosted baby ribs (about 600g)
  3. scald with boiling water to remove scum
  4. clean pork ribs under running cold water & add to pot
  5. boil on low fire for 40mins (50mins or longer if you prefer meat falling off the bones)
  6. & voila!
meat comes off bone easily

meat comes off bone easily

at 40mins or so, meat should come easily of the bone.

personally i prefer the meat texture to be firm with some bite, rather than completely soft & falling off the bones.

also unless you finish all in one go, you may reheat the bakuteh 1 or more times, so i prefer the ribs not to be overly cooked & soft.

bakuteh

bakuteh

& btw, the soup was just delicious!

i did not add any salt, fish sauce & light soy sauce as it was salty enough for me. also no need to add pepper seeds. it is already peppery & just right, not overly!

the pork ribs were not as good as the fresh indonesian prime ribs from sheng shiong which were more marbled & tasted better,

but they were still very good, and with the excellent tasting soup, this home brewed bakuteh was as good as most bakuteh outside except the few very good ones.

bakuteh

bakuteh

one of my friend regularly brings bakuteh spices to cook while traveling overseas. it is easy to get ribs from the supermart & do up a delectable soupy comfort food goodness at a rented airbnb apartment. 🙂

this may not be exactly fine gourmet, but with a bit of plating, it looks good enough to be served as a course meal. for me anyway haha!

c.h.e.f andy

Lovely 6-course Set Menu Lunch @ Min Jiang Goodwood Park on 13Oct2015

steamed sea perch

steamed sea perch

had a lovely 6-course set menu at min jiang on 13.10.2015.^^

min jiang 6-course menu S$68pax

min jiang 6-course menu S$68pax

price was ok, as the food turned out pretty good. we had 5pax. 🙂

min jiang @ goodwood park hotel

min jiang @ goodwood park hotel

there were fe customers at lunch.

edamame

edamame

we skipped tea (normal chinese tea S$3pax no harm to have if need), just had complimentary water.

the edamame was nice.

edamame

edamame

they charged S$1pax so that was ok.

醉鸡,咸蛋虾,蒜泥白肉

醉鸡,咸蛋虾,蒜泥白肉

we selected 醉鸡,咸蛋虾,蒜泥白肉 from the choice of appetizers.

actually it was a friend’s belated birthday, but since she was w/o her reading glasses (haha!), i read out for her veto… 🙂

醉鸡,咸蛋虾,蒜泥白肉

醉鸡,咸蛋虾,蒜泥白肉

drunken chicken very good standard.

i think 1 friend said the prawn was very good. this a common item in chinese restaurants, i did not find it particularly special.

the 蒜泥白肉 minced garlic pork was good i guess, but i didn’t find it special too.

better look but not better tasting c/w my own  蒜泥白肉 though slightly different style.

crabmeat fishmaw soup 蟹肉花胶羹

crabmeat fishmaw soup 蟹肉花胶羹

the crabmeat fishmaw soup 蟹肉花胶羹 was excellent! really tasty soup.

crabmeat fishmaw soup 蟹肉花胶羹

crabmeat fishmaw soup 蟹肉花胶羹

it was a good serving, though the 花胶was not a whole piece but chopped up.

the key to a good soup is the stock base, and this one was par excellence!

tea camphor duck

tea camphor duck

the tea camphor duck was also very flavourful.

tea camphor duck

tea camphor duck

excellent duck, though the wrap was so-so.

tea camphor duck

tea camphor duck

skin was so crispy & flavourful. and the duck was very tender & moist. one of the best!

may not be better than the equally wonderful tasting tea infused roast duck at xin cuisine i had recently on 1.10.2015.

steamed sea perch

steamed sea perch

the sea perch was also excellent! ^^

texture & taste almost like cod.

dried scallop seafood stonepot rice

dried scallop seafood stonepot rice

we wanted to order some 锅巴dish. the server recommended this popular dried scallop seafood stonepot rice so we had that instead.

dried scallop seafood stonepot rice

dried scallop seafood stonepot rice

it was good! very flavourful & chokeful of ingredients.

mango sago杨支甘露

mango sago杨支甘露

the mango sago杨支甘露 was refreshing, good dessert to have though it was just average.

mango sago杨支甘露

mango sago杨支甘露

our birthday girl makes a better one actually. haha!

overall, a very good set. the ingredients may not be a good as some of the special promotion set at majestic or tunglok or at xin cuisine, but the cooking was very fine & delivered great tasting dishes.

the only horrendous thing was that i paid S$22.50 for parking & my friend S$20, no carpark redemption. never ever going to park at goodwood park!

c.h.e.f andy

Teochew Porridge Style Stir-fry Eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

had some teochew muay lunch with friends at ye shanghai recently.

many dishes like braised belly pork etc, salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼, chilled fish (eg mullet) i can already make.

was thinking to recreate other dishes like the spicy stir-fry eggplants, stir-fry bittergourd, & the chilli sting ray dishes.

for this evening on 12.10.2015, i tried the spicy stir-fry eggplants.

stir-fry eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

the process is similar to what i did for the wafu 和风 braised eggplant, only the sauce is different-

  • cut 2 eggplants in halves, sliced diagonally then cut each halves into 4 pieces.
  • fry cut chilli padi, sliced ginger, minced garlic in oil in pan, add the cut eggplants
  • add 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1/2tbsp tomato sauce & 1 tsp fish sauce & 1cup water, add to pan, cover & reduce.

& that’s all there is to it, about 10 to 15mins.

stir-fry eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

the texture was perfect.

the diagonal cuts also allowed the eggplants to absorb the sauce fully & well infused.

stir-fry eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

the sauce though was not quite the flavour i was looking for. i will drop the tomato sauce the next time. maybe use light soy sauce with oyster sauce.

stir-fry eggplants

stir-fry eggplants

anyway need to experiment to get nearer the taste of the excellent egg plants we had at ye shanghai. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Alan’s Chilli Crab Dinner on 9Oct2015

alan's chilly crab

alan’s chilly crab

alan (my very good friend’s brother) & his wife invited us over for homecooked dinner on 9.10.2015.

we had 10pax.

alan & his wife & another partner, started “why eat har” big prawn noodle stall in mar2015.

after eating at “why eat har” many times liao, we all agreed that it is undisputably among the top 3 in singapore, and it all depends on one’s personal preference which is the most preferred.

alan’s talents are NOT limited to prawn noodles of course & this evening he was going to showcase his famous crabs! 🙂

it was restaurant standard! & we were lucky that we had previously tried it at a get-together at my place 2 yrs ago on 19.8.2013.^^

for this evening we started with some salad prepared by alan’s wife. excellent salad with crunchy apples & grapes, very light myonnaise & honey. unfortunately my friend forgot to take a photo. he was busy mopping up the salad bowl after we had finished makan. 🙂

fried buns to soak up chilli crab sauce

fried buns to soak up chilli crab sauce

there were fried buns provided, perfect to soak up the very tasty chilli crab sauce! i had more than one! haha! 🙂

alan's chilly crab

alan’s chilly crab

the chilli crab sauce had clear intense crab flavours, yet very smooth, delightful & lingering. alan & his wife said it was slightly dilute but actually we all liked it that way.

the crab was not very “solid” i guess that depended on the day/timing. the body & the pincers were sweet & tasty.

drunken chicken

drunken chicken*

the drunken chicken* was good too. the 绍兴酒 was mild & fragrant, a very good flavouring to the sweet chicken. alan’s partner was saying alan’s roast chicken was even better, so we said we would all have to try that, surely, if it was better than this drunken chicken.

alan told me that the difference in his preparation for 白斩鸡 was that he did not add garlic.

salted fish minced pork咸鱼饼

salted fish minced pork咸鱼饼**

& i liked the salted fish minced pork咸鱼饼** a lot so i ate quite a bit.

it was different from the style we made at home. he minced the pork himself & had the fat in a bit chunky to give the bite. this style is the genuine one we get to eat at the good zi char stalls.

steamed red garoupa

steamed red garoupa

there was also teochew steamed red garoupa with salted vege & sour plum & sliced belly pork.

fish was sweet & tasty though the fish was in halves as the steaming dish was too small. i like both the teochew style & also the hong kong steamed style, liking the latter a bit more. 🙂

fried vege

fried vege

fried vege was simple dish but good.

fruits - golden kiwi fruits, longans & blueberries

fruits – golden kiwi fruits, longans & blueberries

& my friend did his fruit number, not bad at all! haha! 🙂

we forgot to eat the grapes another friend, our default grape supplier, brought.

& alan’s wife made a refreshing mango sago dessert.

i brought my tiramisu. i added double the usual dosage of brandy (60ml instead of the usual 30ml). my friend loved it!

actually alan’s wife, myself & my wife thought the liquor was a bit much & nicer if a bit lesser. 🙂

*my own drunken chicken not as good though i made a really awesome chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡. principally becos i used a very cheap S$1.80 绍兴酒..hehe..& my wine marinade is still experimental & need some tasting & improvement.

**i made a very good salted fish minced pork咸鱼饼 myself. it is a different style, very tasty though not as elaborate as just used minced pork from market or sheng shiong. 🙂

& i was telling my friends it’s time i start cooking crab!

i did a wonderful chilli crab capellini w/o crab for a 19pax homecooked dinner for my friends on 24.4.2015. 🙂

& an equally amazing crabless beehoon (with prawns & oysters) for a 9pax homecooked lunch on 9.3.2015. ^^

but alan was right. no matter how tasty the shellfish flavours offered by prawns heads & shells, they were not quite the same as using crab itself. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Steamed Yellow Croaker, Japanese Seabass or 小黄鱼

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

bought yellow croaker, also called japanese seabass or 小黄鱼 at chinatown market, so decided to steam it for dinner on 7.10.2015. ^^

my helper does a very good hong kong steamed red garoupa. it is really of good zi char & restaurant standard. though the red garoupa we bought from chinatown market were not live (or swimming), they were always very fresh.

i was thinking of varying the hong kong steamed 港蒸style, & i had previously done very good tasting-

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

so i marinated the fish (a large one for yellow croaker maybe 600g+)with 3tbsp light soy sauce, 2tbsp olive oil & 2tbsp mirin (optional). & that’s it!

then it’s garnishes like sliced red chilli (i forgot to add sliced ginger), & cut spring onions near the end of steaming.

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

steamed yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼

i steamed in the steam oven for 12mins. if not using a steam oven, then similarly in a steamer for 12mins.

the fish was really excellent, very sweet & tasty & fine. 港蒸style小黄鱼 texture is finer than red garoupa & equally good.

the sauce was very tasty & not really so different from hong kong steamed 港蒸style, the same flavourful light soy sauce taste, not too salty, but it is a very good variation & equally tasty, instead of resorting to the proven style everytime.

小黄鱼 is also good served chilled similar to the chilled mullet 乌鱼.

we had very good ones at chao inn 潮楼 at kwun tong in hong kong on 3.6.2015!

fried yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼14.9.2015 fried yellow croaker, japanese seabass or 小黄鱼14.9.2015(2)

i also tried fried yellow croaker 煎小黄鱼 (above 2 photos), not too bad too!

that after trying a pretty good one at imperial treasure nanbei at taka on 23.8.2015.

but really, steaming is the best to bring out the freshness & sweetness of the fish la!

c.h.e.f andy

Curry Chicken Noodles One More Time on 10Oct2015

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

Never tired of curry chicken noodle! ^^

last time i succumbed to curry chicken cravings on 31.3.2015? eh..more likely i makan but did not blog…

but this time had good excuse. had 11am e-appointment at singtel comcentre to get iPhone 6s.

went early at 10.45am but my queue number estimate was 45mins.

do what at comcentre 45mins? might as well drive out before 10mins parking grace period for a quickie (of the curry chicken kind!)

& i manage to tapao 2 packets some more. .so btw smart move! 

Singtel messaged 7 ahead in queue they will call soon. anyhow i enjoyed my curry chicken noodles no particular rush still got back here 11.25am, & i only got served at 12.05pm.

i only left the cashier at 12.49pm. what can i say? singtel sucks! 😦

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

luckily curry chicken noodles were good!

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

ah heng curry chicken noodles S$6.50

price creeping up now large = S$6.50.

well its 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a ramen & infinitely more enjoyable, so just a matter of perspective! anyhow, a cure for the frustrations at singtel.

i actually tried making my own curry chicken noodles, not too bad (above photo) but it was not so easy.

my own poached chicken 白斩鸡 is certainly as good. the curry gravy though pretty good as well is still not quite comparable.

so! cannot complain about S$6.50!

c.h.e.f andy

Good Value Peranakan Buffet @ Ellenborough Market Cafe on 8Oct2015

prawns + yabbies

prawns + yabbies

went with a friend, who is an accomplished peranakan home chef himself, to ellenborough market cafe for lunch today on 8.10.2015. ^^

this my second time here this year, after a hiatus of probably 8 or 10 years. never get to use the FAR (feed at raffles) 50% vouchers for many years at this or other FAR restaurants either.

ellenborough markets cafe

ellenborough markets cafe

ellenborough markets cafe

ellenborough markets cafe

ambience was pretty nice. friend who is more familiar with this place thought it’s usually quite packed & was surprised that it wasn’t.

appetizer section

appetizer section

there was a cold appetizer section with prawns, yabbies, mussels.

prawns + yabbies

prawns + yabbies

prawns was good, i guess quite standard.

yabbies

yabbies

yabbies nice to look at & admire. as we know, not much meat & also meat is rougher than prawns, not as fine & sweet.

salad section

salad section

there was a salad section, soup & bread.

there were 2 soup – a chinese lie tong type, pork ribs i think & a cream of tomato with basil. i wasn’t too interested so did not take photos.

lady fingers - salad section

lady fingers – salad section

i tried the lady fingers. pretty ok.

prawn mushroom salad

prawn mushroom salad

the prawn mushrooms. ok too.

salmon sashimi

salmon sashimi

there was only salmon sashimi & some maki sushi.

sashimi, cold appetiser & salad

sashimi, cold appetiser & salad

i started with sashimi, cold appetiser & salad.

salmon sashimi

salmon sashimi

didn’t look particularly great, but the salmon sashimi was quite excellent. fresh & sweet & i like the oily belly cuts. ^^

kueh pie tee (top hats)

kueh pie tee (top hats)

friend made 6 kueh pie tee (you have to add the ingredients onto the hat yourself).

kueh pie tee (top hats)

kueh pie tee (top hats)

they were nice, good standard.

ramen noodles..this really nice!

ramen noodles..this really nice!

i think the chinese ramen was the bestest dish!^^

chef ramen live demo

chef ramen live demo

ramen chef made a live demo, whacking the marble top with the flour noodles.

chef ramen

chef ramen

freshly made & rather thick.

but it was super nice! excellent texture, wholesome taste, a super broth to rival any tonkotsu & very tasty meatballs.

babi pongteh

babi pongteh

i liked the babi pongteh too. just perfect texture & so flavourful.

ayam buah keluak

ayam buah keluak

liked the chicken too.

ayam buah keluak

ayam buah keluak

very nice curry, some very fragrant galangal taste & ginger fibre texture.

hk steamed garoupa

hk steamed garoupa

hk steamed garoupa

hk steamed garoupa

the hong kong steamed garoupa was also very well done.

plateful of food

plateful of food

plateful of food

plateful of food

problem with buffet – you take a tiny morsel here, and there & your plate & stomach are full.

sea cucumber duck

sea cucumber duck

the sea sumcumber duck was also very good.

second helping of sea cucumber duck

second helping of sea cucumber duck

duck was very tender, very lightly & nicely flavoured. i had a second helping.

second helping of babi pongteh & ayam

second helping of babi pongteh & ayam

did too for the babi pongteh & ayam buah keluak.

fruits

fruits

din take the fruits nor the ahborling (sesame dumplings) & most other dessert.

durian pengat

durian pengat

basically took some durian pengat.

durian pengat

durian pengat

they were very good.

durian pengat

durian pengat

i generally not keen on main courses on food warmers in buffet, so usually go for semi buffet where the main course is an ala carte order like at one ninety @ four seasons hotel or equinox or basilico, like a fine dining main course.

so in other buffets like the edge or carousel or olive tree (all i mostly don’t really like) or 10 at claymore with ala carte buffet items (which i like), i go for the appetizer & skips most of the main course.

here at EMC, there is very little appetizer to talk about (say c/w one ninety or equinox), and the main courses did not look all that great. fortunately they tasted quite well, though they were robust dishes, and rightly so for peranakan dishes. it’s the grandma comfort food sorts.

i guess the best thing was the price. at S$38pax for weekday lunch & 50% off for FAR discounts, it was just S$19++pax, nothing to complain about, and the best thing was that the dishes were really quite good.

& the great ambience, good company & conversation. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy