Pretty OK Club Food @ SICC Bukit Cafe on 20Sep2015

Posted on September 21, 2015 by chefquak

ngoh hiang

3 of us went to sicc for some makan on 20.9.2015.

it’s F1 race day. lewis hamilton not doing well, starting 5th on the grid & later retired.

ngoh hiang

we have never tried the ngoh hiang here.

turned out that it was pretty good for S$9.50. i can have this again.

char kuay teow

char kuay teow is always good here, S$7.20 but a large plate. the wok hae is legendary, very good here!

char kuay teow

we ordered extra “hum” (cockles). they were very cooked, safely cooked, so more or less cockles didn’t feel much different.

tandoori chicken

tandoori chicken, very average for me. quite good marinade flavours i guess.

tandoori chicken

not my favourite for standalone dish, but don’t mind it if come with other curries.

garlic naan

naan was tasty but again eating dry w/o dhal or curries not my preference.

cheng teng

wife & daughter had the cheng teng.

cheng teng

it’s always good here.

i didn’t take any – ice kachang, ice jelly all good like the cheng teng, but they all quite filling.

dinner was S$40 for 3pax. more ex than hawker centre but pretty ok.

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful Matsutake Autumn Bento @ Mikuni on 20Sep2015

Posted on September 20, 2015 by chefquak

mikuni autumn matsutake bento

mikuni a favourite destination for me.

mikuni’s chirashi don is still the best in singapore for me.

matsutake lunch special bento

i wanted to try the autumn matsutake bento set, so today 3 of us came for lunch on 20.9.2015. ^^

it’s F1 race day, so many roads were closed. i googled and saw that bras basah road entrance to raffles city was open & also i could returned by beach road in the direction to middle road which was also opened.

i drove through orchard road with some traffic, but overall it was perfect. & carpark was empty.

matsutake (pine mushrooms) otoshi

it’s a pine mushroom set, so every dish had some matsutake. 🙂

matsutake (pine mushrooms) otoshi

it was ok.

excellent sashimi=chutoro, hotate, kampachi, uni

sashimi was excellent! chutoro & hotate were fantastic cuts.

excellent sashimi=chutoro, hotate, kampachi, uni

chutoro really melt in the mouth & hotate had incredible bite. kampachi were very sweet too. wish they gave more uni, haha! 🙂

tempura

tempura was lovely. chestnut really nice.

tempura

matsutake has a bit of woody? mushroom flavour. daughter didn’t like it so much.

sea bream teppanyaki & snow crab legs

teppanyaki sea bream seemed to be the dry treated type like many japanese fish including salmon & cod. you get them in japan a lot, in bentos, restaurants, supermarts.

i liked it but not so favourite for wife & daughter.

sea bream teppanyaki & snow crab legs

the snow crab legs were excellent.

kagoshima wagyu

& the kagoshima wagyu was sublime! ^^

kagoshima wagyu

there’s some mustard seeds/sauce. i put a bit of wasabi on the beef also. just so wonderful. 🙂

kagoshima wagyu

it felt like not the very chargrilled preparation. wonder if i can do this. google a bit & see.

ikura kamameshi(釜飯)

i normally don’t particularly fancy kamameshi as i used to think they tasted average until i had very good tasty kamameshi at sun with moon @ wheelock.

ikura kamameshi(釜飯)

this one here though was very average.

panna cotta

panna cotta was very good! great texture & bite.

panna cotta

daughter though was still thinking of the panna cotta at pizzeria balognett at tremezzo lake como, but i think this was very good already. 🙂

with amex FAR (feed at raffles) privileges, the 7-course set was S$60++pax, very good deal i feel!

c.h.e.f andy

Chawanmushi & Steak Don Dinner

Posted on September 19, 2015 by chefquak

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

i had some marinated miso salmon belly in the chiller for 2days. was thinking what to match for dinner & decided to do a don.

to accompany the don, i thought maybe do a chawanmushi. i have not done chawanmushi before so googled & found this chawanmushi recipe at japanesecooking101.com.

i did not have dashi or chicken stock, so just used 2cups water & added 2tsp mirin, 2tsp light soy sauce, 1tsp sugar (basically to taste) & whisked with 3 eggs.

i marinated prawns & chicken breast & placed them in a ramekin. also added shitake mushrooms & scallops.

& steamed for 15mins.

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

texture was perfect, very light and very tasty. ingredients were steamed just right. of course cannot c/w a good crab chawanmushi like that at hachi.

but otherwise, it was a really good standard chawanmushi. beginner’s luck on first attempt! ^^

beef miso salmon belly scallop don

i had some 150D grain-fed black angus striploin in the freezer leftover from my last 12pax homegourmet dinner. i did the usual high fire with fat & a bit of butter on my heavy stainless steel pan until it was chargrilled to produce the maillard reaction to give it flavour (as they say, no colour no taste). i flipped once & charred the other side using the finger test for medium rare. 🙂

& i had some scallops in the freezer too. i started the scallops on hot olive oil in a non-stick pan & turned to medium low & covered. when they were grilled i turned them over & grilled the other side. 🙂

beef miso salmon belly scallop don

not forgetting the miso salmon belly.

i placed the miso salmon belly on a rack covered with aluminium foil which i poked holes with a knife to drain any liquids so the the salmon belly would be dry oven grilled, and placed it in a preheated 250degC oven for 15mins. 🙂

for the sushi rice, i used 1 cup sushi rice for 3pax added 1.5tsp mirin, 1.5tsp sushi vinegar, 1 tsp tsuyu (basically to taste). rice was very good but keeping low on carbs. ^^

beef miso salmon belly scallop don

the flavours of the beef was excellent. scallops were good too, and the miso salmon belly was super!^^

the sushi rice was perfect too, nicely vinegared sticky but not too wet & overcooked.

c.h.e.f andy

Worst Barachirashi Don & Chilli Crab Linguine in Singapore @ Babette on 18Sep2015

Posted on September 18, 2015 by chefquak

octopus tempura & cauliflower

daughter bought dinner @ babette on 18.9.2015 to celebrate an important occasion for her. ^^

babette

ambience was quite cool i guess, though a much lower level of decor c/w say foc. the table & chairs were like canteen sitting.

service was really poor because of shortage of staff. we waited very long to be served even after signalling to the servers several times. 😦

octopus tempura

octopus tempura was poor. octopus was tough, batter was not tempura standard.

octopus tempura

but perhaps that is to be expected. octopus are usually sous vide (eg our favourite tako kakiage at mikuni) or slow braised & grilled. octopus done by this preparation will almost certainly be tough. 😦

cauliflower

cauliflower was ok i guess but non-descript.

cauliflower

passable i guess.

bara chirashi don

this barachirashi don must go down as the worst ever!

bara chirashi don

yes!! the worst barachirashi don in Singapore! they have pickled carrots & radish mixed in the barachirashi don??? made the don overly sour unlike a sweet vinegared don. never had such preparation before.

even the photos may look quite pretty, but in terms of taste, this would be 1 if sumiya’s is 7 & sun with moon@wheelock’s is 8.

chilli crab linguine

the chilli crab linguine was also the worst i ever had.

chilli crab linguine

chilli crab sauce was overly sweet. crabmeat had not much taste probably the very cheap frozen stuff.

it’s the standard of any fast food or cheap pasta joints. 😦

duck confit don

the duck confit was very good though. may not be better than saveur or concetto but it had good crispy skin & the meat was very flavourful & not very sinewy.

duck confit don

the don was not much taste also, but at least the duck confit was a saving grace. it was very expensive though at S$28 c/w saveur & concetto!

afterall, duck confit at saveur & concetto were just S$13.90! ie 1/2 the price!

steak & foie gras don

the steak & foie gras don was the best of the lot!

steak & foie gras don

the steak was very good.

steak & foie gras don

think the steak was an average cut so the preparation was really quite good to give it nice bbq flavours & not tough texture.

my own steak miso salmon belly scallop don

i made my own steak don the next day. my steak was very good but a better cut, 150D grain-fed black angus striploin, so quite commendable for the steak don here.

chicken wings

chicken wings was surprisingly good. better than what my helper makes, which is a very good chicken wing. we added the order at the end & it took forever (like another 20mins) to arrive. 😦

chope's promotion - does not honour chope's offer of complimentary lava cake for every S$50 spent frown emoticon

babette does not honour chope’s offer of complimentary lava cake for every S$50 spent!

we had a bad experience though-

restuarant did not honour the chope’s black & white offer of a complimentary macha cake for every S$50 spent!

the bill

we spent S$257 & got only 1 complimentary macha lava cake! 😦

i asked for just a second macha lava cake (afterall we spent 5x the every S$50) but the restuarant refused.

i guess the management & staff are not properly schooled in service recovery. 😦

macha lava cake

i did not like the macha lava cake either. macha was very sweet & very strange combination of flavours unlike the macha parfait kind of flavours which i like (say) at sun with moon. one good thing though was that my youngest daughter liked it. just as well we only had 1 complimentary cake.

c.h.e.f andy

S$3 Meepok Tar @ Xin Lu 新路 Fishball Noodles on 18Sep2015

Posted on September 18, 2015 by chefquak

S$3 meepok tar at xinlu 新路

went to pick up something.

dropped by xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles (formerly from margaret drive) at mei chin road food centre for a S$3 meepok tar on 18.9.2015. ^^

last time i did a post was 2 years ago on 3sep2015 when i came here with my son. time flies!

S$3 meepok tar at xinlu 新路

i ordered my usual S$3 meepok tar, less noodles (面少)。

fishballs- S$3 meepok tar at xinlu 新路

& it came with 5 tasty, bouncy fishballs. the texture is one of the best.

S$3 meepok tar at xinlu 新路

because i ordered less noodles (面少), i get 1 more fishball. well, it’s inconsistent, depends on who is serving. sometimes i get, sometimes i don’t. not that i am too bothered.

the meepok texture was excellent, QQ. and the chilli also consistently good.

anyhow, by comparison, this is a lot better than the-

very poor one (noodles quite unpalatable with the heavy mix of sweet sauce) at food opera @ ion orchard, and also the

below par toa payoh lor 7 teochew fishball noodles (noodles a let down, not QQ!) at food republic @ lido.

and xin lu (新路) only S$3. these other 2 cost S$5!

c.h.e.f andy

Great Lunch @ Kopi Roti Central on 19Sep2015

Posted on September 16, 2015 by chefquak

chicken rendang

went to my good friend’s dental clinic at central on 16.9.2015.

after that god-sis led the 3 of us to kopi roti central for lunch. ^^

chicken rendang

god-sis went to get the food. i had the chicken rendang. it came with sayur lodeh & egg, for S$5.

it was a very good meal!

rendang was very good & reasonable helping size. both the egg & sayur also good. $5 is not cheaper nor more expensive than say a economic rice at coffeeshop. important thing is that it was tasty, a very nice wholesome & balanced meal for S$5. 🙂

curry chicken

my dental surgeon friend had the curry chicken. looked great too!

nasi lemak

god-sis had the nasi lemak. came with chicken wing, egg, nuts & ikan bilis & otah.

nasi lemak

i think the price of the curry chicken was also S$5, and likely the nasi lemak too.

there was laksa, but from the wall photo it didn’t appear to come with cockles.

i will try some of these dishes next time. i would say for S$5 it was as good as my favourite adam road nasi lemak (adam’s nasi lemak & selara rasa nasi lemak) kind of meal! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Cook Vegetarian – Thai Red Curry Vegetables

Posted on September 16, 2015 by chefquak

#8 thai red curry vegetables

the thai red curry vegetables was a variation of my thai red curry sotong (squid).

i served that (red curry sotong) for the 30+pax lunch party for my daughter last month.

#8 thai red curry vegetables

i just replaced the sotong by vegetables. i had potato, egg plant, onions, yellow pepper, tomato.

“dancing chef” thai red curry

when i was looking for the right curries to make my thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs & bought the “dancing chef yellow curry”, i also bought the thai red curry.

for the curry, i fried 1 sliced yellow onions with 2tbsp red curry powder & 100ml coconut milk. when the onions softened. i added a cut yellow pepper (i did not have red pepper). since it was a vegetarian dish, i added about 300ml of vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. i added cut eggplants & then cherry tomatoes last.

this is a really nice lemak, tasty dish, & spicy too, spicier than the yellow curry.

i served it at a recent 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for my niece’s birthday. everyone liked it.

for me, a non vegetarian, it was no comparison with the red curry sotong of course but still an excellenty flavoured curry dish which i enjoyed thoroughly. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Egg Fried Rice

Posted on September 15, 2015 by chefquak

egg fried rice

fried rice the simplest of dishes.

& really not easy to do it well i guess.

i do a pretty good seafood fried rice.

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

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

egg fried rice

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

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

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

Lagi Shiok! @ Adam’s Nasi Lemak on 15Sep2015

Posted on September 15, 2015 by chefquak

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

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

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

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

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

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

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

there is also the fish cake.

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

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

Adam’s nasi lemak fish+chicken S$4.50

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

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

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

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

c.h.e.f andy

Meepok Tar @ Jalan Tua Kong Ah Lim at Bedok Simpang on 13Sep2015

Posted on September 15, 2015 by chefquak

jalan tua kong ah lim’s S$5 meepok tar

went to a friend’s place to watch us open tennis finals between djokovic & federer.

finals was rain-delayed from 4am to 7am on 13.9.2015.

another friend joined at 6.30am & 4 of us decided to go for breakfast.

our first choice, the soupy Xing Ji (興记) Bakchormee at Fengshan Food Centre, was not yet opened so we drove over to bedok simpang & luckily jalan tua kong ah lim at bedok road has just opened.

jalan tua kong ah lim’s S$5 meepok tar

we ordered a S$5 meepok tar each + coffee.

jalan tua kong ah lim’s S$5 meepok tar

this a good standard meepok tar. noodles was excellent QQ, fishballs were sweet & bouncy, chilli was good & spicy with the oomph, and there were 2 fishballs, 1 crispy dumplin, fishcakes and lots of minced pork.

flavour was good, but it was quite a bit salty. i did not finished some of the mince pork which were swimming in the quite salty chilli sauce at the bottom of the bowl.

jalan tua kong ah lim’s S$5 meepok tar

in comparison, their neighbour jalan tua kong lau lim (only open at 7am), & also jalan tua kong at 6th avenue, were both better.

if only it was less salty, this meepok tar would have been excellent.

c.h.e.f andy

Cook Vegetarian – Steamed Eggplant with Peas & Onion sauce

Posted on September 15, 2015 by chefquak

steamed egg plant with peas & onion sauce

my sis & i had a nice daipaidong 大排档 dinner at 富记大排档tai wai in hong kong recently where they served an entire steamed eggplant in minced meat & onion sauce.

i later recreated this at home & made a much better tasting whole eggplant with meat onion sauce by adding oyster sauce to balance off the tomato sauce.

steamed egg plant with peas & onion sauce

i washed & steamed the whole eggplant first, about 10mins.

for the vegetarian take, i cannot use oyster sauce so only light soy sauce + tsuyu sauce, and i replaced the minced meat with frozen peas i bought from sheng shiong. ^^

the key to this dish is the texture of the eggplant, which has to be just cooked & not mushy. i cut it with kitchen sears (scissors) & if it were mushy it would not hold up. 🙂

the pea onions sauce with corn flour was pretty tasty too.

steamed egg plant with peas & onion sauce

i served it at a recent 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for my niece’s birthday. everyone liked it.

the presentation can certainly be improved, haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Cook Vegetarian – Spaghetti alla Nerano (Zucchini Pasta)

Posted on September 14, 2015 by chefquak

spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini pasta)

this the first time i attempted spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini pasta). this btw is an amalfi coast specialty!^^

excellent spaghetti alla nerano @ fresco & cummino in milan

we first tried this in fresco & cummino in milan & this was 1 of the best vegetarian pasta i had, though i like my funghi linguine equally. 🙂

i followed an internet recipe, & blended 1 yellow zucchini with some onions & vegetable stock after softening them in olive oil. i sliced & pan-grilled another yellow zucchini in some olive oil in a non stick pan over low fire.

spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini pasta)

when serving, i tossed the pasta with the grilled cut zucchini & added some butter to give it more body. added browned garlic, shaved parmesan cheese & added a bunch of basil for flavours & garnishing.

spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini pasta)

it was a very good pasta, al dente & tasty.

i served it at a recent 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for my niece’s birthday. everyone liked it. son said more parmesan shavings would be good. i think overall it can be improved.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

300g spaghetti
2 yellow (or green) zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow onion, sliced
100ml vegetable stock
1 bulb garlic in cloves, browned in olive oil
sea salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

peel & brown the cloves of 1 bulb of garlic & set aside.
blend 1 sliced yellow zucchini with 1 sliced small yellow onions & 100ml vegetable stock after softening them in olive oil. add sea salt & pepper to taste.
slice & pan-grill another yellow zucchini in some olive oil in a non-stick pan over low fire & set aside. sprinkle sea salt generously.
when serving, reduce the blended sauce. toss the pasta with the grilled cut zucchini & add some butter to give it more body. add the browned garlic, shaved parmesan cheese & add a bunch of basil for flavours & garnishing.

Cream of Carrot Soup

Posted on September 13, 2015 by chefquak

cream of carrot soup

was doing a 10-course vegetarian dinner for my niece’s birthday recently.

one of the dishes i prepared was a cream of carrot soup.

carrot coconut soup @ amsterdam

one of the best carrot soup i had was in amsterdam, a super tasty carrot coconut soup, on our way back after cycling the waterland route.

i am yet to try that. it is a bit adventurous with the coconut milk. i will try it one day before i serve it to my friends at dinner. 🙂

cream of carrot soup

i have done-

cream of mushroom,

cream of cauliflower &

lobster bisque etc.

this was the very first time i did cream of carrot soup.

& it was excellent!^^

it was silky smooth & tasty, among the best soup i made.

cream of carrot soup

i added a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). i fried them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.

when about to serve, i added 3 tablespoon thick cream, and i have some chopped basil from my garden.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

2 carrots cut to small pieces
1 stalk leek (or celery) chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
1 red pepper
(i used some leftover spinach stems)
2-3 cups vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock)
3 tbsp heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
basil chopped

Directions:

add a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). fry them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.
when about to serve, add 3 tablespoon thick cream, and some chopped basil from my garden.

Cook Vegetarian – Shallow Fried Silken Tofu in Spinach Veloute

Posted on September 13, 2015 by chefquak

shallow-fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

my niece & her hubby are vegetarian, so i planned a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for her recently. this the very first time i tried serious vegetable dishes, like not just frying a garlic kang kong or something..haha!^^

flamed squid in spinach veloute

one of the dishes was a vegetarian version of flamed squid in spinach veloute.

what i did was replaced the flamed squid with a crispy shallow-fried silken tofu. ^^

i chose silken tofu as i wanted a very soft tofu texture inside while the outside is crispy.

spinach veloute

for the spinach veloute, i used spinach sauce recipe i self-created for the flame squid dish. i used lots of vegetable to make the veloute so very tasty.

green pepper onions spinach veloute

i fried in butter 1/2 onion, 1/2 stalk leek, 1 green pepper & a bunch of spinach leafs. then i placed them in a blender & added 2 tablespoon vegetable stock (since this is a vegetarian dish i prepared the vegetable stock beforehand instead of chicken stock) & 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil & salt & pepper to taste.

such a wonderful & tasty veloute complementing the shallow-fried silken tofu. 🙂

#3 shallow fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

for the silken tofu, i used one packet of silken tofu & cut into 8 slices of 1cm+ thickness.

then i heat up enough olive oil in a non-stick pan, added the tofu & lowered the fire. i added sea salt from the grinder dispenser liberally & covered the pan. when it was browned, i turned over & cooked till the other side was browned.

when serving i heat up the veloute, plated the sauce, added the crispy silken tofu & topped with a coriander branch. 🙂

tofu is not squid of course, but nice also, & the veloute is marvellous & the whole dish presentation just very charming. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Why Eat Har Prawn Noodles – Good As Always on 10Sep2015

Posted on September 13, 2015 by chefquak

why eat har S$5 prawn noodles

7 of us old RI friends decided to go for a uniquely Singapore “cooling-off” morning walk at pulau ubin on 10.9.2015. ^^

we gathered at 7am at changi food centre & had mizzy corner nasi lemak. i forgot to take a photo of the nasi lemak so will not do a post on mizzy corner this time. suffice to say it was just ok & nowhere as good as selara rasa at adam road. rice not as fragrant, chilli not as tasty.

after ubin, we prior arranged to visit our close friend’s brother’s prawn noodle stall, why eat har located at Thye Hwa Heng Canteen, Blk 29 Eunos Avenue 6. another 4 friends joined us there, so we had 11. 🙂

why eat har S$6 prawn bakut noodles

the prawns were smaller today so the stall charged S$5 instead of S$6.

i had my usual prawn noodles dry. some friends ordered the prawn bakut noodles. i had tried the bakut here & it was very good, fork tender but good bite not sinewy & falling apart & good pork rib taste. 2 pieces for just $1 more definitely more than worth it. for this day though, for myself, i just wanted to eat the prawn noodles.

why eat har S$5 prawn noodles

the proprietor, our good friend’s brother, chong loong came by & chatted. i told him the noodles, chilli & soup were now very consistent – QQ noodles, very fragrant, tasty chilli not too oily, and intense flavourful soup. very good in fact!

this the 3rd time i had the prawn noodles here, and unlike (say) ah hui @ balestier food centre which was good one time & so so the next, it is good here every time!

the stall is now only open on even days only ie tuesdays, thursday & saturdays. this is really not an easy commitment, but it is really admirable that chong loong has the passion to continue to dish out such wonderful food.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Pontian Wanton Noodles @ Bedok Interchange Food Centre on 9Sep2015

Posted on September 13, 2015 by chefquak

S$3 pontain wanton noodles

4 of us went to attend worker’s party election rally at bedok stadium on 9.9.2015.

we parked early at bedok mall & walked the distance to bedok stadium.

pontain wanton noodles

after the rally at 10pm we walked back to our car & stopped by bedok interchange food centre to have the pontain wanton noodles.

S$3 pontain wanton noodles

it was very good. nice QQ noodles, very good chilli sauce, good char siew & the crispy wanton were good too.

this certainly is one of the better wanton noodles. so far, the wanton noodles i liked best iskok kee wanton noodles formerly at lavendar food square. i have not tried it at the new location yet.

i also liked the red ring wanton noodles at holland bus interchange.

& i had wanton noodles at KPT coffeeshop after cycling at the punggol waterway park connector.

one wanton noodles i liked very much earlier on is the one at temberling. must go back & try again.

anyway for now, i very much enjoyed this pontain wanton noodles. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Nice Lunch @ Reddot Brewhouse Dempsey on 9Sep2015

Posted on September 12, 2015 by chefquak

reddot salad

reddot brewhouse @ dempsey offers good value set lunch in a nice ambience & also free parking. i had a few lunches there previously including the one here.

3 of us went there for lunch again on 9.9.2015. ^^

the 2-course set lunch + drink had gone up to S$20 from S$18 previously (S$24 for 3-course from S$22 previously).

reddot salad

i had the reddot salad – great salad! & a good helping.

smoked salmon salad

1 friend had the smoked salmon salad.

smoked salmon salad

very good too.

seafood marinara spaghetti

& he had the seafood marinara spaghetti.

seafood marinara spaghetti

it was good too & a good lunch choice at this price.

salmon with cold capellini

i wanted to try the salmon.

salmon with cold capellini

it came with truffle cold capellini, very sweet vine tomatoes & mesclun. 🙂

salmon with cold capellini

cold capellini was very nice & fragrant. the salmon was excellent!

panfried seabass

the special for main course today was pan-fried seabass.

panfried seabass

my friend said it was great and the plating was quite impressive too.

very pleasant place to have a relaxing lunch with old friends.

c.h.e.f andy

Interesting 8-course Chinese Dinner @ Mitzo on 5Sep2015

Posted on September 12, 2015 by chefquak

#3 lobster bisque

there is a ongoing UOB credit card 1-for-1 promotion at mitzo.

i came here for a lohei dinner in mar2015. it was an ok, in fact better than expected, experience.

as mentioned then, mitzo is also apparently positioned as an inventive cocktail bar, serving some cocktails from a teapot. 🙂

mitzo signatures set menu

so we decided to try out the S$108pax (S$54pax after 50% discounts) 8-course signature set menu on 5.9.2015.

F1 complimentary cocktail

we were in luck this evening. F1 is round the corner & they were rolling out some new F1 cocktail, and for this evening, we stumbled onto a free F1 complimentary cocktail promotion. it tasted pretty good actually, not too sweet. i think it was rum & some citrus & other concoction.

#1 trio of dimsum

the dimsum trio was fine food. taste was pretty good, if not awesome. 🙂

radish puff

radish puff was a very good pastry, and tasty.

breaded shrimp & foie gras

the breaded prawn roll was a little heavy, & average.

crispy glutinous pumpkin in custard

the crispy glutinous pumpkin in custard was good.

#2 mitzo char siew

the mitzo special char siew was good, but a tad too salty. it is not the standard of the chargrilled pork neck 炭烧猪项肉 at imperial treasure nanbei we had recently.

#3 lobster bisque with poached scallop

the lobster bisque with poached scallop was a bit of a fusion oddity. it looked gluey like a chinese sweet sour soup.

but the taste was superb! & with so much cut scallops & lobster pieces! this was the best dish this evening. ^^

#4 deep-fried prawns with creamy lemon

the deep-fried prawns with creamy lemon sauce was good, very competent. a good crisp outside, tender & tasty inside.

#4 deep-fried prawns with creamy lemon

its a regular dish like any wasabi prawns or salted egg prawns with a different dressing, ok but not awesome.

#5 oven baked chilean seabass with lemon grass

the oven baked chilean seabass with lemon grass was good standard.

#5 oven baked chilean seabass with lemon grass

not among the better chilean seabass i had, including oonboard SIA!

#6 pan-fried lamb chop with enoki mushrooms

the pan-fried lamb chop with enoki mushrooms was very tender, except it tasted by geyland lor 9 horfun kind of chinese very tenderised kind of tender.

#6 pan-fried lamb chop with enoki mushrooms

so i was just ok with the dish not not really my thing.

#7 seafood thick beehoon

the other very tasty best dish of the evening was the braised thick beehoon soup, with prawns, scallops & cod.

#7 seafood thick beehoon

i really enjoyed this. finish all the carbs.

#7 seafood thick beehoon

shiok!!

#8 avocado ice cream & sesame dumpling

the dessert was not really my type.

avocado cream with ice cream…i took just a little.

sesame dumpling

i always like sesame dumpling. still this time i did not finish it.

well, this not a set i would want to take too often. if the consideration were just money vs ingredients, this was certainly a very good deal!

c.h.e.f andy

Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang Lagi Bagus @ Geylang Serai Food Markey on 8Sep2015

Posted on September 12, 2015 by chefquak

beef tripes

a RI friend brought me to a nasi padang eating stall in geylang serai some time ago. i did not have a blog post, so i guess it must have been like 3 years ago (i started blogging in mar2013).

at the time my favourite was river valley nasi padang at zion road. it had been for many years from the time when children were very young. we even ta pao food for large 10+ parties & really relished the curries. river valley nasi padang was expensive, and some thought the curries were too salty. i quite agree. it is closed now. the other place i liked was at the old tanjong pagar railway station. it was also closed.

so i have not had nasi padang at the stalls for a really long time. i did have some at rendervous @ central.

sinar pagi nasi padang

this time the same friend brought me to sinar pagi nasi padang at geyland serai market on 8.9.2015. ^^

sinar pagi nasi padang

i had wanted to try this the last time when i saw the food beautifully displayed & the long queue, but at the time we already had our lunch at the nasi padang stall across sims avenue on the joo chiat side.

well, never too late. another RI friend joined & my friend bought lunch.

the beef tripes curry (top photo) was very good. it was not as salty as river valley nasi padang so on that score i guess it was better.

curry chicken

curry chicken was lovely too! curry was very tasty. somehow in my memory, the yellow & red curry chicken at river valley nasi padang at zion road was still better.

assam fish curry

assam fish curry was as good as any.

chilli eggplant

chilli eggplant was ok, but i think not great. my helper can make it better & tastier.

egg

egg kind of non-descript.

lunch was S$21. actually not cheap, no cheaper, i guess, than river valley nasi padang at zion road.

anyway, company of old friends was great. we chatted about GE2015. & over food i liked and enjoyed.

lagi bagus!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good Lai Heng Bakchormee @ Changi Airport T3 B2 Kopitiam on 6Sep2015

Posted on September 11, 2015 by chefquak

lai heng S$4 bakchormee

wife & i sent son to airport on 6.9.2015.

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

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

lai heng S$4 bakchormee

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

soup

soup was tasty with lots of minced pork.

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

c.h.e.f andy

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