Consistently Good Teochew Muay @ Shi Le Yuan on 14Jul2015

Posted on July 15, 2015 by chefquak

teochew muay at shi le yuan redhill market

went with sis & b-i-l to shi le yuan 实叻圆糜 for mid morning teochew muay on 14.7.2015. this my second time. ^^

last time i was here was with my RI friends on 29.6.2015, 6pax costing S$43.

there was a queue of about 10pax at 10.15am.

S$9.50 steamed red garoupa

i asked for mullet 乌鱼 or ngoh soon (little treadfin) but they did not have either. i saw someone ordered the steamed red garoupa. it looked ok so i ordered one also.

S$9.50 steamed red garoupa

i guess it was very good really, especially at S$9.50. we do it a lot better at home though, hk steam 港蒸 with lots of scallions, cut chilli & sliced chinese mushrooms.

so i take this often at home buying red garoupa from chinatown market. it would cost S$6 to S$7 at chinatown market fishmonger stalls for this size (400g) so S$9.50 was pretty good.

pig head skin 猪头皮

we ordered the pig head skin 猪头皮. this was really good. texture was perfect & taste excellent.

shark meat

shark meat 鲨鱼肉 was good too. i seldom take this dish. usually it is either fried stingray done in a similar way (which is very good) OR chilled shark meat 鲨鱼冻.

pork ribs

steamed pork ribs was good like last time.

salted fish minced pork

& i just love the salted fish minced pork or 咸鱼饼. ^^

spinach

we had spinach. good too.

total was S$23 for 3pax 6 fishes including the red garoupa & 3 porridge. the garoupa & 3 porridge totalled S$11 so the remain gin 5 dishes only cost S$12. very good food at a really good price!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Just Average Bakuteh @ Ng Ah Sio on 11Jul2015

Posted on July 14, 2015 by chefquak

ng ah sio rangoon road bakuteh dishes

a RI friend organised a yoga session at vyasa yoga at civil service club at tessensohn road on 11.7.2015. 10 of us attended. it was a very enjoyable session of cyclic meditation which they branded as smash your stress.^^

after yoga it was closed to 4pm. 4 of us decided to go ng ah sio at rangoon road nearby to have bakuteh. 🙂

S$8.50 prime ribs

i have not come to this ng ah sio for the longest time, maybe 10 years, but i have been to ng ah sio at chui huay lim a few times & my experience there was good.

the prime ribs were expensive, 2 pieces for S$8.50. soup was good, one friend said ng ah sio always too peppery. i thought so too, but found it quite ok this time. but i am more the rib person than soup person.

S$7 spare ribs

we ordered 2 bowls prime ribs + 1 bowl spare ribs to share among 4pax.

one friend was especially impressed with the ribs which were fork tender falling off the bones. for me i prefer a firmer texture like i used to enjoy at rong cheng 榕城 in sin min (though i hardly go there now as it is so easy to make my own bakuteh at home).

i guess it is personal preference thingy. 🙂

S$2 pig’s skin – lagi good we ordered a second

everyone loved the pig skin, no fat, all collagen, or so we had ourselves believed.^^

peanuts

peanuts etc were usual. i don’t normally take extra dishes when i eat bakuteh since i mostly go for the ribs. 🙂

youtiao – soft

you char kueh was soft as i expected. usually “lau hong” pre-cut in a bowl.

nai bai奶白

nothing much to say about the veg.

mee sua

mee sua ok i guess, can replace rice for less carbs. ^^

overall it was just average for me. for S$8.50, i can do my own bakuteh (using 1/2kg fresh indonesian pork ribs from sheng shiong or 1kg of frozen ribs from chinatown market) at home as it is the easiest thing to make.

there are so many good bakuteh places in singapore. for the more recent ones i been to, i still like rong cheng bakuteh best, & song fa bakuteh & also ng ah sio at chui huay lim. last time i went to lao ah tee bakuteh at boon keng i did not like it so much.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Authentic Thai Food @ Thai Gold Food on 10Jul2015

Posted on July 14, 2015 by chefquak

S$10 tomyam goong

had a good 2pax thai dinner with wife at thai gold food on 10.7.2015.

wife wanted to see some furniture at “space” located at bencoolen street. we thought might as well eat in the area.

Thai Gold Food

place was small with indoor & outdoor sitting. we were seated 7pm. soon a queue formed.

S$1.50 calamansi

calamansi was sour & not too sweet, S$1.50 a glass so quite ok. i refer the more intense lemon but this was quite refreshing.

S$10 tomyam goong

we ordered the S$10 tomyam goong (prawns). there were 6 fresh prawns, soup was good. of course not to be compared with patara which cost 2.5x more, but i liked this better than the clear tomyam talay at nakhon @ amk which i had recently.

S$10 red curry chicken

we liked the S$10 red curry chicken. this the “dry” curry version. it was very flavourful & the chicken was tender.

S$10 red curry chicken

i prefer though the soupy green curry at nakhon @ amk where i finished up all the curries.^^

S$10 bbq pork

the S$10 bbq pork was a recommended dish. it was good.

S$10 bbq pork

i am thinking whether i can come up with a version of this. my char siew & roast pork were not great, maybe i should try a different method of doing pork collar.

S$10 bbq pork

the total bill came to S$34. the dishes were slightly more expensive than nakhon @ amk. they were more satisfying for me though, it really depend on whether the dish preference & what we ordered. e.g. i prefer the red tomyam to the clear version. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Homecooked Zi Char Daipaidong Dishes 郭记大排档美食 (Just Kidding!)

Posted on July 8, 2015 by chefquak

郭记大排档美食 homecooked zi char dishes

made a 4pax homecooked zi char dinner for my sis, b-i-l & daughter last evening on 7.7.2015.^^ was back home at 6pm & 5 dishes all done in an hour. dinner ready by 7pm. 🙂

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

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

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

i portioned about 350g minced pork for the 3 dishes – steamed egg, steamed salted fish minced pork & eggplant. and cut 1 small red onion & 1/2 large tomato.

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

when serving, i browned some garlic in 1tbsp oil, added onions & minced pork then tomato, mixed 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp tomato sauce, 1tsp fish sauce (to taste) & 1 tsp cornflour in 2/3 cup water. i added to the pan & reduced. then i drenched them over the steamed whole egg plant.

this really an excellent dish!^^ eggplant was firm not mushy yet sweet & tender when cut, & combined perfectly with the sauce.

i basically had the inspiration & was recreating the dish from 富记大排档tai wai.

富记’s eggplant with minced pork (1 look) HK$68

but seriously i think my dish tasted much better. 富记’s meat sauce was purely tomato sauce. by adding oyster sauce, the taste was very much better, at least for my palate haha!^^

steamed minced pork with salted fish咸鱼饼

i ran out of salted fish so asked sis to buy some on the way. she got me sky time salted fish which was a lot better than the one i recently used. the flavours were fragrant & you can feel it while steaming & at the table (the reason some may hate salted fish..haha!) there were about 7-8pieces in the 250g bottle which cost S$4.90. 🙂

steamed minced pork with salted fish咸鱼饼

i used 1 slice, removed the larger bones & did a very small portion about 180g minced pork, & cut lots of slice ginger, some mixed in the minced pork, rest on top, and added about 2tsp of the salted fish oil & 1 tbsp veg oil. steamed for 10mins. this dish was excellent. most comfort of comfort food. i like my own version 咸鱼饼 as much as that of shi le yuan 实叻圆糜, which i also like a lot.^^

steamed egg with minced pork

i mixed 2 eggs, aded 2 tsp fish sauce & some white pepper. then mixed the remaining about 120g minced pork with chopped large red chilli & spring onions, and added 2tsp fish sauce. i should have added 2 tbsp water but forgot that this evening. steamed for 10mins.

steamed egg with minced pork

the egg was still very nice & tasty, but the texture would have been better with some water. the best steamed egg with minced pork i did is here

teochew chilled mullet 乌鱼打冷

i bought a small mullet 乌鱼from sheng shiong for S$4 (S$8.90/kg). i placed some cut ginger in the belly & steamed for 15mins. then cool & place in the freezer for 15mins.

teochew chilled mullet 乌鱼打冷

the teochew chilled mullet 乌鱼打冷 taken with tau jeon was as good as any outside. a thing i observe (a bit of personal preference also) is do not ask the seller to clean the fish. all the livers & delicacies were gone! for my preference also not to ask even to remove the scale (if need be just remove the gills). for me i can remove the gills & clean the fish stomach myself & i feel that keeping the scale is better especially when serving the mullet chilled. then the skin will come off easily together with the scales. otherwise the skin is difficult to break with chopstick & the meat will be meshed uo when eating.

egg fried rice

& i had some egg fried rice, very firm individual grains coated with egg. ^^ c.h.e.f andy

Squid-ink Risotto Par Excellence

Posted on July 6, 2015 by chefquak

squid-ink risotto with squid

daughter bought me an excellent squid-ink risotto at father’s day dinner at follia recently on 20.6.2015.^^

i really liked the flavours of the risotto with good shellfish stock, smooth & creamy. the proprietor told us later though it was butter & no cream.

so i thought i will do one with butter & no cream.

i do a very good squid-ink pasta myself but have not tried it on risotto.

i decided not to use browned garlic & alio olio flavours. i did not have chicken stock so i cut up 1 carrot, 1 whole yellow onion, some leeks leftover in the chiller & put in the crockpot overnight to make a vegetable stock. that should be enough with the squid ink & sauce from pan-fried squid.

squid-ink risotto with squid

& it was an excellent squid-ink risotto, about same or very close to the follia standard.^^

squid-ink risotto with squid

for the preparation –

get enough squid ink – the normal elongated squid has very little ink so needs about 5 large squids, i happened to have a flat squid (cuttlefish) in the freezer & that has a lot of ink.

i had 2 medium squid. these were very thin, so i cut them in rings instead of the usual cross/chequered cut

i seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper & butter-fried the squid & set aside.

i fried & softened 1 cut red onion in olive oil, added the squid ink & then added 1 cup of carnaroli rice & coat the rice

i added 1.5 cups of stock (including draining the sauce from the fried squid) to cover the rice & bring to boil

then i placed in a preheated 205degC oven for 10minutes.

squid-ink risotto with squid

the rice would be like 80% to 90% cooked, centre still slightly hard not yet al dente. i added salt to taste.

squid-ink risotto with squid

i did not read up any recipe, but i guessed the butter had to be added at the time of tossing, otherwise will be just boiling butter. 🙂

just like adding butter to toss for my mentaiko pasta.

squid-ink risotto with squid

when serving-

i added another cup of stock & boiled & reduced, checking that the risotto is al dente & not overcooked

then i added the pre-fried squid, again so that they were not overcooked & rubbery

i cut about 20g butter into small cubes, off the fire & toss the butter with the risotto

& it worked wonders. i say almost the exact same flavours & texture like what we had at follia.

c.h.e.f andy

Chicken Ballotine

Posted on July 6, 2015 by chefquak

chicken ballotine

tried a chicken ballotine the last few days.

when we were in cornwall recently, we had a really good mother’s day lunch at gurnard’s head on 10.5.2015 & the chicken ballotine was excellent. ^^

i googled for the recipe & found a really pretty chicken ballotine at whereismyspoon.com.

chicken ballotine

in my first attempt, i put too much filling & it was not easy to roll & make it hold tight, especially when cutting.

chicken balotine

anyway it was easy enough to make (i used chicken breast instead of thigh)-

butterfly a chicken breast (i cut from whole fresh chicken & remove skin)

cover with a large cling film (later used to wrap & steam the chicken) & pound & flatten (i use a metal soup ladle…can use rolling pin)

season with 2 teaspoon fish sauce

i added white pepper, paprika, parsley flakes

chicken balotine

for the fillings, i –

slightly browned 2 streaky bacons on non stick pan on low fire

fried 1/2 cut onions in butter to soften

then add a bunch of spinach

chicken ballotine

i laid the bacon strips first, throw on some cheddar cheese shreds, then added the onions & spinach.

i rolled tightly in the cling film & twisted the ends to tighten.

then placed in a metal dish to steam for 15minutes.

#2 chicken ballotine

must say the taste was really quite good, steamed meat was very tender not tough or overcooked, & the sweet onions & spinach & not overly strong flavours of the bacon was a great enhancement. 🙂

chicken ballotine

can certainly improved on the looks. this one had too much fillings.

chicken ballotine

fillings were reduced & looked better.

chicken ballotine

i did not blend the fillings this time. may try that next time or just chopped up the bacon & fry lightly.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Thai Food Good Value @ Nakhon AMK on 3Jul2015

Posted on July 4, 2015 by chefquak

green curry beef

a friend arranged lunch at nakhon @ AMK on 3.7.2015.^^

nakhon @ AMK

it’s nice & airy at corner of blk 529 AMK ave 10. there were tables orderly set at a cover extended area w/o encroaching on the walkway.

queue at 12.10pm

my friend was there 10mins early to get a table. i was there at 11.55am. nakhon starts lunch at 12pm.

a queue started to build up almost immediately.

queue at 12.40pm

by the time we finished lunch, queue was 10+ long.

S$6 pandan chicken

my friend ordered 4 dishes. we ordered a S$3 red ruby to share afterwards.

the pandan chicken was not bad for S$6.

condiments

lots of sauces, i only used the sweet thai chilli for the pandan chicken.

S$6 tom yam talay

my friend loved the clear tom yam talay (seafood). his whole family adored this dish.

S$6 tom yam talay

for me, i prefer the red tom yam. the prawn was ok, so maybe next time i will order tom yam gung.

cannot really compare this S$6 soup with patara’s which cost nearly 5x more.

S$6 pineapple fried rice

i mostly do not take pineapple rice, kind of sweet. usually we take olive rice at patara.

S$ pineapple fried rice

for S$6, more than ok i think. 🙂

S$8 green curry beef

i just loved the green curry. beef was fine, not tough, not the tenderised artificial texture, quite ok. i drank most of the curry.^^

bill

red ruby was S$3. ordinary, which is good i guess.

pandan chicken with pineapple fried rice

i think this is really good authentic thai food. may not be the top restaurant or fine thai kind of food, but it is s authentic as any thai street food, comfort food or small restaurant/shop food. and the price is very reasonable, which accounts for the constant queue. well above average food at very good value prices.

will be back soon!

c.h.e.f andy

Protected: RI G20 15pax Dinner Great Food & Ambience @ Kith Cafe Park Mall on 30Jun2015

Posted on July 2, 2015 by chefquak

Great Food & Ambience @ Kith Cafe Park Mall on 30Jun2015

Posted on July 1, 2015 by chefquak

crabmeat linguine in tomato sauce

a RI friend is a proprietor of kith cafe at park mall & sentosa cove (kith has another outlet at robertson quay). kith does all day breakfast (till 5pm) and seems like a good coffee place too.

after our may G20 dinner at peach garden @ metropolis on 26.5.2015, we all agreed we should be young again & be spotted at kith. so this friend volunteered or was volunteered to organise the june dinner at kith cafe @ park mall on 30.6.2015. 🙂

we had 15pax. 🙂

i didn’t know if kith meant anything in particular, but after googling i found out that kith was like kin or kindred or –

acquaintances, friends, neighbors, or the like; persons living in thesame general locality and forming a more or less cohesive group

a cafe for friends – good name!

a few friends went early & took a short walk at fort canning park. the rest of us got a tour of our friend’s high end office chairs & system furniture shop adjacent to kith cafe.

watermelon & lychee smoothie

the friend ordered watermelon & lychee smoothie for a few of us. it was good, refreshing, quenching, not too sweet. not particularly a favourite for me though.

some ordered ABC – apple, beetroot & carrots me think…sounds healthy. i will try that one next time.

sweet corn soup

couple friends ordered a soup. think it was the soup of the day, maybe a sweet corn soup. looked ok.

calamari

my friend ordered some calamari & 2 pizza to share, and each ordered our own pasta dish.

calamari was good. squid was very slightly tough, batter was good.

calamari

this a common dish in many restaurants, and it’s quite competent here. 🙂

gong bao chicken pizza

the gong bao chicken pizza was better than i expected. we all liked the thin crust pizza.

gong bao chicken pizza

gong bao chicken may have sounded cheesy & chinatown like but it was actually good – no sticky sauce, taste was not too sweet & combined quite well with the pizza. 🙂

parma ham pizza

parma ham pizza was competent also. pretty ok. 🙂

parma ham pizza

pizza not particularly my favourite but it is an excellent dish for communal dining & i do enjoy a slice of good pizza (i shared 1/2 gong bao chicken & 1/2 parma ham pizza with a friend) to start the dinner.

spaghetti alio olio

the spaghetti alio olio was good!

good helping, very flavourful, good garlic flavours & lots of shiitake mushrooms. I shared 1/2 of it with a friend who shared 1/2 of my squid ink pasta. not a usual dish i would order as i like meat or seafood. 🙂

linguine gamberini (garlic prawn)

the linguine gamberini (garlic prawn) looked good. i will order that next time.

carbonara

carbonara. looked ok. somehow looked a bit like hokkien mee. egg was mixed in the pasta. i think it would taste good as most pasta here were good. though i am more used to the look/colour of carbonara at alfresco gusto.

bolognese

i had a try of the bolognese, and the tomato sauce was good. meat sauce/ragout preparation not my favourite but this was good.

vongole

did not try the vongole. it looked fine. 🙂

vongole

they said vongole is a test of a pasta chef. the lala (littleneck clams) have a distinctive shellfish taste & if the linguine is done al dente the combination is quite excellent. my own vongole linguine here.

veal spinach tortellini in tomato sauce

the veal spinach tortellini looked interesting.

veal spinach tortellini in tomato sauce

& looked yummy! i must try that next time. 🙂

squid ink spaghetti with seafood alio olio

my friend the proprietor ordered the day’s special, a squid ink spaghetti with seafood alio olio.

i tasted. it was good.

squid ink pasta

i liked my own squid ink sauce pasta better though. it was more intense & flavourful, though my immediate reaction was it was a bit salty. my own squid ink seafood spaghetti here.

the friend who shared 1/2 my squid ink thought it was very salty, and that the alio olio was also salty. i was good with the alio olio, & salt does bring out the flavours (though too much would kill it).

my friend the proprietor ordered 2 more pizza – a duck & mushroom ragout & a special – with sausage.

my phone died so i did not have photos. duck ragout was good & had some meat pieces. i liked the sausage special pizza a bit more, sausage very flavourful.

yuzu cheese cake

the pastry chef among us went to select the dessert.

i didn’t think much of the yuzu cheese cake nor the biscuit base. probably i was programmed to think anything yuzu must be specially good. this was average so-so to me.

tiramisu

didn’t think much of the tiramisu either. i had a small teaspoon scoop near the top, somehow thought it felt like penna cotta.

tiramisu

that did not prepare me for interrogation by our pastry chef. she asked if i tasted the lady finger biscuits. seemed that i didn’t (i guess that’s why i thought it tasted like penna cotta – soft, light w/o the tiramisu texture) nor did i tasted coffee or liquor.

our pastry chef thought it was good, and she said there was liquor at the bottom & she didn’t take coffee anyway, so that suited her. guess i have to defer to pastry chef!^^

anyway my palate a bit hesitant, not very sharp like my daughter…give me excuse to try a few more times.^^

lemongrass chocolate cake

the lemongrass chocolate cake looked really pretty, but it’s not my thing.

lemongrass chocolate cake

my least preferred of the 3 dessert.

i had a flat white afterwards. it was good. but didn’t feel that it was in the chye seng huat, dutch colony, or the assembly coffee category.

it was really enjoyable evening. company was super fun, outdoor ambience was cool & nice open space, & food was great. i will probably come back with my family. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Great Teochew Muay @ Shi Le Yuan 实叻圆糜 on 29Jun2015

Posted on June 29, 2015 by chefquak

ngor soon fish-baby treadfin

a RI friend organised a teochew muay this morning at shi le yuan 实叻圆糜 on 29.6.2015.^^

we had lunch & long chat 2 weeks ago at happy duck at bukit merah view food centre, and arranged to come for this teochew muay.

shi le yuan 实叻圆糜

lunch started early for patrons of this market stall.

constant queue from 10am

a queue started at 10am. my friend was already there in the queue. we arranged to meet 10.15am. i arrived just a bit later.

ngor soon fish-baby treadfin

our expert teochew ah hia earlier spoke with the stall proprietor & we had the ngor soon fish-baby treadfin. this was really good. sweet, tender, tasty, especially with the tau jeoh.^^

spicy black bean minced pork

earlier the teochew ah hia & i were wondering about the stall. we were thinking maybe the food is ok & the price is cheap. that would be enough reasons for a constant queue. basically i don’t think too much of teochew muay in singapore myself. i just feel that its really expensive (like >S$10pax) for very cheap ingredients & ordinary cooking.

overall, this stall is certainly very cheap. we only paid S$43 for 7pax & so many dishes. we had repeat helpings for 3 dishes – the spicy black bean minced pork, salted fish minced pork (kiam her bak) & black bean pork ribs. so its easy to tell, in addition to the ngor soon fish-baby treadfin, these were among the best dishes.

the other dishes were not like supergood but they were generally also competent. 🙂

spicy black bean minced pork was good. i may try this myself.

salted fish minced pork (kiam her bak)

salted fish minced pork (kiam her bak) was very good. texture was slightly firmer & different from my own salted fish minced pork dish. maybe it had a bit more flour. it had less salted fish. that’s good. minced pork & salted fish should not be competing.

black bean pork ribs

black bean sauce minced pork was good. it was not out of the ordinary but was quite good really.

kor leh – cabbage

the other dishes were all quite ok. kor leh – cabbage was like any other.

chim char lor

chim char lor nothing standing out, but it was not very salty so that’s good.

fried bean curd with leek

fried bean curd with leek, a favourite of mine, not particularly tasty but ok. i think my sis in law did a better one for chinese new year.

fried egg

fried egg felt a bit like my tamago (japanese egg roll) w/o rolling up. there might be a bit of sugar, which is what i do with my tamago.

salted egg

salted egg, not the very reddish oozing with oil kind. i guess it will do.

braised bean curd

bean curd – this was non-descript & the second poorest item among the mostly nice dishes.

somehow i did not take a photo of only 1 dish = the teochew fishcake, and that was the poorest dish, felt like a lot of starch, totally not the texture & sweetness of a teochew fishcake. strange!

mixed mushrooms

the mixed mushrooms i think was complimentary from the proprietor to us for ordering too much. haha!^^

very good teochew muay S$43 for 7pax

well, this teochew muay totally suit my palate, very competent food with quite a few standout dishes & very good price.

i will be back soon enough.

c.h.e.f andy

Enjoyed the Food This Time @ Tian Bao Restaurant (天寶閣) on 28Jun2015

Posted on June 29, 2015 by chefquak

saliva chicken口水鸡

had dinner at tian bao restaurant (天寶閣) at taka with wife & daughter on 18.4.2015 but wasn’t impressed.

i had one S$50 groupon voucher left expiring on 30.6.2015, so not much choice than to go with sis for dinner on 28.6.2015.

tian bao restaurant (天寶閣)

the placed had 2 seatings 5.30pm & 7.30pm. it was quite packed and this was a monday. everyone was using the vouchers. i wonder how traffic be like if no vouchers, but groupon vouchers tend to keep reappearing anyway.

saliva chicken口水鸡 – S$8.80

we ordered the saliva chicken口水鸡 – S$8.80. it was pretty good actually.

i would say crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao version had a lot more kick.

saliva chicken口水鸡

this one was a large helping. chicken was good, chilli was mild but still quite flavourful especially taking a little together with the chicken. maybe my own saliva chicken口水鸡 standard.

soup dumplings海味抄手

i had soup dumplings海味抄手the last time & it was good, so i ordered it again.^^

never knew there was a different version than spicy dumplings 红油抄手, which was the usual we had at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

soup dumplings海味抄手

there were 6 dumplings. dumplings skin was smooth & meat filling was good.

soup lagi best!

this soup dumplings海味抄手, i think S$9.80 was very worth ordering.

deepfried tofu with pork

we were deciding between braised beef & bamboo shoot & this dish. server said this dish was more popular. but it was a very average dish at S$13.80.

deepfried tofu with pork

can’t really say the dish was not good. it was quite average if competent, nothing much to say about the tofu. & in comparison would be the worst dish we ordered.

dan dan noodles 担担面

dan dan noodles 担担面 S$9.80 was very good!

dan dan noodles 担担面

again the spiciness seemed to have been moderated, but it was still tasty & flavourful. i liked it!

ice jelly with cheng chao

the ice jelly was also something i had last time.

ice jelly with cheng chao

i did not actually remember it, but somehow i seemed to have gravitated to ordering the same item.

ice jelly with cheng chao

it was refreshing. a small dish at S$3.80, i guess not cheap or expensive in particular. 🙂

i find the pricing generally far more expensive than a good restaurant like crystal jade e.g. 小笼包 S$9.80 (i.e. w/o the groupon discounts). guess problem with such a place is always what dishes one orders. this time we ordered mostly good dishes we liked, except that we still had a lemon (the deep-fried tofu dish).

the dinner for 2pax came to S$30.80 using my groupon vouchers (S$25 for S$50 voucher value). at this price i would say the food was pretty good!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish & Sliced Ginger

Posted on June 26, 2015 by chefquak

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

this a really simple dish & ever so satisfying, lagi shiok! a true comfort food. ^^

usually my helper will make this. she is away (back home) for a month, so i made it myself this evening on 25.6.2015.

i was eating alone, so i cooked small rice, & since i was at it throw in a sausage & liver sausage while rice was steaming. and also fried a broccoli for a balanced diet. haha!

salted fish though not very ideal for a healthy diet, lots of sodium, not to be take too often.

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

i bought 2 packets of minced pork from sheng shiong.

initially i was going to do a few dishes for my friends after a movie the next day. as it turned out they decided to have tea near orchard instead & happened that i also need to settle some urgent stuff on my company at the auditor’s office. so i used a packet (about 250g) & made the dish for my own dinner.

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

for the simple recipe, i used –

250g minced pork.

minced a slice of salted fish (the kind from a bottle, about 3 slices in a bottle).

cut a lot of sliced ginger (about 5cm piece) – i love lots of ginger.

1 tablespoon of the brine from the salted fish bottle. no fish sauce etc. it was just salty enough.

2 tablespoon of olive oil.

steaming – quick & easy preparation

i mixed the minced pork, 1/3 of the sliced ginger & the minced salted fish & placed it in a metal dish for steaming. i used my heavy stainless steel pan & just placed the steaming dish in the water, covered & steamed for 10minutes (making sure minced pork is properly cooked).

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

so easy to prepare & such a wonderful dish.

2 disadvantages being (a)the high sodium content (b)made me eat more rice than usual.

c.h.e.f andy

Man Fat Sze 10000 Budhhas Monastery 万佛寺

Posted on June 22, 2015 by chefquak

man fat sze 万佛寺

visiting 10000 budhhas monastery man fat sze 万佛寺 was a contributing reason for choosing royal park hotel at shatin. ^^

my sis is buddhist & man fat sze 万佛寺 would interest her.

way to man fat sze 万佛寺 from shatin MTR station

starting out from shatin station, it is very easy to go to man fat sze 万佛寺. 🙂

way to man fat sze 万佛寺 from shatin MTR station

upon exiting shatin MTR station, there is a sloping covered walkway to road level.

temple at start of uphill path to man fat sze

福宝山crematorium at start of uphill path to man fat sze

after that turn left & walk about 100m, then turn left at first side road by grand central plaza & go forward about 50m till you see the 福宝山crematorium..

start of path to man fat sze 万佛寺

there is a direction sign showing the way to man fat sze 万佛寺.

lined on both sides up man fat sze 万佛寺

the uphill passage is lined on both sides with lohan statue me think?? all the way up man fat sze 万佛寺. 🙂

lohan statue

one of the lohan statue. 🙂

lined on both sides up man fat sze 万佛寺

uphill was ok but it was a hot day, though nothing like the scorching sun we suffered on our lamma island trip & cheung chau island trip. 🙂

lined on both sides up man fat sze 万佛寺

finally arrived at man fat sze 万佛寺, and looking down.

man fat sze 万佛寺

the main square also lined with statues & a pagoda in the background.

pagoda at man fat sze 万佛寺

the pagoda.

man fat sze 万佛寺