Our Favourite Hai Kee Char Kuay Teow at Telok Blangah Crescent on 8jan2015

Posted on January 9, 2015 by chefquak

char kuay teow 炒粿条

went with wife to hai kee char kuay teow at telok blangah crescent on 8.1.2015. 🙂

lasted time we were here was 1+years ago on 13.9.2013. waited just 25mins this time..there goes my diet plan! ^^

hai kee char kuay teow

char kuay teow 炒粿条

we still like it very much. 🙂

price was S$3, no adding of “hum” cockles. lots of cockles and very tasty. very sinful of course, lots of oil & lar pok aka deep-fried fat pieces. the cockles were quite a bit smaller this time. i had raw cockles for my plate. ^^

hai kee char kuay teow

there was a continuous, “never-short-of” queue.

not something i should have often, but most enjoyable when i had it.

c.h.e.f andy

Good HK-styled Beef Noodles @ Brisket King 牛腩大王 on 7Jan2015

Posted on January 9, 2015 by chefquak

beef noodles 牛杂面

went with friends to shaw lido to watch hobbit 3 on 7.1.2015.

i quite liked the movie though we all thought lord of the rings trilogy were better than any of the 3 hobbit movies. 🙂

after the movie, we went to food republic at basement of shaw house. 2 friends took the toa payoh teochew fishball noodles & one had the chicken rice.

i walked around & decided to try the beef noodles at brisket king 牛腩大王.

so far i had been unable to locate any stalls in singapore that could offer the standard of beef noodles 牛腩牛杂面 one could get anywhere on the streets of hong kong.

the few that came close?? maybe were-

lao jie fang 老街坊 cantonese beef brisket noodles at stall #02-15 @ mei chin market & food centre,

beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 at noodles place restaurant at centrepoint

S$5 mixed beef soup (牛杂汤) at hwa heng beef noodles@ ion orchard B4 food opera.

brisket king 牛腩大王

the mixed beef noodles 牛腩牛杂面 at brisket king cost me S$9, doubles the HK$30 one can get anywhere on the streets of hong kong.

the noodles were nice like hong kong. the soup was nice but maybe still not hong kong standard. the 牛杂 of beef tripes & tendons were good. somehow the briskets were just not (never) as good as hong kong’s. 🙂

otherwise, this would be the best of all the hong kong beef noodles wannabe. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good Ter Kar (Pig Trotters) Lunch @ Han Jia East Coast Lagoon Food Village on 7Jan2015

Posted on January 8, 2015 by chefquak

ter kar (pig trotters)

i didn’t have great ter kar (pig trotters) the last time at han jia bakuteh & pork leg, east coast lagoon food village.

2 good friends took it upon themselves to convince me otherwise, so we had a 4pax lunch there on 7.1.2014. they felt that the trotters were overcooked & too soft at dinner time, and lunch time was the right time to try the trotters.

there was a short queue, my friend bought lunch & ordered 1 trotter each. there goes my 10km jog! ^^

was it good?

well, i couldn’t say it wasn’t. it was good,

but was it any special? i didn’t think it was. i think the ones at ng ah sio bakuteh, song fa bakuteh were just as good, and same for lao ah tee, rong cheng etc.

& the ones at 幸福潮州小食 pig trotter at whampoa market probably better in look & texture. the one i like most was at zion road hawker centre quite a while back, probably not there now.

one friend who generally has a better palate than i said it was very “pang”, and indeed it was. i put it down to personal taste. for pork trotters, i like it to be “kar kar” where the meat texture, the bite is gelatinous. this was indeed less soft than the last & overall pretty ok, but not near the perfect gelatinous texture i like. if anything i prefer my own braised pig trotters – the colour, texture & taste, and here.

anyway, it is a matter of personal preference. ^^

kidney liver soup

kidney & liver soup was good, not special also.

taupok

taupok was average.

buay chai

i didn’t like the buay chai much, prefer the chai buay at teochew muay stalls better.

ter kar (pig trotters)

cheng tng & soupsop jelly

soursop jelly

the soursop jelly was great! ^^

overall it was a good lunch, good friends, cool weather, nice food. i always like ter kar though don’t eat that often, and 1 ter kar is a big large portion for 1pax.

c.h.e.f andy

Very Good 6pax Suckling Pig Set @ Ah Yat Grandstand on 4Jan2015

Posted on January 5, 2015 by chefquak

#1 lobster salad

today my very close friend’s birthday.

last evening i arranged a birthday dinner for him at ah yat seafood @ grandstand turf club road on 4.1.2015. 🙂

happens that my god-sis & her husband’s birthday were also just past, so we had a 6pax dinner together with my other 2 close friends.

i ordered the 6pax lobster sharkskin abalone 9-course dinner. it was very good, quite expected. the place was crowded & noisy like a fish market, with 2 tables next to us having endless drinking challenge & making a din. we used to say that the place did not matter since we would be the table making the most noise. this time though we were not. ^^

anyway, the birthday boys & girl were all happy with the trade-off – good food for fish market noises. 🙂

#1 lobster salad

#1 lobster salad. canned fruit salad was refreshing, and a friend cleared off everything. 🙂 as a lobster dish, lobster salad always suspect to me, few lobster pieces & lots of fruit salad, could never really compared with a proper lobster dish.

#2 sharksfin soup

#2 sharksfin soup was sweet & tastier than i expected, but not quite the standard of ah yat abalones forum restaurant.

#3 suckling pig – this was so good

the #3 suckling pig was really par excellence. it was so good, crispy & tasty, equal or better than the suckling pig at hung kang or at summer garden SAFRA mt faber.

#4 fish maw with leeks

#4 fish maw with leeks was good too. not the expensive 花胶. still a tasty dish.

#5 abalones, mushrooms & chinese cabbage

#5 abalones, mushrooms & chinese cabbage another great dish. abalones were smaller & no comparison with the abalones in brown sauce at ah yat abalones forum restaurant. of course. still it was great dish. i liked the mushrooms & chinese cabbage too.

#6 hk steamed tiger garoupa

#6 hk steamed 港蒸tiger garoupa was tops. better than tau heung restaurant in HK.

#7 fried suckling pig meat

i enjoyed the #7 fried suckling pig meat too, but really i thought just chopping up the meat & head would be just as good.

#8 yee meen

#8 yee meen – passable i guess.

#9 bird’s nest

#9 bird’s nest was kind of forgettable dish for me, zero impact.

we had excellent company, good food & great memories..a most enjoyable evening. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Pleasant Dinner Chat @ Nassim Hill Bakery on 1Jan2015

Posted on January 4, 2015 by chefquak

crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes)

wife, son & i went to have a drink & some makan at nassim hill bakery on 1.1.2015. 🙂

earlier we had a homecooked 20pax family new year day lunch.

i was full & we had some leftover food.

wife ordered crab spaghetti arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) & bruschetta & a drink. i did not take any. iced water was free so we had 3 water.

bruschetta

a yuzu pimms drink

bruschetta

spicy crab spaghetti was very good, same as what we had last time on 5.10.2014 but w/o the 1 for 1 discounts.

there were lots of crab meat & a good arrabiata (spicy tomatoes) sauce.

wife liked the bruschetta with melted cheese, cherry tomatoes, parsley (or basil) & good bread. we can make this at home.

son was leaving for london the next day. this a good place to chill, not cramped & crowded like assembly coffee, and parking was free. we had nice, relax chat & good time together. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Happy New Year 2015!

Posted on December 31, 2014 by chefquak

black angus ribeye (USA Harris)

Happy New Year 2015 to all my friends
新年快乐
즐거운새해보내세요
Yoi otoshi o! よいお年を！

A very happy new year 2015 to all!

4 things that made me really happy & feel good in 2014 are-

my weekly 10km jog with a close friend & the 100plus, nespresso chat afterwards

my 2 close friends organising 2 birthday dinners – one for me at chef chan’s & one for my wife at tunglok central

visiting my relatives in china – 汕头澄海

learning korean & making 3 good friends in korea

i continued my jogging in 2014. timing had slowed significantly & i now usually do 10km at 1hr 13mins on the track where previously i did 1hr 9mins in 2013 and 1hr 6mins in 2012. on the treadmill in the gym i can still do 1hr 6mins. 🙂

also for 2nd half of 2014, i did mostly 2 times a week where previously i did 3 times a week consistently.

i had a lot of family time including with my son in london, and we also travelled to cambridge, lake maggiore & milan.

before that i had a wonderful vacation with wife & daughter to amsterdam, lake como, cinque terre & milan.

i spent lots of times with friends, including lots of home cooking. i am very grateful for their friendship. and on 22.12.2014, we had 128pax gathering at our alma mata raffles institution auditorium including 10 teachers. 🙂

xxxxxxxxxx

this evening, the children have their own programs. tomorrow, we have a 20pax homecooked family new year day lunch. so for this evening, my wife & i decided to have a simple dinner at home just 2 of us (二人世界). ^^

i bought a piece of USA Harris black angus ribeye from mmmm at west mall. it was expensive today, no discounts & price went north as well!

black angus ribeye (USA Harris)

black angus ribeye (USA Harris)

pumpkin tofu salad

portobello

coffee from our jura machine

wife made the pumpkin tofu salad, portobello & onions. i did the ribeye. we had a very good sake to go with the meat.

nice, simple dinner. after that we slowly sipped a nice cuppa!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

c.h.e.f andy

2014 in review

Posted on December 30, 2014 by chefquak

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 190,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 8 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Excellent Teochew Cold Crab @ 帝威Di Wei Teochew Restaurant on 28Dec2014

Posted on December 29, 2014 by chefquak

S$16 large cold crab

帝威Di Wei Teochew Restaurant is located at food canopy @ singapore botanical gardens. it’s a nice airy canteen, not crowded and with ample parking.

di wei teochew restaurant @ food canopy botanical gardens

we came here to have roti prata at the muslim food stall S.M. Aisha on 28.12.2014, and was staring at the 2 large cold crabs on display at the teochew stall next to it.

we finally decided 1/2way through our roti prata, to end the staring & all unfulfilled desires and bought one S$16 cold crab.

S$16 large cold crabc

it was really good! ^^

it was large, packed with roes, and the meat filled to the shell. meat was sweet.

at first, they gave us a sweet red chilli, the type used in some dimsum restaurant. after some bites, i decided not to let live & asked if they had the teochew “kig you” 桔油.. they had, and very friendly & cheerful about it. so, always ask… ^^

ya..i love this crab..cold crab was S$28++ last time at chui huay lim. this S$16 was just as good.

i plan to come back & try their other teochew food, like braised duck, sambal crayfish etc.

c.h.e.f andy

Love This Place – Assembly Coffee (on 28Dec2014)

Posted on December 28, 2014 by chefquak

cafe mocca

son is back for 2 weeks winter break, & i am having more coffee breaks than i had for the whole year. 🙂

this time we had sunday brunch – roti prata at S.M.Aisha & teochew cold crab at di wei teochew restaurant at food canopy at botanical gardens. :-).

afterwards, we walked over to assembly coffee for a cuppa on 28.12.2014.

10885098_10152924700939494_7713975687876048375_n

assembly coffee

flat white

lemon meringue

assembly coffee is a nice cool place to chill. we had 2 flat whites, a cappuccino & a cafe mocha, plus a lemon meringue.

the young lady barista created a beautiful, delightful swan latte art on the cafe mocca. it looked so easy…

the coffee & milk micro-foam were smooth & nice flavour.

daughter ordered a lemon meringue. it was very nice. lemon was tangy not too sweet & combined well with the biscuit crust & cream. i think i can make this one. so definitely try it at home. ^^

bill

cafe mocca

i will put this on par with chye seng huat at tyrewhitt road & dutch colony at pasarbella @ grandstand turf club road, with the advantage that it served a really good lemon meringue. i will also try the waffle & the salted caramel nut cake? next time. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Roti Prata @ S.M. Aisha at Food Canopy Botanical Gardens on 28Dec2014

Posted on December 28, 2014 by chefquak

roti prata gosong

family went food canopy @ botanical gardens on 28.12.2014. 🙂

roti prata gosong

muslim food stall @ food canopy BG

we had roti prata at the muslim food stall S.M. Aisha. each of us had 2 prata gosong. son added a egg prata as well.

total for 4pax for 8 gosong + 1 egg prata = S$7.80.

last 2 times prata here was very good.

this time was ok but not as good. for me, whether crispy or doughy, most important is the taste. today it’s so so. daughter said recently she went back to mr prata, & it was good. these food do vary a bit.

c.h.e.f andy

Wok Fried Manila Clams 香锅炒蛤蜊

Posted on December 27, 2014 by chefquak

#1 stir-fried manila clams with curry leaves

stir-fried manila clams with curry leaves – 28.10.2015 update

oct2015 update – i have done this dish a few times now. the best rendition was when i did a 9pax teochew muay lunch for my friends on 28.10.2015 (top photo).

wok fried manila clams 香锅炒蛤蜊

wife went to chinatown today & bought S$6/kg manila clams, a kind of soft-shell clams or steamers.

manila clams are much lighter & tastier than the hard shell littleneck clams (the usual lala) though some called manila clams lala also. so even though they cost higher per kg, you actually get your money’s worth.

wok fried manila clams 香锅炒蛤蜊

for today i fried it with butter, chilli padi, curry leaves, orange zest, sliced ginger, white wine, oyster sauce + corn flour on high fire.

need to drain (keep sauce) so as not to overcook clams, return sauce to pan to thicken, then return clams to coat with sauce for few seconds.

this time, the result was a super nice wok-fried manila clams – 特好吃香锅蛤蜊。。。

i was thinking probably need not mix the 2 styles also-

i can try the usual butter, chilli padi, orange zest, ginger & white wine which is my usual preparation for mussel pot or clams & mussels for pasta & risotto.

or i can do the curry leaves, chilli padi, sliced ginger, oyster sauce, corn flour good for toa tao & clams the asian style.

this time though the mixture of taste was quite excellent. everyone enjoyed the dish. ^^

stir-fried manila clams with curry leaves – 16.10.2015

stir-fried manila clams with curry leaves – 16.10.2015

subsequently, i did this dish a few times, and they were consistently good.

the best was still that shown in the top photo!

c.h.e.f andy

Deconstructed Strawberry Cheese Cake – Soooo Delicious!

Posted on December 27, 2014 by chefquak

deconstructed strawberry cheese cake

deconstructed strawberry cheese cake @ relish gardens

revisiting the deconstructed strawberry cheese cake @ relish gardens earlier on 1.12.2014 very much piqued my interest to give it a go.

the presentation & especially the taste was great! (above photo). i did not have any recipe & searching the internet did not yield much results. anyhow i make a good pumpkin cheese cake & figure i can do it with strawberries w/o much difficulty.

the end result was pretty good (see top photo). my biscuit crust was excellent, cripsy, tasty. cream & strawberries were great too. the cake though was much below the very tasty & better textured cake relish had.

strawberry cheese cake

to experiment, i started with the full (not deconstructed) version.

i tasted caramel & nuts in relish’s version, so i added 50g caramel (leftover from making my banoffee cake) & about 50g cashew nut mill (baked crispy 2mins+ in microwave then pounded in a mortar) to 7 digestive biscuits (105g) & 60g butter.

i blended 200g of strawberries, 250 cream cheese & 100ml of whipped cream with 3 tablespoon brown sugar.

I first baked the biscuit crust for 15mins in a preheated 180degC oven, & left it for another 30mins to dry out & become crispy. then i poured the cake mixture into the springform cake tin & baked for 30mins.

i let the cake cool & then topped it with 200ml whipped cream with 1 teaspoon brown sugar & 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

result was above.

caramel cashew nut digestive biscuit base

for the deconstructed version, i did the same thing & left the biscuit crust in the fridge overnight & break it into bite-size cookie pieces next day. they were delicious, nutty & caramel flavoured. ^^

strawberry cheese cake

i baked the cake mix separately in a baking dish. the cake mix tasted great before the baking, but the texture & taste was quite far from the excellent cake i had at relish.

my thoughts are to increase the whipped cream to 200ml, reduce the strawberries to 120g, and reduce baking time to 15mins.

whipped cream

strawberries

i made 200ml whipped cream separately.

& served another 250g cut strawberries.

deconstructed strawberry cheese cake

for assembly of the deconstructed cake, it was straight forward.

everyone D-I-Y & added their own caramel nut biscuits, strawberry cake & topped with whipped cream & strawberries. it was really delicious!

but, it can be improved.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Cuppa @ Dutch Colony Pasarbella on 26Dec2014

Posted on December 27, 2014 by chefquak

flat white small – S$4.50

family decided to go out for a cuppa on 26.12.2014.

ducth colony @ pasarbella

grandstand at turf club road is nearby. we decided to go to the dutch colony @ pasarbella. it’s quite a hip joint, nice cosy place, great ambience. 🙂

banana cake with cream cheese

flat white large – S$5.50

i don’t go out for coffee often. the last time i had a nice cuppa with wife was at chye seng huat at tyrewhitt road on 17.9.2014.

i have a good coffee machine at home & recently i ordered 8x1kg caffe aurora from qbfood (it’s like 40% the price of lavazza coffee from culina! mostly when i had coffee outside it would be the “kopi-c go song tilok” aka kopitiam kind. ^^

we had flat whites & the children had some banana cake. like chye seng huat the coffee here was quite good. flavour was great, frothed milk was velvety smooth & combined well with the coffee. this reminded me also of the nice cuppa i had in london with my son-

at monmouth cafe in covent gardens on 22.8.2014, and

at melrose & morgan during our walk along regent’s canal to primrose hill on 24.8.2014.

the 2 in london were much better but that could also be the colder weather & we were doing a bit of walking & the mood was right & perfect for a cuppa.

by comparison i feel chye seng huat is better but really not by much. CSH place is cool but dutch colony is nearer if i really want to place with good coffee to chill.

c.h.e.f andy

Nice Dinner with Son @ Arossa on 23Dec2014

Posted on December 26, 2014 by chefquak

1/2 dozen oysters

arossa @ scotts square

had a nice, quiet dinner with son at arossa on 23.12.2014. 🙂

was last here with wife on 3.9.2014.

we were given a corner table by the window overlooking scotts road with all the christmas decorations.

son wanted some oysters as starter. we decided to order a wagyu steak each & a lobster ravioli to share.

nice oyster

the oysters were excellent, very sweet, plump & tasty.

lobster blackened spinach ravioli

the lobster blackened spinach ravioli were tops too. 🙂 the restaurant split for us so we had 3 ravioli each. the lobster broth or emulsion was superb.

A5 miyazaki wagyu 150g

the A5 miyazaki wagyu was also top fine dining standard. so what’s missing?

first, it was now 150g instead of 180g. i guess that’s ok. wagyu was good, very tender, good tasting, presentation was good also, definitely equalled or beat any fine dining restaurant serving good steaks.

but i could tell instantly that the presentation, sauce etc basically everything was different from the japanese presentation the last 2 times – see photos of the kagoshima wagyu on 3.9.2014 & the miyazaki wagyu on 16.8.2014.

& taste-wise somehow it did not have the standout marbled fragrance of a top japanese wagyu cut.

dinner for 2pax was S$143 after 50% palate discounts with amex.

sadly, arossa is closing by end jan2015 & we were told watanabe-san, the grill chef helming the restaurant is returning to japan to start her own restaurant. good for her & all the very best! 🙂

i will probably return before end jan2015 to have a last go.

c.h.e.f andy

冬至吃汤圆 (Eating Sesame Mochi Dumplings with Arrival of Winter) on Winter Solstice 22Dec14

Posted on December 26, 2014 by chefquak

冬至吃汤圆 (eating sesame kochi with arrival of winter)

冬至吃汤圆 (eating sesame mochi with arrival of winter)

some korean friends were sharing with me on email about eating 팥죽 (red bean soup) & 동지 (winter solstice) on 22.12.2014.

i later posted on Facebook-

yesterday was 冬至means arriving of winter.

did not pay attention when younger..always thought it was “tan joyk” 冬节 but a friend on wechat 微信 said they are the same thing – 1 is a day the other an event. maybe?

my china relatives eating 汤圆 & putting out a table, i guess to pray?

some korean friends too eating 팥죽red bean soup – din understand that part (later i googled & saw that that’s what they do..& sometimes they also added 汤圆 to the 팥죽).

black sesame mochi 汤圆 – 2packets x 10 for S$2.95 only at giant

冬至吃汤圆 (eating sesame mochi with arrival of winter)

bought some from giant – 2 packets x10 for S$2.95.

i still like it now. ^^ 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

P.S. ok from wiki = http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/冬至

冬至，又稱「冬節」、「賀冬」，台灣又稱「入冬」….因为冬至并没有固定于特定一日，因此和清明一样，被称为“活节”。…never knew that was the meaning of <warh joyk>“活节”

one friend said-

It is “活节” based on Lunar calendar. It is always fixed on 22 Dec based on solar calendar.

another friend found this-

http://www.yourchineseastrology.com/holidays/winter-solstice-festival/

the debate or musings continue…^^

So-So 4pax Dinner this time @ Kok Sen Keong Saik Street on 21Dec2014

Posted on December 25, 2014 by chefquak

claypot yongtaufoo

the family went to watch dimsum dolly at esplanade. after the show 4 of us decided to go kok sen for zi char food. we were early before 6pm on a sunday 21.12.2014, & was lucky to get a parking lot right next at kok sen right away. 🙂

claypot yongtaufoo

we ordered the usual. claypot yongtaufoo was very good.

deep-fried tofu drizzled with minced pork

the deepfied tofu dish though was much below par. tofu was ok, sauce very average. quite strange…just looked at the photo of dinner here on 7.8.2013. the dish did not even look the same.

blackbean snkaehead (tomen) fish belly with bittergourd

blackbean snakehead (toman) fish belly with bittergourd

the blackbean fish belly bitter gourd was a good as always.

sanlo horfun (生捞河粉)

but the sanlo horfun (生捞河粉) was also below par, not much of wok hae. there were a lot of snake head (toman) sliced fish though.

we had our favourite romaine lettuce (油麦菜) as well.

the 4 dishes with some lemon juice drinks cost $56. but mainly the food was a bit tak shiok! not so fun…maybe should try dongya (东亚) next time.

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Lunch at Friend’s Home on 19Dec2014

Posted on December 25, 2014 by chefquak

scrumptious spread

a friend organised for us to watch exodus (& we had light dinner at timhowan at west gate mall after the show). got homecooked lunch thrown in some more. fully fed before crossing the red sea. haha. ^^

there were 6 of us joining lunch on 19.12.2014. we had a scrumptious lunch..truly a labour of love.. 🙂

another friend came later & brought back the thai curry & some other food which they then had for dinner after “dry swimming” & was singing praises on how good the thai curry was over whatsapp.

our superbred teochew ah hia who knows everything under the sun about teochew food, culture & whatnots brought some teochew cooked fishes from chong boon market at amk ave10.

buddha jump over the wall bjotw

we had buddha jump over the wall bjotw. there were thick mushrooms, fish maw, chicken & sliced abalones.

糖醋排骨 sweet sour pork ribs

the 糖醋排骨 sweet sour pork ribs was excellent, very tender & mildly sweet, great texture & taste.

claypot rice

i loved the claypot rice, very nice flavours. the chinese sausage & duck liver sausage were just wonderful. had a second helping for someone who eschew carbs.

thai curry chicken

thai curry was ok for me. nice aromatic thai curry using pre-packed sauce bought from beach road.

dried oysters with moss

& there was dried oysters with moss or 蚝屎髮菜 or 好事发财 all ready for chinese new year.

cooked treadfin & yellow croaker

cooked silver fish

the teochew ah hia bought some “her poon” cooked fish (鱼饭) = 1 “gnor soon” (treadfin), 2 “ang huay tor” (yellow croaker or 小黄鱼) & some silver fish. the friend prepared some bean paste 豆浆 & some “sng ni chor” 蒜泥醋 for fish dip. great stuff!

i am teochew & though i like cooked fish (i mostly prefer mullet 乌鱼) i am not overly enamoured with them. we managed to finish 1 treadfin & 1 yellow croaker & some silver fish among us.

egg pancake

egg pancake used some thai vegetables (looked like dill). nice, i liked it.

buddha jump over the wall bjotw

claypot rice

rosella jelly with mango dessert

& we finished off with some rosella jelly with mango dessert. i finished 1 whole lot. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Average Too Ordinary Dimsum @ Timhowan 添好运 at Westgate Mall on 19Dec2014

Posted on December 23, 2014 by chefquak

crispy char siew pao

a friend cooked an excellent lunch today for 6pax on 19.12.2014. 🙂

after that 4 of us went to JEM (jurong east mall) to watch “exodus”. carpark was full so we parked at westgate mall which was linked to JEM at level 2.

after the movie we walked back to westgate mall & had a light dinner at timhowan 添好运 (still full from the excellent lunch).

we dutifully ordered the crispy char siew pao.

i must have had one too many of this. had much better crispy char siew pao at canton paradise several times. didn’t like it as much it now.

teochew dumplings, hargao & 马拉糕

har gao was good but for me canton paradise’s har gao & imperial treasure teochew’s har gao were better.

马拉糕 was never my thing, even at hong kong timhowan outlet – an enigma to me. tasted like “wa kor kuay”.

teochew dumpling 潮州粉粿 was competent.

fu pei quin 腐皮卷

fried carrot cake

fu pei quin 腐皮卷 & fried carrot cake were ok.

anyhow overall the food was really mediocre, which to me meant a disappointment.

dinner was just S$39 but we had very little food for 4pax.

for me, there is no reason to have these average food when i can get better food at canton paradise, imperial treasure & crystal jade for largely the same price.

c.h.e.f andy

Instant Chashu Mala Ramen (麻辣快熟面)

Posted on December 23, 2014 by chefquak

instant chashu mala ramen (麻辣快熟面)

had some 蒜泥白肉 belly pork ingredients leftover from my 14pax RI friends & spouses dinner on 18.12.2014.

added them to instant sichuan mala noodles (麻辣香锅快熟面) the next day on 19.12.2014, just putting 2 & 2 together.

instant chashu mala ramen (麻辣快熟面)

it said only mildly spicy on the packet. indeed this was just the ideal level of spiciness & still quite explosive flavours. & the chashu (slow braised belly pork using cold crockpot on low) made a perfect combination.

i am rediscovering instant noodles – this one just S$3.50 for 5 packets. the other very good ones i had were –

nissin kyushu black japanese ramen,

mykuali penang white curry noodles.

all 3 cost about S$0.70 per noodle packet, between S$3.50 and S$3.80 for 5 packets.

i liked all of them. currently i like this 麻辣香锅面 best! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Protected: Fun 14pax RI Friends & Spouses Homecooked Dinner on 18Dec2014

Posted on December 22, 2014 by chefquak

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