Tag Archives: bamboo clam

Delicious Dinner @ Tunglok Signature Orchard Parade on 16Dec2014

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bamboo clam S$12.80

bamboo clam S$12.80pax

had a wonderful dinner with wife at tunglok signature, orchard parade last evening on 16.12.2014. 🙂

we had the amex palate privileges (50% discounts for 2pax). tunglok group though have this strange rule that it applies only to ala carte orders during weekdays & only to set orders during weekends.

so we did ala carte orders. 🙂

the bamboo clams with tanhoon was excellent!

lie tong 1/2 pot - S$16

lie tong 1/2 pot – S$16

& the lie tong 例汤 (soup of the day) was good, as always. this time it was pumpkin with pork rib, a really sweet, delicious soup. i am sure going to try this at home. 🙂

garoupa 2 ways - S$22pax

garoupa 2 ways – S$22pax

garoupa 2 ways - S$22pax

garoupa 2 ways – S$22pax

garoupa 2 ways - S$22pax

garoupa 2 ways – S$22pax

the garoupa in 2 preparations was good too. the steamed with peppery sauce preparation was very tasty, the deep-fried fish fillet was ok but ordinary.

lobster noodles

lobster noodles – S$25pax

& the lobster noodles was always our favourite served in the excellent lobster 6-course set.

this was also the preparation that i replicated at home in my king prawn noodles (黄焖大虾面).

tube juice - palate cleanser

tube juice – palate cleanser

they always serve a tube juice – pineapple, watermelon etc. nice! 🙂

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雪中情怀mango pomelo dessert with 2 scoops ice cream

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雪中情怀mango pomelo dessert with 2 scoops ice cream

we had 1 order of 雪中情怀, a mango pomelo dessert with 2 scoops coconut ice cream, again our favourite here.

the dinner came to S$84.50nett, about S$72++ for 2pax.

well, we keep coming back! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

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Thai Style Curry Fish Head @ Forture Restaurant on 3Apr2014

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thai style fish head curry _ S$25

thai style fish head curry _ S$25

had not been to this old holland road coffeeshop 金山岭 for years.

used to love the thai style curry fish head at forture restaurant (still do!), and also the chilli crab many years back, basically because they were good & cheap then. for a while ah yat @ turf city was having 50% weekday discounts (now 40%) and the crab at ah yat at the time (up to 3 – 4 years back) were like S$19.90/kg after discount for indonesian crabs, which was cheaper than the S$26/kg at forture, and ah yat served very cheap seafood like bamboo clams (still does), so only dish that stood out at forture was the thai style fish head curry.

decided to go with a friend to take the fish head  on 3.4.2014 after the long lay off. fish head still very fresh & curry was great. the hor fun though was not good. disappointing really, usually quite good when i “da pao” (take out).

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hor fun – S$3.50

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hor fun – S$3.50

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old holland road coffeeshop 金山岭

thai style fish head curry - S$25

thai style fish head curry – S$25

my friend paid for dinner which came to just below S$30. the hot fun was S$3.50, so the fish head must be like S$25 (far cry from the time when it was S$15 & i came often), plus we had 1 rice to share & also the towels. my friend asked for water & the charge was S$0.40.

i guess price was ok. the 1/2 fish head was a large one. it was fresh & the curry was tasty, but taking it after so many years, it was unique but really no better than assam fish head & indian curry fish head – both have more kick than this one. also considering that the spicy bean sauce song fish head at honk kong street cost S$18 (though this one here had vegetables with the curry), S$25 was not cheap.

it was satisfying nonetheless, but the allure was gone. i can have this sometimes & enjoy it, but i can do without too.

c.h.e.f. andy

 

Value Lobster Set @ Chao Yue Xuan (潮悦轩) on 1Mar2013

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Chao Yue Xuan (潮悦轩) S$35nett 7-course set

Chao Yue Xuan (潮悦轩) S$35nett 8-course set

see also the new S$38 8-course lobster & abalone set (21.8.2013).

bought 2xS$35nett 8-course Chao Yue Xuan (潮悦轩) groupon vouchers, so duly visited the restaurant. 🙂

This is the same Ah Yat branch & location at UE Square along Mohamed Sultan Road, only they have changed the name to mean a “pleasing teochew pavilion”..at S$35nett the meal did turn out pleasing enough though nothing teochew 🙂

decor & ambience wise though the place is a bit dowdy, and in fact though this branch is located at UE Sqaure, Turf City has better ambience! there were 3 tables of Chinese tourists this evening – I guess F&B is really competitive here & people do need to survive. 🙂

salmon sashimi

salmon sashimi

the salmon sashimi was actually quite good but not really the belly or fatty type which now even some buffet serve, but it was good, not poor.

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the double-boiled fishmaw（花膠）soup was very good really – sweet, smooth, tasty.

garlic steamed (蒜茸蒸) razor (bamboo) clam with tanhoon

garlic steamed (蒜茸蒸) razor (bamboo) clam with tanhoon (glass noddles)

the garlic steamed razor (bamboo) clam with tanhoon (glass noodles) was good (every restaurant should really be able to do this well) though Ah Yat at Turf City was better & Long Beach @ Dempsey was better than both, and we didn’t think that serving it without the shell instead of on the shell was a great idea. btw, i also did a good steamed razor clam in garlic oil myself.

deep-fried fish chop with strawberry sauce

deep-fried fish chop with strawberry sauce

I cannot really fault this fish chop (2 pieces – very large serving) . The deep-fry was done right crispy & not soggy, but the meal was really filling & we were not into this sweet strawberry sauce thingy & this asian fusion? dish did not match well with the other menu items. I took 1 piece. My wife did not touch it.

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the lobster in pumpkin sauce was very nice. It was a mid-size maine lobster, about 450g (& larger than the one we took subsequently at Xin Cuisine). pumpkin sauce is a favourite cooking style with Ah Yat & goes well with crab, I think more so than lobsters. Comparing this with the very light cheese gratin lobster at Xin Cuisine I would think this is better (& of course larger) – though my wife would disagree – but I guess this was more robust in taste & presentation c/w Xin Cuisine’s which can be said to be more fine.

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poached nai bai (奶白) with abalone sauce

This nai bai vege was very good! 🙂

baked prawns with noodles in superior sauce

baked prawns with noodles in superior sauce

I didn’t get this dish though – the prawn was large & fresh (live right..) & in superior sauce how to go wrong? but it was soggy, not “QQ” (al dente)..& with the fish chop, would be the weakest links in this set.

The red bean dessert does not really deserve mention or a photo..haha.:-)

anyway, it was difficult to fault this S$35nett 8-course set – the ingredients like lobster & razor (bamboo) clam were good quality, the salmon & prawn were fresh, soup & vege were good; quality of cooking was not quite there but still above average.

I may not do this too often but I have bought another 2 vouchers, so I am planning to go back before voucher expires. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Steamed Razor Clams with Garlic Oil

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steamed razor clams with garlic - beautiful pic taken by Jeanette at 6.10.2012 homecooked dinner

steamed razor clams with garlic oil – beautiful pic taken by Jeanette at 6.10.2012 homecooked dinner

See also Chef=cookhangouteatfun.

Steamed razor clams is a common dish served in many seafood restaurants. I had many times very good ones at Ah Yat Turf City and couple times at Long Beach Dempsey. These days, cooking methods & processes are quite precise and I seldom come across a live fish that is not steamed just right (in older times we get undercooked & overcooked fish). The same with razor clams.

No recipe is needed to cook this dish really. It is just a matter of getting the razor clams, cleaning them (which is a big hassle) and then steaming PLUS doing the lightly browned garlic oil to drench over them.

I get my IQF (Individual Quick Freeze) razor clams from Giant hypermarket & Shop n Save (these days you get IQF everything – mussels, scallops, fish fillets etc). Normal price is S$11.95 for one 500g packet containing 8 to 11 large razor clams. Sometimes I get them during sales and it can be S$8.95, so just about $1 per clam. At the restaurants, you get live ones & will on average pay S$8++ (about $9.40) per clam.

Cleaning as I said is a hassle. I use kitchen scissors to cut away the blackish sag of innards & clean each clam thoroughly in slow running water (there will be a lot of soil & you will feel like you are eating sand if you don’t clean them). For the garlic oil, I just fry minced garlic on low heat with oil to brown them & then set aside the lightly browned garlic with oil in a bowl.

To steam the clams, you can use the usual steamer for about 6 minutes (just make sure you are able to remove the plate holding the clams out of the steamer when it is very hot). I find it easier to just poach the clams (w/o the shell) with the garlic oil & add 1 tablespoon light soy sauce in a covered saucepan for a few (about 4) minutes. Then I remove the steamed clams, place each on an individual cleaned 1/2 shell on a serving dish, and then spoon the garlic oil over the clams.

The result is the beautiful dish above.  I would say it is 95% as good as the restaurants that do them well, and better than those that can’t do them properly.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 1x500g packet IQF (Instant Quick Freeze) razor clams – OR if you can get fresh ones that are not too costly
  • 3 tbsp minced garlic
  • 5 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce

Directions:

  • Prepare the clams – defrost, cut/remove from shell, cut away the blackish sags of innards & clean thoroughly, airdry in fridge. clean enough 1/2 shells to place the clams on.
  • Cook the clams – lightly brown the minced garlic so you have the garlic oil ready in a large saucepan. add the clams & drizzle 1 tablespoon light soy sauce over it. Turn the fire to high to heat up & then quick lower to medium & cover for 4 minutes until the clams turned a white opaque colour (as in above picture). Turn off the fire, remove the clams & place each on cleaned individual 1/2shells on a large serving dish. spoon the garlic oil over each clam & serve.

The Clan Restaurant @ Bukit Pasoh Singapore on 8Mar2013

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had a great lunch with my daughter at The Clan Restaurant at Bukit Pasoh. We had the 5-course set lunch.

This my second time here – I was here with wife 3 weeks back. We both liked the food. The Chef, Ken Teo, was formerly the Executive Chef of Dozo, and we have always liked Dozo’s food. The price of the 5-course lunch, S$42.80 (6-course dinner S$63.80), is slightly higher than Dozo (& w/0 the cooler drink), but I think overall the food quality is better. There are 5 choices of appetizer & dessert, 4 choices of soup & 6 choices of main course.

I suppose the name has got to do with its location at the premises of The Gan Clan Association. Bukit Pasoh locale is home to a good few top restaurants like Majestic, Oso and nearby at Kiong Siak Street – Ember, Nicolas Le & Bistro Soori. The food is I guess nothing “Clanish”, being in the modern european genre similar to Dozo with touch of Japanese fusion – perhaps there is a new “Clan” there slowly in the making. 🙂

just like Dozo, we started with a nice thirst quencher.

The Chef Starter is a trio comprising duck rillette, pan-seared scallop with lots of foam (this is very good & definitely better than Dozo) and a salmon mouche cone (Dozo serves a smoked salmon, tiny pan-seared piece of foie gras & pan-seared scallop).

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duck rillette, salmon mouche cone, pan-seared scallope with foam, thirst quencher

Next we had a choice of appetizer. I had the bamboo clam. This was really very good. the clam was very sweet & bouncy fresh, and the ikura (salmon roe) flavour & saltiness combined very well with the shellfish texture indeed. daughter had the deep-fried foie gras, which was not a common preparation. I stole a bite. It was different & quite good, not sure it would become popular enough to be avant garde but unlikely to displace the all-time favourite pan-seared caramelised foie gras anytime soon. In terms of quality, quantity & presentation, both these appetizer choices certainly qualified as appetizers in a 3-course lunch in a fine-dining restaurant, nevermind a 5-course lunch priced at S$35++pax after 15% discount.

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bamboo clam with ikura, deepfried foie gras

Next up is the soup. I had the cepes mushroom bisque. It was very good, maybe slightly more quantity-wise but not much different from Dozo. daughter had the crab bisque which came with a prawn twister. I think this had a lot more foam than that served at Dozo & was overall better.

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cepes mushroom soup, crab bisque with prawn twister

Next came the 48hr beef short ribs served on hoba leaf on a lava stone. I really, really loved this dish. The quality of the beef was much superior to that at Dozo. The meat was just so sweet & flavourful & the texture was just super.

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48hrs beef short ribs

For the dessert choice, daughter had the chocolate lava cake. It was good but daughter thought it was no better than the one I made at home and perhaps my 70% cocoa chocolate flavour was indeed better. I had the 4-cheese platter-good stuff!

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chocolate lava cake, 4-cheese platter

Overall, it made for an extremely satisfying meal. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy