Tag Archives: deep-fried soon hock
RI Friends Monthly Dinner @ Ban Heng Harbourfront Centre on 24Nov2014
#10 roast pork
we had our november RI friends dinner @ ban heng harbourfront centre on 24.11.2014. 🙂
this was the smallest turnout, with 7pax.
i had not been to this ban heng outlet before. the last time G20 had a 23pax dinner at ban heng at orchard central, food was quite average.
this outlet has 2 ala carte buffet menu – one pried at S$28.80++ here, and the other at S$21.80++. from what i can see the main difference is for the S$28.80 menu you get to pick 1 order of abalones, crabs, froglegs, live prawns, scallops.
we took the S$28.80++ menu.
#1 roast duck
#1 roast duck
#1 roast duck was passable. but c/w the beautiful roast duck at both canton paradise star vista & canton paradise J-cube or with the noodles restaurant at centrepoint, this would be a poor & distant cousin.
#2 drunken chicken
#2 drunken chicken
#2 drunken chicken was average, competent.
#3 garlic spinach
#4 sambal kang kong
#4 sambal kang kong
liked the vegetables, #3 garlic spinach & #4 sambal kang kong.
#5 deep-fried soon hock
#5 deep-fried soon hock
#5 deep-fried soon hock was a standard dish. it was done well. 🙂
#6 beef with bitter gourd black bean sauce
#6 beef with bitter gourd black bean sauce was also done well. i personally would prefer fish head & meat with black bean bitter gourd, but this was as good as any good zi char, say kok sen at keong saik street or hong kong street chun kee at commonwealth crescent or ah orh at bukit merah.
#7 steamed prawns
#7 steamed prawns
#7 steamed prawns was good like any good seafood restaurant.
#8 sharks fin soup
#8 sharks fin soup
surprisingly the #8 sharks fin soup though gluey like any served at weddings in yesteryears, had very tasty stock. this was much better than ban heng orchard central.
#9 frog legs with ginger & spring onions
#9 frog legs with ginger & spring onions
#9 frog legs with ginger & spring onions was also a competent dish. not so different from what my family used to have often at ah yat turf city (now grandstand) long in the past.
#10 roast pork
#10 roast pork. all my friends liked this a lot. we had a second order. meat looked great, was tender & tasty & skin was crisp. i would say presentation & taste-wise still a tad below what i had recently at tunglok central.
#11 fried prawns with celery
#11 fried prawns with celery
#11 fried prawns with celery – passable, nothing interesting.
#12 char siew
#12 char siew looked & tasted great. of the 2 dishes, my friends liked the roast pork better.
#13 abalones with mushrooms & spinach
#13 abalones with mushrooms & spinach
#13 abalones with mushrooms & spinach
#13 abalones with mushrooms & spinach. this was quite good dish also. the braising sauce though was nothing like the really good brown sauce served in good cantonese restaurants say ah yat abalones forum restaurant for abalone dishes (also goose web & spiky sea cucumber dishes) or at chao yue xuan.
#14 deep-fried tilapia in thai sauce
#14 deep-fried tilapia in thai sauce was an interesting dish. it had less meat so some friends preferred the soon hock dish to this.
#15 scallops in yam nest
#15 scallops in yam nest. scallops were average & overall this dish was poor, below par, not even comparable with a good yam basket say at ah orh w/o expensive scallops.
#16 chai poh minced pork with steamed bean curd
#16 chai poh minced pork with steamed bean curd, i think this was really poor.
#17 sweet & sour soup
#17 sweet & sour soup. this was a pretty good soup.
#18 pepper crab
#18 pepper crab
#18 pepper crab was quite the usual seafood restaurant standard, for sure better than spices cafe.
pulut hitam
aloe vera & jelly
aloe vera & jelly
self service dessert were quite standard. aloe vera with jelly was quite refreshing & pulut hitam the usual.
overall, food here was better than ban heng orchard central but not as good as (service especially) peach gardens miramar (menu had wider spread though at ban heng harbour front). for S$28.80++ pax it was 2/3 the price of spices cafe w/o the lobster. i guess quite an ok deal.
c.h.e.f andy
Protected: RI G20 12pax Suckling Pig Dinner @ Summer Garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24Sep2014
Great Suckling Pig Set @ Summer Garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24Sep2014
#1 suckling pig
a friend organised the sep2014 G20 12pax dinner at summer garden SAFRA Mt Faber on 24.9.2014. summer garden is part of qian xi group of restaurants.
the restaurant was empty save our table + 1 other table, like 10% occupied. it’s a waste really as the food was good & service ok.
the friend ordered the S$398 10pax suckling pig set. guess it was upsized to 12pax & we paid for 12pax, though some dishes like suckling pig was same size whether 10pax or 12pax.
#1 suckling pig was good! not better than hung kang or chui huay lim, but it was good, crispy skin, tasty. one friend commented no strong taste, not that i would mind a good porky flavour. 🙂
#2 dried scallop crab meat sharksfin
#2 dried scallop crab meat sharkskin had good tasty stock & chokeful of ingredients. couldn’t say it was better than hung kang (which sharkskin fish maw soup was very tasty), but it was very good.
#3 roast chicken
#3 roast chicken was one of the best – very crispy skin & nice tender meat, tasty with the five-spice salt. as good as roland & better than yuanxing.
#4 deep-fried soon hock
#4 deep-fried soon hock good, very competent, as in most restaurants. wonder if it was 10pax would it be still 2 fishes. soon hock tended to be quite standard 600g size so not sure for 10pax they could find 1 larger soon hock or same 2 fishes.
#5 wok grilled king prawns (13/15)
#5 wok grilled king prawns (13/15)
#5 the wok grilled king prawns (13/15) was good. king prawns were large, 13 to 15 pieces per kg so 70g to 80g per prawn. i would consider this better than the white cereal prawns at hung kang.
#6 flower mushrooms, fish maw, sliced abalone, spinach
#6 the abalone dish came with lots of ingredients – flower mushrooms, fish maw, sliced abalone, spinach. this dish would be superior to hung kang which had a bailing mushroom dish.
#7 seafood heng hwa beehoon
#7 and my bowl of seafood heng hwa beehoon really chokeful of prawn, squid etc not sure if the rest got the same.
the beehoon was not tasty enough though, and did not have clams so not quite qualified as heng hwa beehoon?? perhaps the sauce was not mixed thoroughly, but the authentic heng hwa beehoon a friend cooked recently at his house was tastier than this one.
#8 bird’s nest
#8 bird’s nest
#8 bird’s nest with rock sugar was very good, not too sweet. i liked it, surprised me actually!
S$398++ suckling pig 10pax promotion menu
for me, the S$398++ suckling pig 10pax promotion menu was quite a good deal. i am likely to go back for a family dinner. 🙂
price wise it was cheaper than hung kang’s S$468++ “birthday” suckling pig menu. hung kang had the more expensive pomfret, but depending on taste, some may prefer the soon hock.
c.h.e.f andy
13pax ala Carte Buffet Dinner @ Peach Garden Miramar on 30Jun2014
#1 char siew
#2 roast pork
our dinner group decided to have get-together at peach garden miramar on 30.6.2014. food was ala carte buffet at S$30.80++ and 3 paying 1 free, quite good deal really. 🙂
the food was generally good, better than our last group dinner at ban heng orchard central on 25.4.2014. the service was very good too, friendly & jovial, and we all decided to give a substantial tip afterwards. 🙂 it was also 1/2 the price & better quality than the one i had recently at restaurant home on 25.6.2014.
#1 char siew (a charcoaled grilled pork neck) was good as usual.
#2 roast pork was good this evening, crispy & tasty, with the mustard dip.
#3 pork floss egg plant
#3 pork floss egg plant was good here. the egg plant batter was very light & the texture & taste combination was excellent.
#4 drunken chicken
#4 drunken chicken looked processed in appearance. taste was ok with wine infused flavour.
#5 yuzu prawns
#6 wasabi mayo prawns
#5 yuzu prawns was very good, crispy, prawns were fresh & the slight citric yuzu flavour was great.
#6 likewise the wasabi mayo prawns.
#7 fish fritters
#7 fish fritters was average. fish was so so, the crispy batter was quite well done.
#8 sharks bone soup with lobster claw
#9 crab meat/roe sharksfin
there was a limit of 1 order of soup per person.
#8 the sharks bone soup was ok. i had it the last time. i thought the lie tongs (例汤), soup of the day, at tunglok & imperial treasure were better.
#9 i tried the crab meat/roe sharkskin this time, it was quite ok.
#10 deep-fried soon hock
#10 the deep-fried soon hock was good, better than when i had it last time. meat was fresh, moist & tasty. we had 2 orders.
#11 kurobuta pork
#11 kurobuta pork was ok.
#12 sauteed beef
#12 the sautéed beef was overly sweet & artificially tender, edible but not much in demand by the diners.
#13 braised beef briskets & tendon
#13 the braised beef briskets & tendon was quite good. we had 2 orders.
#14 pan-fried venison
#14 pan-fried venison. this not really a favourite for me, no different from any coffershop zichar stalls.
#15 pating fish
#15 pating fish was a favourite for me. this time it was quite well done, very fresh & tasty. i suggested to the manager that for a live fish, it would be better presentation to serve a fish head portion or 1/2 a fish rather than in cut pieces. he said the fish might be too big so they had it served in cut portions. hmm..actually most pating served here in singapore were 1kg or 700g fish.
#16 cauliflowers & brocoli
#17 string beans with sliced scallops
#18 spinach with 3 eggs
we had 3 different vege. they were all good.
$16 cauliflower & brocoli was simple & tasty & great colour combination.
#17 string beans were good too, though the thinnest of sliced scallops didn’t contribute anything to the dish.
#18 spinach with 3 eggs was quite standard, mediocre actually & a very large portion.
#19 杨支甘露
#20 bubur hitam with ice cream
#21 ice jelly
most of us ordered 2 or 3 dessert each.
#19 i did not try the 杨支甘露. it should be quite standard.
#20 the bubur hitam with ice cream was a crowd favourite.
#21 the ice jelly was kind of plain.
another joyous dinner with good food, company, fellowship & memories. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
c.h.e.f 