Excellent Fish Head Curry

fish head curry was very good

fish head curry was very good

recently, i have made fish head curry a number of times & happy to say it has consistently good everytime, and my friends all thought the fish head curry was the best dish. ^^

mak's curry paste for fish head curry

mak’s curry paste for fish head curry

first time i did fish head curry was 14.3.2016. it was a 10pa curry rice lunch + bakuteh post JB trip. ^^

i grabbed a curry paste from sheng shiong. found this mak’s nonya fish head curry S$2.45, used it for the first time.

fish head curry

fish head curry

wife went to chinatown & bought me an angkoli (sea bream) fish head. i though it was very expensive at S$16.

anyway it was super fresh, meat was firm & sweet.

fish head curry

fish head curry

cooking was easy. i just followed instructions at the back of the sachet-

  1. fry first the sliced yellow onions, curry rempah & some coconut milk.
  2. add cut okra (lady’s fingers) and fry another few minutes.
  3. add fish head & coat thoroughly both sides with rempah
  4. add cut egg plant, chicken stock & coconut milk, covered, simmered about 8 – 10mins
  5. add cut tomatoes.
fish head curry

fish head curry

i did this a few more times, & it was good, in fact excellent, every time-

fish head curry

fish head curry

what i like was the simplicity in the preparation.

fish head curry

fish head curry

& that it is consistently good without fail.

i am planning to do this for the community meals at teban gardens & at bathesda bedok.

fish head curry

fish head curry

i am good with using premix for my cooking. if they works why not? why invent the wheel? no hang-ups for me. 🙂

i do have a good recipe for nonya curry chicken, so for that i do not use curry paste, but there is no fix rules, whatever works, works for me la…

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 1 angkoli (sea bream) fish head about 1kg (or garoupa)
  • 1 Mak’s fish head curry sachet
  • 1 small yellow onions (sliced)
  • 5 ocra (1cm cut)
  • 1 egg plant (1.5cm cut)
  • 2 tomatoes (cut into 8 or 12 pieces)
  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 750ml to 1000ml chicken stock

Directions:

  • wash fish head with salt thoroughly & drain.

i just followed instructions at the back of the sachet-

  1. fry first the sliced yellow onions, curry rempah & some coconut milk.
  2. add cut okra (lady’s fingers) and fry another few minutes.
  3. add fish head & coat thoroughly both sides with rempah
  4. add cut egg plant, chicken stock & coconut milk, covered, simmered about 8 – 10mins
  5. add cut tomatoes.
Advertisement

Good S$13.80nett Teochew Muay Buffet @ Gimtim on 9May2016

teochew muay buffet dishes

teochew muay buffet dishes

friend bought 3pax lunch at gimtim at amk ave 4 on 9.5.2016. ^^

this was a follow-up of our last makan at toa payoh lor 8 food centre on 30.4.2016.

i have been to 2 other gimtim group restaurants & they were pretty good-

sweet potato porridge

sweet potato porridge

they have a S$13.80 nett teochew muay weekdays buffet lunch.

buffet turned out better than i expected. 🙂

setting & dishes were humble, but the taste was quite good.

braised chicken

braised chicken

chicken was good, tender & sauce tasty.

braised duck wings

braised duck wings

duck wings so so, can skip.

mui choy 梅菜

mui choy 梅菜

mui choy 梅菜 was good, not salty, nice flavour.

kiam chai咸菜

kiam chai咸菜

kiam chai咸菜 also good, not salty, & sweet.

egg plant

egg plant

egg plant boleh da…

chicken feet

chicken feet

chicken feet was good. friend went to get a second helping.

ter kar (pig trotters)

ter kar (pig trotters)

ter kar (pig trotters) nice gummy texture & tasty. people took most of it i managed to get some odds & ends.

tau kee

tau kee

tau kee average competent.

pork & cauliflower

pork & cauliflower

pork & cauliflower simple, ok.

tofu fungus chinese cabbage

tofu fungus chinese cabbage

egg tofu quite well done. with wood fungus & chinese cabbage, sweet.

braised pig heat meat & tofu

braised pig heat meat & tofu

strange they did not have kong bak. friend only picked up pig head meat, tofu & egg. they were good. 🙂

braised pig ears

braised pig ears

there was a refill, but only pig ears. good too. 🙂

ikan selar

ikan selar

the i think ikan selar? was good. people took the tails so only left heads.

i will try to cook this dish myself.

sides

sides

i enjoyed all these little sides – fermented beancurd, peanut ikan bilis, olive vegetable, haebeehiam & radish pickles.

all memory foods from childhood la….

pulut hitam

pulut hitam

had some fruit (papaya) + pulut hitam.

i don’t mind this place. can come back some time again with my sis.

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++

GIMTIM

Address : Blk 157, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-546 Singapore 560157
Hotline : 6459 7766 (Reservation is needed on Saturday and Sunday)
Fax : 6458 0467
Email : amk157@gimtim.com.sg
Business Hour : Monday – Friday (Lunch 11.30am – 2.30pm / Dinner 6.00pm – 10.30pm)
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday (Lunch 11.00am – 2.30pm / Dinner 6.00pm – 10.30pm)

 

Enjoyable Curry Rice @ Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice on 22Mar2016

loo's curry rice dishes

loo’s curry rice dishes

a RI friend organised a 8pax “eat-about” on 22.3.2016. ^^

we started with breakfast & coffee at tiong bahru bakery.

then went for early lunch at loo’s hainanese curry rice nearby.

after that we had the hawker centre coffee at tiong bahru food centre.

& the we bought some cakes + lim lam hong angku kueh & came to my place for another cuppa.

we had a day trip to JB recently, so we thought we would recast it for singapore. haha!

we also had a 10pax bakuteh + curry rice lunch at my place post JB. 🙂

a slightly different kind of curries. maybe i will give this curry hainanese pork chop a try also.

loo's curry rice

loo’s curry rice

the loo’s curry rice was quite simple food, dishes a bit limited, but still quite enjoyable.

curry sauce - loo's curry rice

curry sauce – loo’s curry rice

the curry was especially shiok!

not that it was better than the fish head curry or lemak chicken curry. it’s slightly powdery, but overall just very shiok combine with the rice & pork chop.

curry pork chops

curry pork chops

pork chop was good.

not a particularly interesting dish for me. still thinking whether i want to try cooking this. deep-fry is always a bit troublesome & i try to avoid.

curry sotong

curry sotong

curry sotong was good. large sotong, nice think ones. nothing special i guess.

meat balls

meat balls

meat balls were ok.

egg plant

egg plant

the egg plant was good. nice colour & great taste.

chap chai

chap chai

chap chai was quite standard.

loo's curry rice

loo’s curry rice

simple food, limited selection, no really special dishes except curry.

loo's curry rice dishes

loo’s curry rice dishes

but they all combined to give a really enjoyable meal.

greentea & almond pound cakes

green tea & almond pound cakes

after loo’s curry, we had coffee at tiong bahru hawker centre.

a friend bought green tea & almond pound cakes.

lim lam hong angkukueh

lim lam hong angkukueh

lim lam hong angkukueh

lim lam hong angkukueh

we stopped by lim lam hong at jln bukit merah & grabbed some angku kueh.

the guys adjourned to my place for some coffee & tea.

an enjoyable, fun day’s outing with good friends.

c.h.e.f andy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice

Address

Contact

+65 62253762

Opening Hours

Daily: 08:00 – 14:00

Closed: Alt Thu

RI Friends 10pax curry rice lunch+bakuteh post JB trip 14Mar2016

had a really fun JB trip last week with my RI buddies. we had really good bakuteh at shoon huat at sentosa JB & roast duck from ya wang opposite, and dinner at canton-i at city square, but we missed out on the kam long fish head curry.

the guys were coming to my place for lunch & watching jeju slides & guide from a friend who had been there.

so i decided to do a curry rice lunch + bakuteh (reminiscence of the recent JB trip) on 14.3.2016. ^^

7 dishes = curry rice + bakuteh + dessert

7 dishes = curry rice + bakuteh + dessert

i had 7 dishes –

bakuteh singapore style
fish head curry
nonya curry chicken
sayur lodeh (using thai red curry)
kueh chap (pig head, pig ear, belly pork)
sio bak (roast pork)
lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

for bakuteh i bought the frozen prime ribs from sheng shiong. it’s the le bao brand 乐宝, just S$10.95/kg.

i used the usual ILC bakuteh sachet, about S$1.50 for 20g sachet.

the bakuteh was excellent! soup was very tasty. many friends so commented.

1 used hara fried bean curd puff this time, i think this had more sweet 黄豆 flavours than the usual bean curd puff i used, the overall soup flavour was excellent, very tasty. a friend said it enhanced rather than overwhelmed the bakuteh sachet.

i think my soup was almost as good as shoon huat, and my pork ribs itself clearly better, more meaty, fatter & more flavoruful & excellent taken with my dark sauce which was very “pang” & not so salty.

fish head curry

#2 fish head curry

it’s the first time i cooked fish head curry.

mak's curry paste for fish head curry

#2 mak’s curry paste for fish head curry

i went to grab a curry paste from sheng shiong. found this mak’s nonya fish head curry S$2.45 i think, used it for the first time.

fish head curry

#2 fish head curry

wife went to chinatown market on sunday. i didn’t go. she bought a angkoli (sea bream) fish head. i though it was very expensive at S$16, but i had not bought this before not really qualified to comment on the price.

fish head curry

#2 fish head curry

anyway it was super fresh, meat was firm & sweet.

cooking was easy. i just followed instructions at the back of the sachet-

  1. cut okra (lady’s fingers) and fried first with sliced yellow onions, curry rempah & some coconut milk.
  2. added cut egg plant, fried another few minutes.
  3. added fish head & coat with rempah
  4. added chicken stock & coconut milk, covered, simmered about 8 – 10mins
  5. added cut tomatoes.

curry was very tasty, maybe could be stronger, almost as good as outside, think curry wok.

i did my usual nonya curry chicken.

i did this nonya curry chicken recently for teban gardens community breakfast.

today though, it was just slightly below my own expectations.

my friends all liked it. the curry was very flavourful & lemak. they said just like outside nasi padang stall.

i did my usual kueh chap too.

i was also not all that satisfied with the flavours. i felt the texture was great but the braising sauce flavours not “pang” enough.

my friends told me i ate too often. for them it was fine. 🙂

sayur lodeh

#5 sayur lodeh

the sayur lodeh was quite fine. the long beans & hara fried bean curd puffs went very well with the cabbage & curry.

sayur lodeh

#5 sayur lodeh

i used the dancing chef thai curry paste, but added the wrong one yellow instead of red (hard to tell from a previously open sachet w/o cover description) so it looked a bit more yellowish & just like sayur lodeh instead of red colour, by accident…haha! 🙂

sayur lodeh

#5 sayur lodeh

anyway this dish i was quite happy with, nice vegetable for curry rice.

airfryer sio bak

#6 airfryer sio bak

& a repeat of my recently “mastered” airfryer sio bak, learned from a friend.

i thought the belly pork was a bit too fatty. & i over compensated by grilling it 5mins longer. i told them this third time was poorer than the first 2.

airfryer sio bak

#6 airfryer sio bak

but all my friends thought it was very good, the skin was crispy.

one friend said the skin was crispy on most, but some parts were tough. i told him probably because i used a fork to furiously stab the skin, kind of primitive, so not evenly done.

lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

#7 lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

i made the easy dessert we all enjoyed at hoe kee dessert 浩记甜品馆 during our jan2016 hong kong trip- lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉.

just boiled the lotus & ginkyo nuts in syrup & added to the cheng chow from sheng shiong. almost no effort & so enjoyable, refreshing to have.

friends brought strawberries & also longan & a friend brought a red, a bottle of michel torino.

after lunch we watched the slides on jeju. looks like a great place to eat & hike. according to guides, oct & nov are the best time to visit, dry & cool weather.

c.h.e.f andy

Really Nice Fine Chinese Dinner @ Xin Cuisine on 1Oct2015

this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

S$28 – this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

wife & i went to xin cuisine for dinner on 1.10.2015.^^

though this is a palate restaurant, we had never use the amex palate privileges here before today.

the last time we had a superb fine dining here was 2.5yrs ago on 31.3.2013 for a ANZ set promotion.

excellent lie tong 例汤

S$9 – excellent lie tong 例汤

in fact, soup looked quite pathetic but it tasted phenomenal!!!

i think this excellent lie tong 例汤 should be offered & served in a nice earthen pot like at tunglok or say lei gardens in hk instead of an individual per portion serving. at the very least, even if it is served per portion, it should be done in a nice bowl instead of a jack’s place kind of soup serving!

excellent lie tong 例汤

S$9 – excellent lie tong 例汤

must try to do this lie tong at home.

this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

S$28 – this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

the duck & veg were just as phenomenal!

this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!! definitely better than the very nice duck at canton paradise. 🙂

this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

S$28 – this tea infused duck is the best roast duck i tried!!

the tea fragrance was so lingering! amazing! restaurant manager said it was because the hk chef not only smoked but also marinated the duck in tea.

maybe i will try my tea infused duck again…

just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

S$18 – just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

this preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant was super also.

just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

S$18 – just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

the flavours of the preserved vegetables with the light soy sauce, not salty, was inviting.

just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

S$18 – just super! preserved vege with chinese small cabbage & egg plant

a very fine vegetable dish. 🙂

big prawn crispy noodles

S$14 – big prawn crispy noodles

the big prawn crispy noodles was great, as expected.

big prawn crispy noodles

S$14 – big prawn crispy noodles

crispy noodles & broth all good.

lobster noodles also good

S$22 – lobster noodles also good

lobster noodles also good, but broth tasted perhaps just a wee bit not as good as tunglok’s.

lobster noodles also good

S$22 – lobster noodles also good

overall still a very good dish.

i tried my own king prawns braised noodles previously which tasted pretty good too.

i served this at a 11pax homecooked lunch on 15.10.2015 & everyone loved it!^^

this a really nice enjoyable dinner & with 50% for 2pax amex palate discounts, dinner was just S$69.

for me, the dishes were very fine, the soup was wonderful, & the duck quite divine, delicate & lingering tea flavours, and so was the veg. the prawn noodles & lobsters noodles were more ordinary dishes but very well executed, real good class.

service was ok, except at the beginning server took inordinately long time to respond to taking orders (even after acknowledging which already took long time) when there were just 3 tables including our own.

c.h.e.f andy

A Relaxing Birthday Dinner at Tunglok Signature @ Central on 27May2015

salted egg prawns

salted egg prawns

last evening, my close dentist friend and godsis & her husband arranged a birthday dinner for another close friend at tunglok signature @ central on 27.5.2015. ^^

my wife & i & another friend joined dinner so there were 7pax.

birthday was several weeks before but some of us were away, anyway it was just fun to get together.

godsis was feeling rich & happy, and displayed great teamwork with her hubby, and managed to best my dentist friend to grab the bill at the end of dinner. 🙂

roast pork烧肉

roast pork烧肉

i just had salted egg prawns & roast pork烧肉 at a 13pax RI friends G20 dinner at peach garden @ metropolis the evening before, and that was good too.

we can see from the photos that the presentation & colours of the 2 dishes at tunglok were better. taste-wise they were close – the roast pork烧肉 about same, the salted egg prawns maybe tunglok a tad better. 🙂

deep-fried fish fillet (also salted egg)

deep-fried cod fish fillet (also salted egg)

deep-fried fish fillet (also salted egg)

deep-fried cod fish fillet (also salted egg)

we had the deep-fried cod fish fillet that seemed to be salted egg flavoured also. it was a well executed dish, somewhat oily. not really a preferred preparation for me.

the same dentist friend & mei mei had a birthday dinner for me in 2013 here at this same tunglok outlet. we had star garoupa fillet with broccoli & lily bulbs & that was very good. of course for me, steamed fish is the best. haha!^^

tunglok's 三层楼

tunglok’s 三层楼

tunglok's 三层楼

tunglok’s 三层楼

we had the elegant 三层楼, which is a tunglok’s long standing dish of fried bean curd on spinach & shimeji mushrooms.

charcoal tofu dish

charcoal tofu dish

charcoal tofu dish

charcoal tofu dish

there was a newer dish of charcoal tofu with lily bulbs 百合.

both tofu dishes were very nice!

string beans with egg plant

string beans with egg plant

next was a string beans with egg plant. just mildly spicy (if any at all) & quite nicely done.

another squash dish with edamame

another squash dish with edamame

another squash dish with edamame

another squash dish with edamame

another dish was a bit unusual combination, some squash with japanese edamame & slightly sweet sauce. can’t figure out this dish.

longevity buns 流沙寿桃

longevity buns 流沙寿桃

as it was a birthday, the restaurant provided complimentary longevity buns 流沙寿桃.

birthday message to 101

birthday message to 101

birthday message to 101

birthday message to 101

they were  presented together with the cake mei mei bought, and handwritten “calligraphy” by a talented restaurant manager. haha!

少年壮志当十一

英俊潇洒二十一

状元高中三十一

年龄岁岁四十一

成就显赫五十一

儿孙满堂六十一

回想当年七十一

福禄寿全八十一

享受人生九十一

要找北京101???

the message changes according to occasions, so the guy must have a whole bookcase of them. haha!^^

i didn’t know the price as mei mei paid for it, estimate about S$175 or S$25pax

c.h.e.f andy

13pax ala Carte Buffet Dinner @ Peach Garden Miramar on 30Jun2014

#1 char siew

#1 char siew

#2 roast pork

#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

#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

#4 drunken chicken looked processed in appearance. taste was ok with wine infused flavour.

#5 yuzu prawns

#5 yuzu prawns

#6 wasabi 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

#7 fish fritters was average. fish was so so, the crispy batter was quite well done.

#8 sharksbone soup with lobster claw

#8 sharks bone soup with lobster claw

#8a crab meat/roe sharksfin

#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 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

#11 kurobuta pork was ok.

#12 sauteed beef

#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 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

#14 pan-fried venison. this not really a favourite for me, no different from any coffershop zichar stalls.

#15 pating fish

#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

#16 cauliflowers & brocoli

#17 string beans with sliced scallops

#17 string beans with sliced scallops

#18 spinach with 3 eggs

#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

#19 杨支甘露

#20 bubur hiram with ice cream

#20 bubur hitam with ice cream

#21 ice jelly

#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

Good Ala Carte Buffet @ Peach Garden Miramar on 8May2014

10336774_10152378984914494_8685958241187776514_n

drunken chicken

went with sis, b-i-l & a friend to peach garden miramar on 8.5.2014. they were having a 3paying 1 free promotion for 4pax at S$30.80 weekdays. 🙂

#1 the drunken chicken was 1/2 frozen & did not look great (my one looked better..haha) but the taste was good! much better than mine. 🙂

1506858_10152378984954494_6123394012878104421_n

pork floss with deep-fried eggplant

#2 we all liked the pork floss & also the light battered egg plant, very nice dish! 🙂

1017770_10152378984984494_5967512635601923651_n

deep-fried soon hock

10314680_10152378985109494_3870633068523049723_n

deep-fried soon hock

#3 deep-fried soon hock was ok, above average, perhaps a little better than the recent one at ban heng on 25.4.2014, but not the best.

10320439_10152378985209494_6355819162578006327_n

pork ribs

#4 the pork ribs were flavourful. meat not the most tender, just slightly chewy, taste was good.

1005799_10152378985274494_7232902428204478284_n

crab sauce tofu

#5 crab sauce & tofu were good. look-wise seems something missing in this dish..maybe some garnish or greens.

10171024_10152378985314494_2387325263972722229_n

pating fish

#6 pating my favourite fish. this method of preparation not the best. the minced ginger or HK steamed style much better.

roast pork - below par!

roast pork – below par!

#7 it seemed really odd that a roast pork dish in such a restaurant could be bad, but it was, much below par!

char siew

char siew

#8 we were already very full when i spotted the char siew later & had to order it. this was very good! almost imperial treasure standard. 🙂

10342498_10152378985509494_1697577068829131384_n

losbter claw sharksfin soup

10259956_10152378985804494_6656441841154097751_n

sea cucumber sharksfin soup

#9 each diner was only allowed 1 order of soup. i had the lobster claw sharksfin soup. it was very average soup (not even as good as any lie tong aka soup of the day from tonglok restaurants or imperial treasure), and the sea cucumber sharksfin seemed no better.

1969406_10152378986004494_2354574252869054277_n

hotplate venison

#10 venison was very average, like any zi char stall.

10349873_10152378986284494_7722912106548240791_n

pan-fried kurobuta

#11 kurobuta itself was tender & tasty. this chinese way of preparation though not my favourite.

10259957_10152378986424494_6626561227697199476_n

dried scallop eggwhite fried rice

#12 fried rice was good, fragrant! 🙂

10334476_10152378986544494_7575323942038927870_n

yuzu prawn fritters

#13 these were very nice, much better than wasabi mayo prawns preparation. 🙂 may try these at home.

10007466_10152378986599494_253898085367815147_n

fried scallop with french beans

#14 this was like a joke. the scallops turned out to be like 1 medium scallop (or maybe 1/2) sliced into 10 pieces. you need real skills to slice it so thinly. a case of disappearing scallop dish. 😦

10301543_10152378986649494_4080653653251162149_n

indonesian prawn

#15 surprisingly, the indonesian prawn dish was very good. prawn was good & fresh & the curry sauce was very good.

10277763_10152378986684494_2829874917285310510_n

tofu with vege

#16 this was ok, pretty standard.

brocoli & cauliflower

brocoli & cauliflower

#17 brocoli & cauliflower was very well done, very tasty! 🙂

overall food was quite good for an ala carte buffet, a lot better certainly c/w ban heng.

the service was good, efficient & friendly throughout except when paying the bill. we were charged a really hefty S$1.50pax for ice water & S$1pax for towels, so there was an extra S$10++ tab on the bill. it was a bit high but ok except that we asked specifically at the beginning when deciding whether to order tea & was told by the server that water was FREE, and tea was S$2.50pax. i told the girl closing the bill. she said water was as charged (next time i need to record the conversation. haha!). anyway, the total bill after 1pax free came to $120nett=S$30nett per pax so i was quite ok to just pay it.

i would come back again but buffets were very heavy & not ideal for me to do too often. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Nice Lunch @ Nasi Padang River Valley at Zion Road on 23Jan2014

curry chicken

curry chicken

i used to eat here more when my children were younger (meaning i was younger & had more capacity for carbo & cholesterol) & also buy back for home gatherings.

the food was more expensive in recent years but still good. i had a few meals at the nasi padang stall at tanjong pagar railway station which was also good and a lot cheaper before it closed (wonder where it moved to?).

nasi padang river valley

nasi padang river valley

my sis had wanted to try this stall again so we came early at 11am+ on 23.1.2014. still empty but they filled up quite quickly. we ordered 6 dishes for 3pax, cost S$25.

assam fish

assam fish

sotong (squid) in tomato sauce

sotong (squid) in tomato sauce

beef stomach

beef stomach

lady fingers

lady fingers

brinjal chilli

brinjal chilli

rice with beef stomach

rice with beef stomach

the curries were good as usual, but the both chicken & beef stomach curries while fragrant were really much too salty. the assam fish (ikan tenggiri) was excellent, with slight sour kick. the sotong (squid) in tomato sauce was great to. and the 2 vege, lady fingers & egg plants were very good.

it was a really nice meal, slightly much for 3pax lunch, so S$25 i guess was quite ok really. hawker food can be expensive too these days.

c.h.e.f andy