Tag Archives: OPS

3pax Simple Home Lunch + Ah Seng Durians on 4Aug2016

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home lunch dishes

home lunch dishes

2 OPS close friends came for lunch today on 4.8.2016. ^^

just 3pax so nothing much to do.

we are planning a OPS bbq to celebrate 3 birthdays in august 2016.

i though i might do a prepped pork ribs to bbq. so i tried it on my friends today.

it was same method as my mock kurobuta ribs, only that i chargrilled it after(not before) slow braising.

i had the ribs in a sealed oven dish with marinade in a 90degC oven for 5.5hrs.

then i chargrilled on a high heat non stick pan with a bit of butter to approximate bbq.

it was a wonderful tasting ribs, very flavourful both from the marinade but also from the slow braising which dissolves the fat & convert the collagen (connective tissues) to flavourful gelatin.

home lunch dishes

home lunch dishes

i did 3 other dishes.

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

was trying to replicate the prawn tifu dish at sik bao sin.

my dish was tasty not no comparison to sik bao sin.

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

i did a minced meat prawn sauce with the usual oyster sauce & fish sauce & white pepper.

as one friend said, my dish didn’t need recipe, just a general knowledge of mixing condiments & cooking the right texture.

fried tofu

fried tofu

i shallow fried silken tofu, wanted soft texture inside didn’t want to use the tau kua, or the egg tofu. maybe i try egg tofu next time.

looking at sik bao sin’s photo, actually they deep-fried the tofu. i hate deep-fry use so much oil

sik bao sin also did not have minced pork just an egg. will try that next time.

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

prawn with minced pork fried tofu

then the ingredients were ready, so just a matter of putting them together in a wok when friends arrived.

leek & potatoes

leek & potatoes

i didn’t have any veg in the chiller, literally emptied out, so i just used the leftover 2 stalks of leek & the potatoes.

came out a very tasty dish! both the potatoes & the leek. very nice! 🙂

leek & potatoes

leek & potatoes

i fried the potatoes separately. the key is not to overcook. potato cook test is to push it against wall & if it breaks into halves means it’s cooked.

an even better test of course is to eat a piece, which was what i did. 🙂

the leek has to be covered & braised after frying in garlic & cut chilli padi, so soft & still green, and very sweet with the oyster sauce & fish sauce.

like my friend said, this kind of dishes no need recipe la! ^^

hk steamed pating fish

hk steamed pating fish

the hk steamed pating fish was the main event.

though still quite nice, it was nevertheless a slight disappointment for me.

hk steamed pating fish

hk steamed pating fish

all 3 of us thought the sauce was very nice.

i used 3 tbsp of top quality light soy sauce 陈年生抽王, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp mirin, & that’s it. i used that for red garoupa, soon hock, song fish head.

& to demo at my cooking demo at teban gardens community service centre on 29.4.2016 becos it is so easy anyone can do this, which is the purpose of a cooking demo, so everyone can do it afterwards.

for pating fish i added finely chopped ginger & garlic, and some cut scallions.

hk steamed pating fish

hk steamed pating fish

so the sauce was nice, but 2 of us thought the fish was not the very fresh type. the meat had a touch of powdery & not the super fresh bouncy type.

still ok texture & good taste to eat, but below par for me la… 🙂

coconut jelly

coconut jelly

a friend brought both coconut jelly & fresh coconuts.

coconut jelly

coconut jelly

we took the jelly, very nice.

ah seng durians

ah seng durians

after that we went to ah seng for durians.

i bought MSW & D13.

but one friend was nursing a recovering flu & throat & did not want to eat. so we just took the packet of D13 & i kept the MSW for my brother & for home.

ah seng durians

ah seng durians

ah seng durians constantly long queue.

ah seng durians

ah seng durians

they invested in the vaccum pack machine but basically charges the same price, and good service & almost always good quality so like all these other people, we also prefer to buy there.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Dinner @ Jin Hock Seafood Tampines 844 Coffeeshop on 9Jun2016

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4 dishes

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, crispy eggplants with string beans, 金香鱼头

my OPS friends organised a 4pax eat-together at jin hock at tampines 844 coffeeshop on 9.6.2016. ^^

the last time 2 OPS friends bought a bigger group dinner here at jin hock seafood on 19.4.2016. 🙂

that was the first time i had white bee hon WBH 白米粉. after that they were talking about 金香鱼头 here.

& then we tried the 金香鱼头 at canto jumbo 广东珍宝 @ old airport road & my friends all felt the jin hock one was better.  so here we were this evening to try.

ah seng's maoshanwang MSW 猫山王

ah seng’s maoshanwang MSW 猫山王

i went to get some MSW 猫山王  from ah seng. i ordered 5kg. they gave me 3 durians 5.9kg vacuum packed in 4 boxes. 🙂

we gathered at a friend’s place to have durian first before dinner. we finished 3 boxes among 4 of us. ah seng’s durians were consistently good but not overwhelming.

my friend brought equally good ones from tiong bahru to a scrupmtious 10pax OPS makan & chill some days back…. & i had equally good ones also from clementi mall the evening before. 🙂

tampines 844 coffee shop

tampines 844 coffee shop

tampines 844 was quite crowded & good traffic on a thurs evening. 🙂

before sitting down we saw a durian stall next door with a few pathetic looking MSW & other durians & charging S$16/kg for MSW.

ah seng, tiong bahru & clementi mall all charge S$15/kg. it’s better to buy from bigger, regular durian stalls, they charge cheaper & offer greater assurance of quality la..

3 dishes

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, 金香鱼头

my friend ordered 4 dishes – vinegared trotters 猪脚醋, WBH, crispy eggplants with string beans, 金香鱼头.

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋 were good, not super but good!

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

vinegared trotters 猪脚醋

texture for the skin was great, gelatinous, for the lean meat less so. not too sour & not too sweet either & quite good flavours. my friend felt the vinegar not enuf, basically dish not “pang” enuf. it was ok for me la.

金香鱼头

金香鱼头

金香鱼头 for this evening we all felt was not great. not enuf sauce & flavours.

金香鱼头

金香鱼头

if just based on this evening’s version, i can probably make better & certainly the one we had recently at canto jumbo 广东珍宝was better that evening.

problem is always consistency, so never quite definitive. some days better some days not so la.

crispy eggplants with string beans

crispy eggplants with string beans

the crispy eggplants with string beans.

it was a well done dish, nice crispy eggplants. not quite my favourite kind of food, nor the combination appeals much to me.

WBH - white bee hoon

WBH – white bee hoon

white bee hoon was very good this evening. very flavourful, well infused with flavours from the broth, very much better than the first i tried here on 19.4.2016.

i have tried making this once as WBH, and 3 times as 三楼米粉. for me the 2 dishes were same in preparation, only you crisp the bee hoon for 三楼米粉.

the most recent i did 三楼米粉for my RI friends 9pax lunch, and they all loved the flavours though i could not create the crispy texture for a 9pax portion.

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

a friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥.

it was his first time, and amazingly good for the first time.

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

friend made orh nee 金瓜芋泥

the tub looked small but actually too compacted so contained really a large bowl of orh nee.

anyhow i finised the entire tub. yam was flavourful not too sweet, pumpkin, ginkyo nuts were all good. coconut was “pang” & thick. ^^

koropok fish crackers

koropok fish crackers

another friend brought koropok. it was the best for him. we were too full from durians + dinner + orh nee, so i brought the packet home. eating it this few days, not particularly my favourite though.

had a great time this evening, good durians, great company & food & dessert & chit chat.

dinner for 4 dishes 4 pax was S$61, about S$15pax, quite ok!

c.h.e.f andy

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

Jin Hock seafood 金福海鲜菜馆
Address:
844 Tampines Street 82, 520844
Phone:
6787 4255
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun: 1700 – midnight

Really Shiok 4pax Curry Rice Lunch @ Loo’s Curry on 27May2016

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my fren bought the whole stall

my fren bought the whole stall

my OPS friend bought lunch at loo’s curry at Tai Kwang Huat Coffee Shop, 57 Eng Hoon Street,on 27.5.2016. ^^

he bought up whole stall, 6 dishes for 4pax!

& we had prawns, chicken, sotong, pork chop, fish head & veg! 🙂

i am recently with my RI friends on 22.3.2016.

we had 8pax & ordered about the same food (which was enuf la)…lol! 🙂

hainanese pork chop

hainanese pork chop

pork chop is a must signature food for hainanese curry rice (next to the curry itself i guess…lol). 🙂

i not particularly keen on tonkatsu but this went very well with the curry.

curry prawns

curry prawns

the curry prawns was a surprise for me.

usual in these chai poon 菜贩 type stalls, or even in zi char stalls, don’t expect very fresh prawns.

this one was very good, very fresh!

curry sotong

curry sotong

curry sotong always good. we ordered that last time also.

(just read on straits times today 28.5.2016 that the word sotong is now officially included in oxford dictionary!)

curry chicken

curry chicken

chicken curry was very so so, in fact one of the poorer ones i have taken eg the hoower food court cheap curry rice’s curry chicken a lot better

& of course the geyland serai stalls like sinar pagi nasi padang better than both.

the curry itself though always good!

black beans fish head

black beans fish head

black beans fish head was ok, but these kind of dish have to take at zi char stalls like kok sen at keong saik street la.

curry veg

curry veg

curry veg was good but usual.

vegetarian ngoh hiang

vegetarian ngoh hiang

friend went to order vegetarian ngoh hiang some more. all items very tasty especially the one with mushrooms stuffed inside.

i had to finish almost all the rice & not eat dinner, and after lunch we went for durian some more.

the curry rice was just S$40 for 6 dishes include prawns, we think only because the stallholder “ah” with my friend. the vegetarian ngoh hiang S$10 for 4 items also a bit special price?

friend’s elder brother (70) & sil came for lunch also. after lunch they stopped by our table & had a short chat.

c.h.e.f andy

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

Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice

Address

#01-88, Tai Kwang Huat Coffee Shop, 57 Eng Hoon Street, 160057

Contact

+65 62253762

Opening Hours

Daily: 08:00 – 14:00

Closed: Alt Thu

Very Good Enjoyable Lunch @ Seng Kee on 12May2016

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香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon

香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon

my OPS primary school classmate bought 5pax lunch at seng kee today on 12.5.2016.^^

the 香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon we had today, i so enjoyed this i am going to try making this myself.

i came here twice before, both times with my RI friends.

the last time was a year ago after watching australian open tennis finals between djokovic & murray on 1.2.2015.

food was so so that day. the steamed fish head was good.

香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon

香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon

recently these friends brought me to try many interesting food, like the white bee hoon at tampines 844.

some i tried before in the younger days maybe but did not pay much attention, some i have not tried.

today my friend ordered 6 dishes.

the 香煎米粉or三楼米粉 fried beehoon seems to be a seng kee’s newly added dish.

& it was very good. very nice flavours, wok hae, nicely crisp, not soggy, i think overall almost perfect.

after that i googled & saw some photos of the 三楼米粉 at 三楼海鲜园 Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru. just by picture alone, i would think the seng kee one look much better. of course will have to try la one day….

assam fish head

assam fish head

the assam fish head was also good.

basically fish head was fresh & sweet, & the assam sauce added to the taste. would have been just as good steamed (like last time the teochew style).

东坡肉dongporou with brocoli & bun

东坡肉dongporou with brocoli & bun

the 东坡肉dongporou was not the best, but it was pretty good. my friends felt the fat was not done well enuf, in terms of the bite. i guess so. i think the meat taste & sauce also not as good not 入味 intense enuf. brocoli buns all that ok but those were not definitive of the dish.

deepfried tofu with minced meat sauce

deepfried tofu with minced meat sauce

the deep-fried tofu was good too, very well done.

the meat sauce though quite pedestrian, by the way type.

kidney mee sua...so so

kidney mee sua…so so

their famous kidney mee sua??

kidney mee sua...so so

kidney mee sua…so so

i wonder, nothing great about it…same thing i thought the last time. that was worse actually, there was a taste i remember, this time no bad taste, but nothing great, in fact nothing good.

any bakuteh stall would be better la…so i rate this as the worst dish…

didn’t have a photo of the romaine lettuce 油麦菜. it was ok but nothing to talk about just very average.

overall it was a very good lunch. friend wasn’t satisfied himself but i enjoyed the lunch quite a lot. wasn’t much of a problem for us. he can keep buying lunch until he is satisfied la…the least you can do for a friend…lol! ^^

my friend paid. i haven’t found out about the cost. will update this later if i know the cost.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Excellent Fish Head Curry

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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.

Great Quality Lunch @ Tunglok Signature Orchard Parade on 6Appr2016

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1/2 roast London duck - S$32

1/2 roast London duck – S$32

went with friend for lunch at tunglok signature @ orchard parade on 6.4.2016. ^^

just returned from london last evening. had an excellent family holiday in london, lisbon, porto with wife, son & daughter.

my OPS friend bought me an excellent G7 Sinma frog porridge lunch on 11.3.2016 before my trip.

so my turn to buy lunch. 🙂

garlic steamed razor clams - S$12.80

garlic steamed razor clams – S$12.80

we started with a steamed razor clam.

clam was smaller than what usually is served in say ah yat, jumbo, long beach etc. the sauce a bit gluey, but overall the taste was still very good. 🙂

i would order this again, also after 50% palate discounts for 2pax, this dish was only S$6.40++.

Lie tong 例汤 1/2 pot=S$16

lie tong 例汤 1/2 pot=S$16

we shared 1/2 pot lie tong 例汤 1/2 pot at S$16 (full pot S$28).

lie tong 例汤 always good here, and at others like imperial treasure etc. for me, a good lie tong 例汤 1/2 (they usually very good la) is better than taking sharksfin (politically incorrect) or even fishmaw soup.

1/2 roast London duck - S$32

1/2 roast London duck – S$32

& i wanted to let my friend try the roast london duck. ^^

they used irish duck which is fatter & more flavourful.

can’t it’s better than the tea smoked duck at xin cuisine,

but certainly it is better than the very good roast duck at canton paradise.

Rack of lamb - S$15

Rack of lamb – S$15

rack of lamb was good too, tender not too strong gamey taste. but chinese preparation is for me, never as good for this dish c/w with modern european.

we shared one order.

String beans - S$18

String beans – S$18

string beans was more ex, basically S$18 is a good restuarant kind of pricing for veg.

Garoupa fillet noodles soup - S$12

Garoupa fillet noodles soup – S$12

i had a zhajiangmian variation here with my wife recently.

this time, it was a garoupa fillet noodle soup.

it was good, soup very tasty, garoupa fillet fresh & sweet.

we shared one order.

Excellent 5pax Birthday Lunch @ Red House on 26Apr2016

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spinach musroom dumpling

spinach mushroom dumpling

OPS friend celebrating wife’s birthday & invited us for lunch at red house princep street on 26.4.2016.

(we didn’t know. we asked but he didn’t say till afterwards).

i have never been to red house for the longest time.

they are having a 40% off dimsum promotion till 31.12.2016!

food was surprisingly good leh! ^^

the spinach mushroom dumpling looked alluring & tasted really good. very nice mushroom flavours, and so refine. 🙂

har gao虾饺

har gao虾饺

the simple har gao虾饺 also looked so refine, and tasted wonderful too. 🙂

fu pei quin 腐皮卷

fu pei quin 腐皮卷

fu pei quin 腐皮卷 not overly oily, very crispy & good fresh prawn fillings, a very well done dish. 🙂

steamed bamboo clams 圣子

steamed bamboo clams 圣子 – S$10 each

friend ordered the steamed bamboo clams 圣子. dish was ok.

this a bit small c/w say ah yat or jumbo or long beach, quite similar size to the recent ones we had at tunglok signature orchard parade, but tunglok’s minced garlic oil & tanhoon a lot tastier than this.

steamed razor clams with garlic (beautiful photo taken by Jeanette at 6.10.2012 homecooked dinner)

steamed razor clams with garlic (beautiful photo taken by Jeanette at 6.10.2012 homecooked dinner)

actually even my own preparation is tastier than this.

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾 – S$88

the lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾 was excellent! ^^

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾 – S$88

usually it is a waste to add chilli to a fresh & expensive lobster.

this one though was done very well. the chilli was very tasty, i thought a bit thai style.

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾

lemongrass chilli lobster 香茅辣椒龙虾 – S$88

lobster very good, the chilli did not overwhelm the sweetness of the lobster meat. enhanced it la… 🙂

fragrant crispy duck 香酥鸭

1/2fragrant crispy duck 香酥鸭 – S$23

friend also ordered 1/2 fragrant crispy duck 香酥鸭.

it is a variation of the roast duck which we eat too often.

this was deep-fried & could taste the fragrance of the spices. they usually served it with some crepe so the server proceeded to destroy (tear up) the duck. we didn’t want the crepe. friend’s wife commented the presentation was not good. in shanghai/jiangsu they would cut the duck in slices & nicer presentation.

also the duck was a bit dry inside, not such a good preparation.

spinach tofu 三层楼

spinach tofu 三层楼 – S$14

the spinach tofu was excellent, very tasty very well done.

spinach tofu 三层楼

spinach tofu 三层楼

i first had this 三层楼 at tunglok group maybe >20years ago. this one though tasted better than tunglok.

sambal kang kong

sambal kang kong – S$12

sambal kang kong was good, more than competent.

seafood hor fun 杂锦河粉

seafood hor fun 杂锦河粉 – S$12

the seafood hor fun 杂锦河粉 was very good too. very nice wok hae (wok fragrance!)

seafood hor fun 杂锦河粉

seafood hor fun 杂锦河粉 = S$12

the dimsum dishes were quite refine & the main courses were also top draw.

overall it was an excellent lunch, much better than i expected from a seafood restaurant like red house (there are so many similar places like jumbo, long beach, no sign board etc).

sorbet lemongrass jelly

sorbet lemongrass jelly

the dessert were ok but did not really stand out.

i enjoyed my lemongrass jelly with sorbet.

杨枝甘露

杨枝甘露

the 杨枝甘露  looked average.

orh nee 芋泥

orh nee 芋泥

the orh nee 芋泥  didn’t looked right. maybe taste was ok?

lunch came to S$311 for 5pax, about S$62pax.

quite high for lunch. still i think a great place for a great lunch or dinner with good friends. must look a bit at the dishes to order, but i surely coming back again la! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

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

Red House 

Address
68 Prinsep Street, Singapore 188661
Contact
Tel = +65 6653 7160
Fax = +65 6336 6801
Email = prinsep@redhouseseafood.com
Parking
Sunshine Plaza, POMO and Somerset Bencoolen

Opening Hours

Mon – Fri

11.30am – 2.30pm (last order 2pm) 5pm – 11pm (last order 10.30 pm)

Sat, Sun & PH
11am – 11pm (last order 10.30pm)