Ho Chiak

Delights from Pek Kio: Bak Chor Mee

2013-05-16T07:30:00.000+08:00

Cambridge Road market is kind of a gourmet secret....

My good friend and I actually stumbled on this stall...we dropped by one lunch time, rather late...most of the stalls were closed...but found this open. We tried it...lovely.

Really pleasantly surprised. Chock full of traditional ingredients. Fish cake slices, meat balls, liver, minced pork, and a wonderful chilli with dried prawns.

I have tasted better...Tai Hwa's version is probably quite a bit tastier. But nothing beats this for value for money. Tastewise it is less intense, a bit milder, but nonetheless still quite delicious. Nice and recommended.

Fishball Noodle Prawn Noodle Laksa
#0145
Pek Kio Market

ToTT Bistro

2013-05-13T07:30:00.000+08:00

TOTT...a place to shop for kitchen utensils and cookware for both professional kitchens as well as home kitchens. But within, a little cafeteria has continued to gain reputation as a good, and reasonably priced place to eat.

We ordered the food at the counter, pay at the cashier, and find a table. The food is served. It was quite fast for our order...first up, the chicken cutlet, which they call Southern Fried Chicken...boneless breaded chicken, deep fried and served with some coleslaw, french fries, and a sauce.

The chicken looked wonderful. Nice, breaded, crispy. Taste wise it was quite good. The chicken is quite juicy and tender. But the crispy parts were rather special. The dipping sauce was a bit salty to my taste buds, but my lunch companion was happy slurping it up with her chips.

The garlic bread served with both my order of chicken and my lunch companion's steak. But both were so stale and so hard, I told the waiter, and they served a replacement...which turned out to be exactly the same. This kind of standard is absolutely not acceptable. I demanded to see the chef, who came out, apologised and went in to prepare two pieces of garlic bread anew. The fresh ones were much better, but a bit too much butter and was oily.

Anyway, my companion's lunch was a sirloin steak

She ordered it medium...and it was delivered thus...

Methinks a bit rare for a steak which was supposed to be medium, where I expect to see only a tiny bit of pink on the inside. But the steak tasted ok...quite similar to those you get at food courts, which in this case is a small disappointment as this steak costs $24.90 instead of the usual $12 or so.

Overall, the food is quite ok..rather enjoyable, in actuality. But I am slightly disappointed with the garlic bread and the prices.

ToTT Bistro
896 Dunearn Road 01-01A, S(589472)
6443 8221

KL Black Hokkien Mee and Sang Mien at Kong Kee

2013-05-09T07:30:00.000+08:00

Black KL Hokkien Mee is one of the elusive dishes to escape from the woks of the chefs in Singapore. Those in KL, are wonderful...full of aroma, of wok hei, of beautiful and tasty ingredients. All efforts in Singapore has fallen short...

Wrong noodle type is the most common error...many here use udon...but the authentic KL style uses authentic yellow noodles, but fatter, slightly flattened, less yellow in colour, suggesting less alkali. Another common error is the sauce...perhaps in Singapore a tad too sweet. I love both types of sauce, if they are aromatic and has a thick consistency, but for authenticity, one has to go to KL.

Kong Kee is one of the more famous restaurants selling this Black KL Hokkien Mee. A full restaurant, with the whole works...including giant garoupa, lobster, crabs...one dines in air conditioned comfort.

For me, this is probably the closest anyone has come to in Singapore. The noodles, while not absolutely correct, is close. The sauce also is close...the wok hei very nice, and the crispy bits of pork wonderfully fragrant. My favourite in KL has bits of cuttlefish and a few strips of lightly cooked pork liver to enhance the taste. So for me, this is as close as anyone has done in Singapore, but still not quite there yet.

But the next dish we tried...the sang mien with prawns is absolutely wonderful.

The noodles were wonderfully crispy, and very fragrant. The sauce magnificent...with a melange of flavours...crustacean flavours mingling with a light pork flavour, and a slight tinge of soy. Very nice.

This portion is small with 3 half large succulent prawns ($20). The prawns were nicely fresh, as I mentioned, succulent...with a nice crunch, and a beautiful breath of the sea. Very nice.

Recommended.

Kong Kee Seafood Restaurant
611 Geylang Rd
6443 8221

Satay by the Bay: Satay, of course! At Top Satay

2013-05-06T07:30:00.000+08:00

Satay by the Bay...an interesting hawker centre right smack between Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Barrage.

A frequent drink stop for many cyclists who ride around the area, I decided to stop one evening for some satay. Reputation is that it is very good. I had tried some from the City Satay stall there, but suffice to say, uninspiring. So this time, we decided to try the Malay stalls.

The sataymen in attendance were quite chatty..."Satay Club? No more Satay Club anymore la...they all bluff. Now we are second, third or even fourth generation satay sellers. Where got original from Satay Club? All retired or passed on."

Interesting, methots. Grilling of the satay is done in traditional style...over hot charcoal. But how does it taste?

Very good. We ordered beef and mutton. The beef was a bit tough, just a tad so. But the mutton was brilliant. Both were very beautifully flavoured. The sauce, or kuah as it is called in Malay, is quite good as well. Nice, crushed peanuts.Smooth sauce, very rich.

Recommended.

Top Satay
Satay by the Bay
http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/dining/satay-by-the-bay.html

Kronenbourg: beers...

2013-05-02T07:30:00.000+08:00

Silent post today...just pics of great beer

Epilog: cafe in a bookshop

2013-04-29T07:30:00.000+08:00

Curious little cafe...inside the bookshop Prologue in Ion...aptly called Epilog.

Interesting tucked in a corner, bright, airy. Very nice and relaxed environment to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee or lunch.

I dropped by for lunch, craving for some laksa

The laksa proved quite superb. A little small in the serving size. But the soup was magnificent in colour, and the beautiful fragrance hits the nose almost as the dish was being served. The soup had ground dried prawns within. Very nice.

Two large, succulent, and fresh prawns, rather generous fishcakes and taupok. Quite nice laksa. Though not as good as the one by Laksania, this one satisfies quite nicely as well.

The laksa set costs S$6.50, and comes with a pot of tea, which on its own is listed on the menu at S$6.00. I elected a Lavender Earl Gray...quite a beautiful brew...clear, clean on the palate. Wonderful fragrance. The pot serves perhaps 2.5 full cups. Nice.

Recommended. I understand they have an outlet in Orchard Central as well.

epilogue café @ ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
#04-16 ION Orchard
6509 8627
Opens daily: 10:30am – 10:00pm

Friends Favourites: Mondo Mio's Chocolate Lava Cake

2013-04-25T07:30:00.000+08:00

Another Friend's Favourite today...this time from my good friend and cycling buddy Caroline.

She was totally enthusiastic in recommending me the chocolate lava cake from Mondio Mio...so we dropped by one afternoon after lunch.

Looks ordinary? Well, while not the ultimate I have eaten, this chocolate lava cake is one of the better ones around. The cake "container" is soft and airy. The lava oozes out with ease. But the taste of the lava is well balanced...a nice balance of sweet and bitter, and the richness of the chocolate is rather good.

Certainly worth a visit to sample if you are a fan of the lava chocolate cake.

Mondo Mio
30 Robertson Quay
6736 2503

Friends Favourites: Johor Bahru Eats Part 2

2013-04-22T07:30:00.000+08:00

Part two of the walking tour of Johor Bahru conducted by bloggerTony Johor Kaki.

I started the walking tour with Tony, who is passonate about steet food in Johor...not only because there is plenty of excellent food to be eaten, but also so few are documented. He draws out the hawkers and writes their stories, as well as make recommendations on the food.

We continue today with the walk in old town Johor Bahru. Next is a heritage shop, selling bread and cakes.

Only two of these bakeries exist in JB. Equipped with a wood fired oven, similar to the pizza ovens. The baking is done in a stone oven, fired with wood. The products, fragrant...with stuffed breads, and what we went there for...Tony's favourite banana cake.

We started to queue for this amazing cake, and were third in the queue...amazingly, the cakes are baked two cakes a time. Hot out of the oven, cut and put into packages...by the time we bought our 3 packets, that round from the oven was finished. People in the queue behind had to wait for the next oven load.

The taste was sublime. A bit smoky, especially the nicely crisp top, but within, very moist, beautiful aroma. Very nice.

Next stop is the highlight of the day for me. Kway Teow Thng...

This is not your run of the mill variety Kway Teow Thng. This is one with the works. All for a princely sum of MYR16...about S$6.50.

Chock full of wonderfully fresh ingredients...beautiful, magnificent oysters, pig kidneys, fresh pork, pork liver.

Cooked in a wonderfully flavourful broth made with huge pork bones slowly boiled over a charcoal fire. Magnificent.

Even the noodles are special..smooth, soft, luxurious. Magnificent. Must try. BTW, they have versions for as little as MYR5.

And to cool down, we dropped by a shop selling a brew not found in Singapore...toddy...a fermented brew from the nectar of the palm.

A bit sourish, served at room temperature. The brew was surprisingly cooling during the heat of the day. And very refreshing and thirst quenching.

I have tried fresh, chilled toddy in Penang once...it was an even more wonderful drink...served cold, it was like a cold beer on a hot day...lighter in flavour than the one I tried in JB.

Thus ended our first JB tour with Tony. Certainly not our last. There are so much to explore. And our only regret was we could only eat so much in a day...we will be back. Soon...I hope.

Hiap Joo Bakery and Biscuit Factory
13, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, 80000 Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/nf7rs
GPS: 1.456931, 103.764222
Daily 8:00am to 6:00pm (Closed on Sunday)

Ah Hua 亚华 kway teow soup (Restoran Sekee 司機)
30, Jalan Segget, Johor Baru Town
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/jWIa
GPS: 1.458202,103.764383
Daily 7:30am to 2:30pm (closed on Saturdays)

Kedai Tuak Awam
Along Jalan Sulaiman, downtown Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zYeC
GPS: 1.464262,103.761633
10:00am to 5:00pm

Friends Favourites: Johor Bahru eats

2013-04-18T10:49:00.000+08:00

This installment of Friend's Recommendations will be in two parts. Part 1 is published today, and Part 2 next week. This is a rather special post, as it introduces the street food of Johor Bahru, the border town just across the causeway in Malaysia. Our guide is the famous blogger Tony Johor Kaki.

Tony is one passionate blogger...his passion is to tell the stories of the hawkers and street vendors in Johor. Hence the name Johor Kaki. Visit his blog for a more complete picture of the exploits...all very interesting.

We met to do part of his walking tour of the old town Johor Bahru. Today's post will feature two hawkers...one selling beef noodles, and another with laksa.

First the beef noodles.

Beef noodles...using a mix of fresh beef, chilled beef and frozen beef...depending on what flavours and texture this hawker wants to bring out in the particular order.

We ordered a dry version and a soupy one...

Very robust tasting. The soup stock was quite beefy, with subtle herbal flavours. The meat was very tender.

I particularly liked the tendons...very tender. The soup version was a bit more run of the mill.

Interesting first taste of JB. Though for me, the highlight of our walking tour was to come later...this was a good first taste. In comparison to what we can get here in Singapore, I feel, perhaps we are not so different. I still prefer the Nan Zing Zhou, which I have blogged about here.

Next, a short walk away is a stall selling laksa.

The laksa is the lemak style, using coconut milk, but not as strong as the version we get in Singapore as personified by the Katong Laksa. Here, the offering is more similar to what is known in Penang as Kari Mee..

The soup is more spicy rather than rich coconut. The ingredients are first rate. I particularly liked the deep fried fish balls. The bowl came with lots of tofu, and fresh cockles. Superb tasting. The noodles were also nice, soft.

The tour continues next week.

Ah Yong Beef Noodles @ Restoran Yong Mui 永美茶餐厅-家乡牛腩面
Off Jalan Lumba Kuda
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/MCnNt
GPS: 1.460827,103.767247
7:00am to 3:00pm (Closed on Wednesday)

Tan Kee Cathay 国泰 Laksa
149, Jalan Lumba Kuda, 80300 Johor Bahru (inside Restoran Shang Ji)
Map: http://g.co/maps/qysgr
GPS: 1.461162, 103.767403
8:00am to 3:00pm (Closed on Mondays)

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Beanstro

2013-04-15T07:30:00.000+08:00

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is one of the larger chains coffee shops in town. Known for their coffees and teas, and snacks, they decided to go into the foray of full meals. They went a big way, hiring an executive chef, and branding these restaurant styled CBTL as Beanstro...a play on their name and bistro. Each of the Beanstro outlets have a dedicated kitchen to prepare and cook the food onsite.

I was invited by Vincent Chang, CBTL's Senior Director of Business Development and Controller for a tasting. I understand Vincent is a fan of this blog, and contacted one of his suppliers who is a good friend of mine to arrange this tasting.

I went to the tasting with my friend who made the arrangement and another. Our party of four tasted this meal...quite a lot of food.

We started with calamari

Quite nice. Calamari rings, breaded and deep fried.

Followed by a cheese appetizer

I found the cheese to be very mild, and as it was deep fried, a bit greasy.

And a salad

Nice slices of tuna, lightly seared on a bed of vegetables with a very light nicoise sauce.

For mains, I had the steak burger

I had expected a steak, grilled and sandwiched in bread with condiments, but this was done with sliced beef. I feel it makes the sandwich a bit more difficult to eat, as the beef slices tend to slide all over. The flavour was robust, but the meat a bit on the chewy side. I would have preferred a more marbled cut.

My friend had the squid ink pasta

I had a taste, and it was not bad. I prefer pasta with squid ink sauce, as this normally has more oomph than a squid ink infused pasta. But in this case, it was the latter, done with aglio olio and clams.

And two of them had burger

And we shared a lobster pasta

I found the pasta a bit undercooked, rather hard. But the slipper lobster is superb. Very fresh, sweet. The sauce very nice, tingling, spicy.

For desserts, warm chocholate cake

Quite de rigeur. The crust was a bit dry, but within the moist chocolate oozed. Not as smooth as the best I have eaten, but not bad.

Creme Brule

And bread pudding

I find the desserts to be large servings...and the presentation a bit boring as each dessert was presented in a cup, on a saucer...one almost exactly the same as the other.

Overall, satisfying food...appropriate for the target level, I guess...which is mall style quick eats (not fast food).

Beanstro
Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road # B1-37 Ngee Ann City
6235 1610
Mon - Sun: 8am - 11pm ...Fri,Sat & Eve of PH: 9am - 11pm.

sQue: a place for beer and food?

2013-04-11T10:07:00.001+08:00

I saw a review at one of the local TV programs talking about Emmanuel Strobant's latest venture...known as Sque...a place for beer and meat. Interesting methot.

So I dropped by one hot afternoon with a good friend to sample the delights on offer. There was a large outdoor dining area...as expected, the angmo expats were hanging out there. And within the two smaller air conditioned eating areas, hid many of us locals.

Beer was the order for the day...many varieties were on tap, and even more available as bottles...and as this was a Belgian influenced location, we had some beers. I opted for the very British Fullers, while my dining companion had a brew called Pure Blond...which we understood was Aussie.

Deep, almost amber, I have had the Fuller's brew at Public Houses in London, where the beer is served at room temperature...well English room temperature in an unheated cellar...typically about 23-25C. Cold to the skin, but not ice cold. Sque chose to serve this at almost ice cold temperature...for a more refreshing drink in our hot weather.

My friend chose the Pure Blond

Lighter in hue, golden. Lighter. Refreshing.

We shared a plate of deep fried calamari

Nice long strips, deep fried with some batter. The squid was tender. The batter was light, not overbearing, but was slightly greasy.

For mains, I had the beef ribs

Quite a substantial rib, I must say. Well marinated, with a coating of sauce. I found the meat to be a bit chewy, but full flavoured. Very hearty. Deep, deep beefiness. It came with a side of vegetables and mushrooms.

My friend had the sea bass

Nice piece of fish. Fresh, beautifully cooked. Crisp skin, on a bed of mashed potatoes. I tried a sample, nice fresh fish, the skin was a delight, crisp. Very nice.

We did not really have room for dessert...well actually, we did, but she wanted to go to another place across the river for some hot lava chocolate cake...but it was not to be...the place serving the cake was closed by the time we arrived, and would not open till 6pm. For the curious, of course, we had our desserts, but a rather more modest Brownie with ice cream at Book Cafe.

Overall, a delightful place for some nice beer in the afternoon, and good food. Recommended. The afternoon beer was on 1for1 Happy Hour offer, but the food was on the pricey side...read high end European styled restaurant...but not totally unjustified.

sQue Rotisserie & Alehouse
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-70 The Central
+65 6222 1887

Friend's Favourites: From the Pek Kio Market

2013-04-08T09:56:00.000+08:00

I started a series of friend's recommendations...this is the second installment. This post features chee cheong fun, horfun and ohr neng, a recommendation by Elgin Yap.

Pek Kio...also known as Cambridge Road Market is a veritable treasurehouse of good eats. I have already blogged about Wah Kee Prawn Noodles, and the carrot cake. I have also written about the wonderful chwee kway, which alas is no more. But in its place, has sprung a Hong Kong style Chee Cheong Fun...made in-situ...something not common these days of high convenience.

The flat noodles are made from ground rice gruel, steamed delicately...they were very smooth, clean tasting. The light soy sauce which accompanies does not steal the limelight from the smoothness of the noodles. One can add prawns, or char siew. I tried also the prawn version...not bad, the prawns were reasonalby fresh, crunchy.

Just a few stores away, is a curious horfun place...the name of the stall is smaller than the advertisement which proudly proclaims "$2.50"! Cheap, but any good?

Quite interesting. My reference for this is the one at Hui Wei at French Road, powerful wok hei, beautifully crisp beehoon in the ying yang version. Magnificently fresh and sweet seafood. This one is different. No wok hei, no ultra fresh seafood too. And at first taste, very mild, and perhaps even a bit plain. But the lightly flavoured gravy grows on one. Subtle, engaging. The hor fun is just the flat rice noodles, no ying yang to provide textural contrast. But were smooth and ok. For me, does not unseat the throne occupied by Hui Wei, but offers a different interpretation.

From the same stall, is this magnificent ohr neng

Ohr neng is the Teochew version of just a plain oyster omlette. As compared to the perhaps more popular ohr chien aka ohr luak...which uses a tapioca flour to provide some goey filling between the oyster and eggs. I vacillate between either, sometimes preferring one over the other.

This ohr neng is one of the better ones I have eaten. Not greasy at all, and does not leave one with the impression of a pending heart attack after consuming the plate. But a pleasant oyster after taste, rich, full bodied, melded almost seamlessly with the beautifully fried egg. Superb. Worth the calories and cholesterol/saturated fat...if only to be indulged no more than once a quarter...

Thanks to Elgin, I found a wonderful ohr neng. And two other eminently edible dishes. More Friend's Favourites soon.

Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun
Tong Siew Fried Horfun and Ohr Neng
Pek Kio Market (Cambridge Road Market)
41A Cambridge Road

Best laksa in town? Try Laksania as a potential candidate

2013-04-04T11:24:00.000+08:00

Laksa is a traditional dish served by divers peoples of the region. We have Singapore laksa, Kelantan Laksa, Indonesian Laksa, Penang Laksa and some other innovations which have crept up over the years inspired by the traditional laksas of the region.

So it is interesting that an eatery has sprung up...I guess no more than a couple of years ago, specializing in all kinds of laksa. One hot and sweaty afternoon, I headed down with a good friend to try the laksa...I had originally thought to try the Kelantan version, as I have never eaten one before, it wasn't a good idea as I would not have a reference to blog on. I also decided that imposing a high standard on the Penang Laksa may be unfair...so tried what Laksania (the name is a play of words...Laksa, being the dish, and nia...being the Hokkien term for only) call their signatures.

Ordering is through a counter, like a fast food joint, but this is no fast food joint...after ordering and paying, one is given a number and the dishes served at the table.

We tried the Special Singapore Laksa

Superb. Fragrant, rich tasting. The noodles were the rough bee hoon...thicker than regular vermicilli.

Flavours deep, with dried shrimp, shallots, local spices cooked with coconut milk. One of the better laksas I have eaten. I must confess I am not a fan of the (becoming ubiquitious) Katong Laksa...as I find them too rich, and lacking in deep flavours. But the Laksania version thrumps the Katong Laksa in all the important and critical areas. Hits the spot for me. Love this laksa. So very highly recommended.

We also tried the Laksa Goreng...

Interesting too...same thick rice noodles. Probably the same sauce is used to fry the noodles. Egg added. Tasted like a beautifully fried noodle dish...similar in essence though not in style as the Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, but with the twist of a rather strong (I use this in the most positive sense) undertone of the laksa flavours. Very nice too.

For a bit of meat, we added the Chicken Satay

Huge (for satay...more like kebab sized) chunks of tender chicken on skewers. Fully marinated in laksa sauce. Wonderful aroma, nicely barbecued. A curious sauce...a bit creamy, but with more than a distinct hint of laksa leaves was served. I prefer the satay au naturale...sans a sauce. Loved it too.

The drinks were a bit more mixed...I had a rather bland lemongrass, and my lunch companion had a chendol. I guess nothing to be impressed with, especially after being swept off our feet with the marvellous laksas and satay. High marks for the food, and very much recommended.

Laksania
Bugis+
201 Victoria Street
#04-04
6636 9776
Outlets also in East Coast and Nex Mall.

The Thai Table: reasonably authentic Thai Food in Bedok

2013-04-01T07:30:00.000+08:00

Thai Table is an interesting Thai restaurant along the row of shophouses along Jalan Pari Burong.

Jumping to the conclusion, I found the food to be rather authentic, but not spectacular, and the wait staff seem entirely Filipino. I asked for "prik nam pla"...cut chilli in fish sauce, the waiter did not understand until I asked for the same in English.

Anyway, we tried the following...first otah

Quite nice...steamed otah. Rich tasting.

The Thai mango salad was also quite good

Very light dressing. Nice, crunchy mango. As was the mixed vegetable

Lightly stir fried with fragrant fish sauce, the vegetables were fresh, and stil very crunchy. Lovely dish.

I had a phad phet kapow moo

Standard Phad Phet. One of my favourite dishes. Nicely done. Though I still prefer the one in LeWu's at Bukit Timah Rd. But this one satisfies. Maybe I am easier to satisfy as this is one of my favourites...

My dining companions had the pineapple rice

I tried a spoonful...quite nice. Fragrant, well fried. Prawns were quite fresh, sweet and crunchy.

And the other had a beef noodle

The broth was nice and beefy. The noodles and beef I did not try.

Interesting little place. Cozy, comfortable. And reasonably authentic Thai food.

The Thai Table
20 Jalan Pari Burong
Picardy Garden
64433533

Tawandang: German Thai food in a micro brewery

2013-03-28T11:06:00.000+08:00

The Thais are an assimilative culture. This extends from their acceptance to all kinds of people...farang and locals mix with ease, and the assimilation of farang food into their own. Two prominent ones I often see as fusion food is German Thai and Italian Thai.

Today's feature is on one such fusion...German with Thai...with great German beer, sausages, schweinhaxe and great spicy Thai food.

Tawandang has two fairly large outlets, both with a micro brewery within...one in Dempsey where I visited, and another in Suntec City. The atmosphere was relaxed, afterall this is a beer place, where people come to chill out. That afternoon, my makan gang and I didn't try the beer, I needed to keep sober for a photoshoot later. The menu was rather complete, with divers temptations for the palate. We started with the Thai omelette.

Nicely done, but not quite as thick and fluffy as those we easily get in Bangkok.

A plate of prawn cakes was promptly ordered

Interesting...this was not the usual tod man kung we find in Thailand, but a variant of the Californian style crab cakes...done with prawns...curious combination, methot. But it tasted very good. The breaded crust was light, not greasy and very crisp, and the insides were moist, nice and tasty.

Phad Thai...a traditional favourite...any attempt to fusion this dish will often end in disaster...luckily, the chef stuck to tradition

Classical Phad Thai...using the correct, dried Thai kway teow. Classical ingredients. Very nice. Authentic.

On to the German...schweinhaxe

This is a large portion...an entire leg...the haxe...deep fried till crisp. Not very greasy, the meaty parts were a bit overcooked...dry...but the tendons were wonderful. As was the skin. Goes fantastic with the Thai chilli paste with lime. Rival perhaps Siang Hee, though not quite, as Siang Hee's meaty parts are tender.

Their morning glory...kangkong had special place in their menu...amongst the boasts of only using fresh meat and seafood, of only using kampong chicken, was this interesting claim that the morning glory was not only fresh, but 1kg of morning glory only made 1.5 portions...only the stems were used...the waitress tried to explain how it was done, but I didn't get most of it...

Very young shoots were used. Cooked lightly, with fish sauce and powerful chilli padi. The stems were very crunchy, very light tasting. I liked it quite a lot.

We also tried the tanghoon with king prawns

Quite good. The tanghoon was moist with the braising liquid. The prawns reasonably fresh. Often times, in a dish like this, the tang hoon is dried up...in Bangkok, the best restaurants line the base of the claypot or aluminium pot with a layer of pork lard...as the pot is heated, the lard melts, infused upwards, and prevents the tanghoon from being scalded. Tawandang did not use the lard, but the noodles remain soft, and moist. I suspect it was cooked elsewhere and only served in the claypot...as also evidenced by the lack of soot at the bottom of the pot.

We also had some grilled chicken

We see chicken (and eggs) being grilled in the streets of Bangkok all over...this is a restauran-ized version. Boneless, beautifully grilled...crisp skin, juicy, tender meat. Beautiful with the Thai sambal sauce or with Prik Nam Pla.

Desserts were next...mango sticky rice

Too bad they did not have my favourite durian sticky rice...only mango. But it did the trick. The mango was sweet, but with a undertone of sour. The sticky rice was perfect. Al dente, aromatic as only Thai rice can be. Nice.

Some red ruby...traditional favourite was also ordered...I found it to be regular...a bit pedestrian. And some magnificent tapioca

I love a good tapioca. This was very good. No veins. Just tender, tapioca gently boiled in syrup, with a dash of thick coconut milk.

Overall, very good meal. Everything tasted good. Service was friendly. Price was a bit on the high side, but considering the amount of food we had, I guess not out of reason. The meal above cost just a hair shy of S$250.

I will revisit, and to try their beer as well as more food.

Tawandang Micro Brewery
26, #01-01
Dempsey Road
6476 6742
Open: Daily 11.30pm to 1.00am (Closed for lunch on Monday)
www.tawandang.com

Friend's favourites: Whitley Road Prawn Noodles

2013-03-25T17:35:00.000+08:00

Prawn noodles is a perennial favourite in Singapore. Each have their own favourites. I have shared my favourite, here is one from one of my good friends...his favourite. This begins a series of posts, where I will explore the favourite makan places of my friends.

The Whitley Road Big Prawn Noodle is an old, old favourite of many. They used to operate under the Whitley Road flyover, and was famous for many years. When the hawker centre was removed by the government some years ago, they disappeared...but have appeared in the city.

Recommended by a good friend as it was his favourite...we dropped in during the heat of the lunch hour...the place was choking full of people. And we had to wait some 20 minutes for our noodles.

So how was it? The noodles were done just right...we had the mee with coarse bee hoon. Soft to the bite. I had the one with pork ribs, which was tender, and light in porky flavour...just right. The prawns were partly deshelled, and rather fresh, sweet, nice firm meat. The soup was nice and hearty...good stock.

How does it compare for me to my favourite at Pek Kio Market? Well, for me, Wah Kee still rules the roost. The prawns are a bit fresher and sweeter. The stock is where Wah Kee at Cambridge Road (Pek Kio) Market leads...strong crusteacean flavours, developing beautifully from the base of pork bones and prawn heads. The Whitley stock was a bit sweetened by either rock sugar or sugar...a bit too much for me, and as far as I can tell my favoured Wah Kee does not sweeten the stock.

Worth the eat? Yes, but for me, I rather go to Cambridge Road...but the wait there is even longer...often 45m to an hour during meal times.

Whitley Road Big Prawns Noodles
18 Lorong Telok
#01-01

Nasi Padang: Rumah Minang

2013-03-21T10:25:00.000+08:00

Nasi Padang...in Indonesia...its a visit to a eating place were they lay out their entire day's cooking on the table, and one eats whatever one wishes, leaves the rest, and pays for what one eats. But in Singapore, I guess we practice better hygine...we point and only order what we want. I will begin a tale of two nasi padangs in the same area...today is Rumah Minang.

A nice spread is available. All delivered at the same time, eat at will...unlike French where there is a definite order...nasi padang has none...I shall start with the sayur lodeh...shown flanked by the very nice sambal at picture top, and ladies fingers picture bottom.

Cabbage, long beans, in a fragrant coconut gravy with chilli and spices. With a piece of fried tofu. Quite nice as sayur lodeh go.

The beef rendang is excellent

Not as fat and done in a very dry style...the taste of the rempah (spices) is excellent. The meat is usually a lesser cut...tough, but rendered tender...not quite fork tender, but nice, slightly chewy, immense flavour from the beef itself and from the spices it absorbed during cooking. The additional spices I asked for was also superb.

The fried chicken with red spices is also quite nice

This was tender...the skin, being fried retained some of the smoky flavour and was slightly crisp. The meat was very tender. Nice. Again an abundence of flavour from the spices.

Sambal goreng...literally fried spices, but it typically means tofu deep fried and then fried with long beans and spices, sometimes with tempeh (fermented bean sticks)

One of my favourites. The flavours meld into one beautifyl harmonious taste experience. Very nice.

Overall, small corner coffee shop, serving excellent nasi padang. Bicycle friendly.

Rumah Minang
18 & 18A Kandahar Street
Website

Food Republic: Wisma Atria

2013-03-18T07:30:00.000+08:00

Food Courts are interesting places to eat. Some of them better than others. And one of those I like is Food Republic...owned and operated by the folks at Bread Talk. I rather like the one in 313 Orchard and at Wisma Atria.

Here I highlight a meal I had at Wisma Atria...we started with the noodle store...first off the KL Black Hokkien mee

Nice wok hei...but I don't know why we don't get the right noodles here in Singapore. Here, as in the other 2 others which kinda of get the gravy and ingredients sorta right, they use udon. I would have imagined the fat yellow noodles used in lor mee might be a nice substitute for the real black hokkien mee noodles.

We also had the wat tan yee mien

Nicer...same wonderful wok hei. Nice, fresh ingredients. Great gravy. And nice, fragrant noodles. But I saved the best...

A superbly cooked beehoon with pork belly and topped with a fried egg. The wok hei is still ever present and beautiful. The beehoon is nicely done...seemed to have absorbed the gravy used to braise it...but still rather al dente, and not overcooked. Very nice.

For dessert, we also tried the rojak, which was rather excellent

Very nice. The sauce was just right. Thick, sweet, spicy, a tinge of sour and a touch of salt. Mixed into the fresh fruits and vegetables, and toasted dried cuttlefish with cut croutons from yu tiao. Worth the calories. Very nice.

Typically, Food Republic can be trusted for their selection of hawkers. This Wisma Atria outlet is no different. In addition, there is the Sargeant Chicken Rice...pricy but very nice. And the Nasi Padang...also very expensive, but very good...especially their 3 sambals. And one can always trust the great nanyang kopi at Toast Box.

Food Republic
in many malls islandwide

This meal taken at Wisma Atria

Swatow: Old hero returns? Or does he?

2013-03-14T10:57:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, an old favourite which has closed comes back to live. Sometimes, its just the name, sometimes the old owners decide to restart the business. I am not sure is Swatow, now in Toa Payoh, is a revival of the original which was in Golden Shoe Carpark in Market Street. So we ventured a try...

Mixed results. The old Swatow was a temple of Teochew cuisine. Specializing in the traditional braised goose, steamed fish, Teochew Kana Kway Teow. A similar menu is offered in the new place. In an earlier visit, I did try them, and found the Teochew dishes to be competent, but nowhere as inspired as the Swatow of old. So I decided to try the pushcart tim sum this time round.
The char siew pau...the skin tender, light, but the filling fell short of the best. Still eminently edible, just not special.

Occupying the same place, and reputed to be owned by the same owners as the former Fortunate, the dining room is vast.
Quite tasty. Crisp skin, nice insides, served piping hot. Fortunate made its name serving value for money tim sum, big servings, in push carts.
The deep fried yam ball was de rigeur. Not the lightest, or fluffiest, but makes the cut.

But in recent years, the restaurant closed in favour of the mini Fortunates now in Food Republic Food Courts around the city.
Rather pedestrian, but very large hargao. The skin was thin, but broke on prodding with a chopstick.

To be fair, the tim sum was nothing special.

But reasonably tasty, large portions.

The only standout was the deep fried, crispy bean curd skin, stuffed with prawn paste. This was rather good. The bean curd skin was superbly light and crispy, and only slightly greasy. The prawn paste within was very good.

The Kway Teow Kana...fried Teochew Kway Teow with kale and preserved radish was rather good too. Slightly more greasy, but the kway teow packed into somewhat like a cake, was nice, tender, flavourful.
Rather similar to the deep fried beancurd, so the deep friedn prawn friters gets a thumbs up too....but its getting to be a greasy meal, with most of the good dishes being deep fried.
Ordinary, but edible in the sense that it taste ok.

Overall, rather decent eat. Reasonable prices, largish servings. Good tasting food, though none which break the must eat barrier.

Swatow Restaurant Pte Ltd
181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh
#02-602
6363 1717

You Huak Sembawang for White Bee Hoon

2013-03-11T07:30:00.000+08:00

White beehoon is a simple dish...made with boiled beehoon, a thick, rich sauce poured over it...and that's it...of course, fresh ingredients like prawns, pork, vegetables and an egg.

Deceptively simple, but yet getting simple dishes to taste good is not easy. Nothing to hide the chef's capability to bring all the ingredients into one coherent, delicious whole. For me, this is perhaps the one or two which make the cut.

The wok hei is there, but not in the usual place one would look for it...nay, it is not in the noodles, but in the sauce. Curious how sauce can wok hei...I don't know how to explain, but it does. The ingredients are nice and fresh. The beehoon, supple, compliant, with a bit of springy bite. Very nice.

I think, worth a trip to Sembawang just to sample. They have some cze char as well, but as I had cycled there alone, I did not sample the other dishes. An opportunity for another visit.

You Huak Restaurant
22 Jalan Tampang
(Opp Sembawang Shopping Centre)
98434699
11.30am to 10.30pm Closed on Wed

Culina at Dempsey: a retake or still the same goodness

2013-03-07T10:53:00.000+08:00

I wrote about my lunching experiences at Culina in Dempsey before...and always enjoyed the good and cheerful service, and the good food. I return again and again, and a couple of days ago, while cycling with my buddies, we thought of lunching there.

This sounds like the setup for a poor review...but yowza...I was surprised...the service was excellent. Genuine smiles all round from the waitresses. The food, to let the cat out of the bag, was excellent. The ambience very nice. Superb experience...again.

We shared a Nicoise Salad

Fresh crunchy greens, a very light dressing, and a generous serving of tuna. Very nice.

I had the Full Blood Wagyu burger

This is one fantastic burger. The full blood wagyu was wonderfully tender, fragrant and nicely textured. The patty was cooked nicely, medium rare as ordered, very juicy, and still sizzling when delivered. The fries were magnificent. Thick cut, very crispy outside, smooth, creamy within. A small helping of greens sat at the side. This is a very large serving...I almost couldn't finish it. But finish it I did. Excellent ++ burger.

My friend had the cod...looked good, but I did not try it

A truly excellent place for lunching. A bit pricy, but the premium ingredients, the excellent cooking, and great service made up for it. Highly recommended.

Culina Bistro
Blk 8, Dempsey Road
#01-13 Dempsey Hill
6474 7338
Daily 11am to 1030pm

Crystal Jade Pristine: Healthy and delicious...now, there is no need to choose one.

2013-03-04T07:30:00.000+08:00

Crystal Jade is one of the old guards of Chinese cuisine in Singapore. Recently, in Jan 2013, they opened a new concept restaurant at Scotts Square...aimed at the health concious diner who still demands good tasting meals, Crystal Jade Pristine was born.

I do enjoy this cleaner, lighter cuisine, with nourishing ingredients, as evident in my love for Restaurant Ten's food, but alas is no more on Singapore. Crystal Jade Pristine seem to fall nicely into this niche. I attended a rather private media tasting organized by Crystal Jade and Storey3. Thanks to Samantha for hosting and Sahimi for the invitation.

The decor is pleasant indeed, tastefully done. The food is Cantonese influenced, and during this tasting, many of the dishes seem like they have been deconstructed. We started with the apppetizer

Cordyceps Flower and shredded cucumber with black garlic, pan fried scallp and vegetable paste coated with almond flake. A mouthful. As is characteristic for Prestine, the ingredients are premium, and the menu explains the nourishing aspects of this dish. The cordyceps flowers are believed to improve complexion, nourish the yin and cleanse the kidneys. The black garlic is odourless, and have anti oxident capabilities . The cucumber is imported from Japan, and is crunchy and completes the combination to a healty and refreshing starter. The cold cucumber is crunchy, and contrast very nicely with the hot, crispy scallops in almond shell.

Next, we had what was described as steam chicken beancurd with ginseng and cordycep mushroom

Doesn't look like a chicken dish...but the key word here is chicken beancurd...though not really a beancurd, the bowl is made from Malaysian kampung chicken, minced to a silky paste and topped with herbal ingredients and steamed for 20 mins in a douboiled superior broth. The herbal aroma hits the nose as the dish was served. The beancurd had the texture of beancurd, but the mouthfeel is like finely minced chicken. Very nice.

Braised minced pork and Hong Kong kailan with preserved olive leaf was next

I found this very nice. Australian kurobuta is used as the pork base. And the Hong Kong kailan was tender, crunchy and does not have a bitter after taste as some do.

Braised beef with chinese yam and red dates

Another superb dish. The beef was ultra tender...and is braised with the chinese yam and red dates for an hour for the truly melt in the mouth tenderness with the full flavour of excellent beef. Really nice.

And some prawns...poached with baby chinese spinach in superiopr broth

Fresh live prawns. Sweet, plump and tasty. The broth was excellent and the baby chinese spinach is delicate and subtly flavourful.

For dessert, boiled fresh lily bulb and organic pumpkin with Osmanthus honey

A clear, very refreshing dessert. Excellent as a mouth cleaner and a bit of a sweet taste as one finishes a fine meal.

This is the restaurant to bring Grandma and mom to. Excellent ingredients, prepared beautifully, cooked well. Taste good, nourishing. What else can you ask for.

Crystal Jade Pristine
#03-06 Scotts Square
6636 1836

Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken

2013-02-28T07:30:00.000+08:00

Does the chicken in your chicken rice carry a passport? Apparently, those served at Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken do. They are certified Malaysian Kampung Chicken. And the bean sprouts which accompany are fat, crunchy and gorgeous. The horfun which one can order as part of the meal is white, oh so smooth.

Introducing the Ipoh food phenemona. According to legend, the water surrounding the town of Ipoh in Malaysia has special properties, and food made from this water is especially delicious. Like the bean sprouts grown in the water. Or the hor fun made from the water. They are truly and indeed different from those from elsewhere.

Nowhere else, do I find the horfun or kway teow which is so smooth, totally soft and luxurious. Ipoh Lou Yau features these wonderful noodles. The only other place in Singapore I have eaten such wonderful horfun was at a restaurant called Hong Kee, but alas it is no more. Those served at the Ipoh White Coffee is close, but no cigars. The Lou Yau one is indeed the real McCoy.

The chicken is true bred, real kampung chicken. Free range chicken, reared for a bit longer than commercial battery chicken, are imported from Malaysia. The chicken are first boiled in broth with herbs and spices. Then just before serving, it is boiled in a gentle heat which keeps the meat tender, then submerged in an ice bath, to stop further cooking after the desired doneness is achieved and also to seal the juices and give the skin a glossy sheen. The skin colour is also a tell tale sign...an intense yellow, compared the the paler complexion of the battery chicken.

Taste wise, it is a bit more intense as well, more flavour, a bit more gamey. Not my favourite, as I prefer a milder chicken, but I can see the attraction. In some Malaysian shops offering similar fare, like the famous Ipoh Chicken at Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya, the shop also offers commercial chicken as well as roast and soy sauce varieties.

The bean sprouts were as advertised. The standout is the thick plump strands, albeit shorter than regular ones. The sprouts are blanched and bathed in a savoury sauce. The bean sprouts are sweet, and very crunchy. Nice.

But I cannot fail to mention one of their side dishes...which to me was the star of the day. The braised platter.

Braised egg, tofu and pork. The tofu and egg were great, but not very special. But the braised pork belly was superb. I found the meat tender, full of flavour, the fat bursting on the palate giving a wonderful mouthfeel. One of the better braised pork I have eaten.

For dessert, I had what they call Hometown Osmanthus Tea...nice ingredients...served cold, very refreshing.

Nice little stall...the setting is like a food court, but unlike regular food courts where there is shared seating, this is more like a bistro, with each stall having their own seating.

This is an invited review, thanks to Ying Ying at Ninemer for the invitation, and to Select Group for hosting. I leave you with a picture of the Chef, who was also happily shooting away at his food with his own DSLR as we started the photo session.

Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken
B1-52 Chinatown Point.
Many other locations in IMM, Centrepoint, Chervon House, VivoCity, White Sands, and Junction 8 (Mar 2013), Bugis Village (Q2 2013)

Yummy Sarawak Kolo Mee at Tampines Round Market

2013-02-25T18:09:00.000+08:00

Kolo mee...when I first saw it, I thought, its just wanton mee...what's the big fuss? Maybe its wanton mee done in certain style...but I later was told, its different.

How different? I am still not quite sure...maybe an enlightened reader can help me. I understand the noodles are done with just egg whites and no alkali. And the accompanying sides include wanton and char siew, but not necessarily.

Anyway, one of my friends recommend this Sarawak Kolo mee at the Tampines Round Market...so we went to try.

Apparently, Yummy Sarawak Kolo Mee is one of the more famous ones in town.

The ingredients which accompany are nicely done...wanton with pork and crunchy chestnuts, deep fried crispy wanton, char siew, and braised pork ribs. This is the deluxe version, $5.

The noodles were curly, slighter lighter in tone than the regular Singapore wanton mee. Tasted very good. The ingredients were also very good.

Worth a journey to Tampines to eat? Some people think so. The queues are very long throughout the day. For me, I may seek this out to eat if I am nearby, but certainly not worth a trip almost half way across the island for a bowl.

Yummy Sarawak Kolo Mee
137 Tampines Street 11,
#01-45 Tampines Round Market & Food Centre
9885 5513
5am – 3pm daily

Gastronomy in Paris: Revisiting La Bourse ou la Vie

2013-02-21T07:30:00.000+08:00

Another revisit post...La Bourse ou la Vie...your money or your life.

I had a great experience last time I visited...the steaks were good, and the fries magnificent...click here for earlier review.

We visited on a quiet Friday evening...one other table was occupied when we arrived, so the place was very quiet.

Edward was adventurous and decided to try the steak tatare...

I took a taste, certain not the best steak tatare I have eaten. The meat was nicely minced...light tasting, but the spices were a bit lacking, in my view. Having said this, steak tatare is not my favourite dish, and I am certainly no expert in judging. Edward didn't quite like it as well, but Kin was ok with the dish.

I oredered a glass of red wine, and the waiter opened a whole bottle and left it on the table...later when I checked the bill, he did charge me for one glass. Nice of him to trust me to just pour a glass. The wine was good, but not exceptional. Went very well with the steaks.

We ordered the steaks "a point", which is medium...in French...

As I remarked the last review, the beef in France is a bit leaner than those offered by American or Japanese steakhouses. A bit more chewy. But tasty, and with very intense flavour.

I glowed about the fries the last visit. This time round, perhaps it was a quiet evening, but certainly no excuse...the fries were not as wonderful as the last time. I think they are still fried in tallow (beef fat), and have some of the robust, wonderful flavour, but somehow they were not crisp. Nevertheless, they were still good fries, just not as fantastic as in my last experience.

A bit duller than the last visit, where the steak was very good, and the fries spectacular. This time round, still deserves a recommendation, but not as glowing.

La Bourse ou la Vie
12 rue Viviene
Paris 75002
01.42.60.08.83
Open noon-10pm Mon-Fri.
Closed 1wk Aug & 1wk Dec