Astons Specialties at Sembawang

The problem with once having had the chance to experience something really good, one finds it rather difficult to accept something that isn't on par, even though it is doubtless that that has its own merits too.

In a vain attempt to relieve the glorious memory of Astons Prime, we went out for dinner at Astons Specialties at Sembawang at my suggestion one Saturday evening. And, the queue, there was not one moment from 6.20 to 8pm when there wasn't a queue at all. However, the queue moved along pretty quickly, largely due to the management of the tall big-built manager at the doorway and rather ample no. of seats in the indoor and outdoor portion of the restaurant. The restaurant seems very popular with large families and larger groups of friends on weekends. The queue for dinner on weekdays is far shorter based on my previous experiences

So anyway, it was my treat because of the good news I'd received in the week, and I ordered the Ribeye Xtra Cut for both of us. Priced at albout SGD 17, the steak comes with two sides which can be chosen from the variety of hot sides and cold sides on the menu. My health conscious companion had the house salad and fries for his sides and his steak, medium to well done.

As for me, I had the mashed potatos and pasta salad. The Slog Reviews: The waiting time was about half an hour for the food but that wasn't a surprise given how crowded the place was. I would suggest having a light bite before going to astons for dinner or one might get really irritated with the wait time. I would give the ribeye 8/10 which was cooked the way I liked it (medium-rare) and came with just the right balance of fats and meat. Unlike the lousy Ministry of Steak, Astons Specialiaties at Sembawang gives real value for money steaks.

604 Sembawang Road #03-14
Sembawang Shopping Centre
Tel : 6753 6302
1130-2200hrs (Opens Daily)

Shop just next to Geylang Prawn Mee at Upper Serangoon Rd

We had decided to have the yummilicious Geylang Prawn Mee at Upper Serangoon Road but if you have been there, you will know that parking there isn't easy (Beach Road is still more challenging though) given the limited no of parking lots outside the row of shops.

I was delighted to see a car pulling out of a lot slightly in front of the prawn mee store and sped up to get to the lot...only to find 2 PRCs dragging those large green rubbish bins to block cars from parking in the lot. My companion got out and asked them to remove the bins but they insisted that we had to eat at their shop if we wanted to park there. Given that my companion had grown tired of the prawn noodles (??!?!) , she agreed without a second thought (or without asking me!) and so I parked my car there.

I'm sorry I don't have the name of the restaurant - all I can tell you is that it is just next to the famous prawn mee stall which was packed to the brim by the way. I am not sure if it is operated by PRCs but all the servers in the restaurants are PRCs. The restaurant's menu is rather limited if one does not favour their set meals which range from SGD 25 onwards for 2 and consist of curry/assam fish head and veg. And from the limited menu (6 items), we shared this nonya hotpot per the pic below.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. For SGD 5, the dish above despite its rather simple ingredients was exceedingly tasty (I think it was the soup!) and the prawns were firm and fresh. I would without a doubt recommend this dish.


We also shared a bowl of curry chicken - the curry comes with rice and is priced at SGD5. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. I would give it a higher score if the dish came with more of the delicious curry which was not too oily and just the right consistency/thickness. The curry was spicy enough to give a warm fiery feeling but not too spicy so as to make one reach for water.

This restaurant is worth a visit for cheap and good dishes. It helps too that it is air-conditioned unlike the prawn mee store and that the servers are extremely polite, friendly and helpful. Very good service - I think I'll get the name of this restaurant and update this post later. The only drawback is that one has to pay in cash.

Blissful Cafe's Bak Kut Teh and Liver Soup

Remember my last post on Bak Kut Teh? Since then, I've developed a strange craving to have Bak Kut Teh, nevermind the blistering temperature in the afternoons. If not for the sheer number of things to be done at work each day these few weeks, I believe I would have deliberately driven to Chinatown just to have a bowl of BKT at the hawker center there for lunch.

As it was, because Mr Brad needed some lubrication to function smoothly, I was down at Beach Road (parking there is a nightmare!!!) during lunchtime today with a friend and at my insistence, we had BKT at Blissful Cafe (No 29-31 Sultan Gate Tel No: 62988538). He had a bowl of pig liver soup which came with mee sua and shared a medium sized bowl of klang-style BKT with me.


The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10 for the BKT. I believe the standard has dropped since the last time I was there and it would appear more worthwhile to order a small bowl of BKT at SGD 5 than a medium sized bowl of BKT at SGD 9 given the portions of each. Not that the medium sized serving was anything to complain about given the amount of straw mushrooms, tau kee, veg, butter mushrooms and meat but just that a small bowl would be more value for $. I can't comment about the pig liver soup (SGD 6) because I wasn't mind to try the same but my friend who slurped his way down to the last drop was of the view that it was "normal, the BKT was better". Still, Blissful Cafe is a nice place to have lunch at whether it is hot (there is air conditioning) or rainy (the BKT warms one up!) and the service is fast and good with the servers being helpful without being intrusive. There are also numerous newspaper cuttings on the walls (mostly from Chinese newspapers) which proclaim the merits of this eatery so if one is fortunate enough to find a parking lot at Beach Rd during lunch, Blissful Cafe is worth a try at least once.

Ministry of Steak at Serangoon Gardens

The outlook (decor/lighting) of this relatively new kid on the block (which wasn't here before the renovations) looked inviting and the pics and the prices on the menu displayed outside suggested that this would be a place for good steak at a cheap price. Seating wasn't an issue at almost 9pm and service was prompt enough. The cost of the 2 dishes below (and a drink) was about SGD 27 with the fish dish at about SGD 7 and the beef about SGD 17.

The Slog Reviews: 4/10. The cooking leaves a lot, and I mean a LOT to be desired. The sides were awful enough that most of it remained uneaten despite our best efforts. Nevermind about the wasting of one's $ here, dinner at this place made me feel that we'd wasted our "hard-to-get" parking lot at Serangoon Gardens too (which was a greater pity than the $ spent). The food at the hawker center beats the over-priced unsatisfying dishes and if one must have steak, the astons outlet just 10 foosteps away from this joint is the place to go to for better food at an almost similar price. Oh yes, and this place doesn't accept credit cards either. Thumbs down all the way.

Botak Jones at Marine Parade

I'd first heard of Botak Jones back in 2008 but had never eaten there until early this year with another food companion. It was an impromptu decision to drive all the way to the Marine Parade outlet but it was I who had a craving for steak, and more importantly, it was I who was in the driver's seat. :D

The outlet in Marine Parade, as is the case for most of the other outlets, is located in a coffeeshop surrounded by HDB flats - truely a case of bringing steak/western food to the heartlands. The service at this outlet was reasonably good given the youth and enthusiasm of the servers. We were shown to a seat and given a menu each. Given the rather limited selection, deciding what to eat was easy but one had to get up and go to the order point (see pic below) to order one's food and pay before eating. The servers politely refused to take orders from seated customers. I wonder why. That would have improved the experience considerably given how difficult it is for inert objects such as an ass on the chair to be displaced.

We each ordered the 200gm Botak Jones NZ Ribeye Steak (SGD15.90). The server informed us that there wld be a discount of 10% if one paid with a Citibank Card for orders above SGD 30. While waiting for the food to come, we noted that there were quite a number of customers who ordered takeaways such as fries.

The wait for the steak was about 13mins but there was a television at the coffeeshop so the waiting time went by pleasantly enough. The Slog Reviews: Without taking into account the service (the servers were friendly and even offered more sauce), I would rate the food 7.5/10 based on the price and taste. I wasn't expecting Astons Prime's standard or even close but this steak by Botak Jones was really nothing to shout above or dig into with great gusto. It was more oily/greasy than tasty and therefore not satisfying ie did not hit the spot. I'm all about second chances though so I'll probably give Botak Jones another go but at a different outlet.

U.S Kurobuta Pork Chop and Aged Beef by Astons Prime

If my last meal on earth had to be Western food, I would choose to have the U.S Kurobuta Pork Chop from Astons Prime. The first time I tried the pork chop was back in 2008 and the experience was one of such undescribable pleasure that I have been minded to repeat the experience a limited no of times so as not to diminish each experience or the size of my wallet for that matter.

The last time I had the Black Pig Pork Chop (Kuro means "black" and Buta means "Pig" in Japanese) was last week when we were out to celebrate our boss's birthday. I'd suggested new alternatives (the dept has been to Astons before) like Uluru, Bedrock and Hogsbreath but she stuck to the true and tried and to Astons we went. At our persuasion she ordered the special which was Aged Beef at SGD 40+. This is a pic of how it looked like with her choice of sides. Unfortunately this was one of the rare occasions when I left my HP in the office so all the pics in this entry are taken with my colleague's 2megapix sony errisson hp.

Our boss's action (of finishing everything on the plate) was in sync with her words (she said it was excellent!) and given her discerning palate (which unlike mine has tasted better and finer food and on a more frequent basis), I would proclaim with great confidence that Astons Prime's aged beef rocks and is a must-try. One day, I too shall test out the restaurant's claim (on a small placard on each table that "the savoury tastes of dry-aged beef are often associated with "buttery and rich", "superb in taste and texture", "mellow and intense" and "earthy and nutty". In the mean time, I was most satisfied with the black pig pork chop which came with my favourite sides of cheesy shells and mashed potato. Pork chop? It hardly tasted porky!

The Slog Reviews: 10/10. How exquisite, tender, melt-in-mouth each "done-to-perfection" piece of pork was. As I type this while looking at the pic below of myUS Kurobuta Pork Chop sliced to show the thickness and juicy perfection of the meat, my saliva glans have gone into major overdrive. Eating such food makes me never fails to make me grateful to be alive - ah, the small affordable (SGD 29.90) pleasures in life!

We ended the meal with dessert of course, despite all of us cleaning our plates with great relish. The famous mudpie which is reasonably priced at SGD6.90 and big enough for 2-3 pp to share was a sweet ending to a smashing meal.

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle

Like the rest of my family, I am a "mee pok" lover and last Sunday, we had some of the very best mee pok in Singapore. Check out this pic of my mee pok when it was first served after a 20 mins wait. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Spongy chewy eggy yellow noodles in just the right amount of seasoning and oil, and a generous amount of ingredients such as fish cake, minced meat and sliced jucy mushrooms.

It is past midnight as I am typing this out while looking at the pic and the craving to get some mee pok right now is overwhelming! I've never eaten mee pok this good, nor have I seen so many people waiting to have just one bowl of this absolutely delicious noodle dish at a coffee shop which looks to have come right out of the 60s era (sliding panel doors and rickety fans). Even the soup which comes with the dish is full of flavor (and not seasoning flavor, mind!) unlike the thin watery versions that most ordinary noodles stalls dish out to customers. The cost of this bowl of mee pok? S$3.50. The place to get it? 13 Tai Thong Crescent. Note that the stall opens from 6.30 to 2pm and is closed on alternate tues. A definitely must-have for all mee pok lovers

Soon Heng Restaurant

Our dept has been going to this place for lunch a couple of years and I even brought my mum here once but I never knew the name of the restaurant until I made an effort to look out for it today. This place is rather popular I must say - while we were eating, a chartered bus dropped off about 20 Japanese folks at the restaurant. There is the the air-conditioned area and the al fresco dining area if one wishes to take a puff or bake in the sun.

Having the curry fish head is a must if you go to this place apparently. However, my taste-buds have been corrupted with the curry fish head that I absolutely love at JB and the curry fish head here pales in comparison. However, the stall specialises in more than just that and one has a wide range of freshly-cooked food items to choose from (see the pic below). The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10 all in all except for the prawns which I would give a 5/10 for being mushy and not too fresh tasting. If I had to recommend any dish, it would be the wildly popular ikam bilis (fried fish and nuts) which one can order to take away (SGD 5 per pack) as a snack. The cost of the dishes below (it was half a fish-head only) and a plate of curry liver (which hadnt come at the time of the pic) as well as 8 glasses of lime juice and 7 plates of rice was about SGD 16 per person (almost SGD 100 for 6 of us). I think that's really quite expensive honestly and would only visit this restaurant if the dept goes.

The address is: 39 Kinta Road, Singapore 219108. Tel No: 6294 7343 / 6294 6561.
They also have an outlet at Hyde Park Cafe located at 76 Prinsep Street Tel No: 63360983
If you wanna read more about them click here to go to their website which has the history, menu and maps (they do catering apparently).

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar

The plan was to go Chomp Chomp for porridge and I even left work on the dot to get there so that I would be assured of a parking lot (parking is a challenge!). I found my lot, parked and waited for 15 mins in the car (I was early), only for the phone to ring and my friend tell me that he had just parked at his home and would be late by half an hour. He suggested I go home first and wait for him to pick me up instead. Thankfully I hadn't tore the coupon yet so I drove back, changed and waited. And waited some more.

Yeah, he was apologetic when he finally came by and I thought we were headed for Chomp Chomp but he was in a mood for something different (men!) and being the driver and therefore in charge of the wheel and our destinies, he drove to East Coast Lagoon area instead. Talk about a complete departure from what was originally planned!

He was lucky enough to find free parking along the side of the road. We weren't exactly spoilt for food choices so we ended up at Yoshimaru Ramen Bar and snagged the last available table there. The people just 2 steps behind us had to wait.

Again, we weren't spoilt for choice when we opened the menu - less than 15 (or 10?) ramen dishes to choose from ranging from SGD 11 to SGD 15. He had the Tan Tan Ramen while I had the seaweed ramen. If I remember rightly, the "selling point" for this restaurant was that the ramen was "original hokkaido ramen".



The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. After ordering, one is given a small bowl of sesame and a "pounder" to pound the sesame before the ramen arrives. The ramen, as seen from the picture, is decently sized with a reasonable amount of ingredients. The only thing really delish about the ramen was the egg. It was so good that my best friend ordered another egg for an extra dollar. As for the place, no complaints about the asthetics except that there is no privacy (open space restaurant with no partition and tables rather close to each other). And one more thing, one has to queue up at the cashier to pay - it makes me wonder why I'm paying the same amt of service charge then as other restaurants where they bring the bill to one's table!

Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen (Collagen Ramen)

One of my favourite ramen places in Singapore - Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen. I've been a regular patron there since 2004/5, primarily because I'm female and "Woman, Vanity is Thy Name". Their selling point as compared to other ramen restaurants here would be the collagen in the soup. I always opt for the "thick" version where there is supposedly more collagen but as I've no idea how collagen would taste like, I wouldn't be able to tell the diff between the "thick" and "standard", only that I'm paying a buck or 2 more. In fact, I wouldn't be able to tell even if there is any collagen in the soup!

Well, giving the restaurant the benefit of doubt (on whether they really do add collagen in the soup and in what sort of quantities), I would recommend ordering the set menus (Set A or Set B) instead of a la carte bowls of ramen. One gets a drink and an appetiser of one's choice of a certain value and a bowl of ramen for SGD 15 or SGD 18 (you can choose a more expensive drink, appetiser and bowl of ramen) before service charge and tax.

I ordered the seafood ramen (asked them not to include squid) and chose char siew as an appetiser. My companion had a bowl of char siew ramen and had the marinated fish as his appetiser. The Slog Reviews: 8/10 for the prompt service and delicious food. The ramen could use more ingredients though but the char siew was really "porkyliciously" good and tender.

I wasn't aware that this restaurant had other outlets in Singapore until I saw the pic below on their menu. All the outlets are in the city/business district and rightly so I should think. Lots of women would believe/do anything to stay young and that includes paying just a tad more for collagen in a rather satisying meal.

Kushin Bo at Suntec

I had Kushin-Bo's 60 minutes lunch with my best friend a couple of weeks ago (hence the plate of Yu Sheng in the pic). That lunch cost SGD 20.90++ per pax and is only available from Mon to Fri. During that 60 mins, one can eat as much of the spread as one can. However, rushing to eat as much as possible really spoils the fun of eating so we had the 60 mins lunch only because our dictated lunch hour is one hour anyway.

The soup is a must of course, and there's fresh salmon and tuna sashimi as well as chawan mushi, tempura, sushi and other cooked dishes. Everything is pretty good. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. A tad expensive (the bill came to SGD 50+) for a 60 mins lunch. However, Japanese food lovers won't be disappointed by the wide spread of Jap food available.

If one doesn't want to have to rush, the cost would be SGD 26.90++ per pax from Mon - Fri and sGD 28.90 on Sat, Sun and Public Holiday. Dinner is even more expensive at SGD 35.90 and sGD 39.90 respectively. Children (Below 1.4m) have to pay SGD 16.90++ to enjoy the feast though and senior critizens aged 55 and below get 10% off the bill.

There is only one outlet apparently at 3 Temasek Boulevard Suntec City 1 #03-002
The operation hours are 11.30am to 3pm (last round 2.30pm) and 5.30pm to 10pm (last round 9.30pm). For reservations: 6238 7088 (Advance booking is advisable).

Porridge and Satay at Chomp Chomp

I think I'm going to go to Chomp Chomp tonight after I finish work which will be, very late. Nevermind the flight out tomorrow morning for a really short trip to Kuching! The urge to have their most delicious, warm, soothing, full of ingredients porridge has overwhelmed me, rendering quite unable to think of anything else. This is the stall that sells such great porridge.

It was only a week ago that I had the pork porridge with century egg (with an additional ordinary egg thrown in) while my companion had porridge with liver which he proclaimed was the best. Here's a picture of my late night supper when it was served.

And a pic of it later, with all the ingredients (pork, century egg, egg) mixed well. The Slog Reviews: 9/10! For that much ingredients and a warm soothing tasty mash - each bowl cost less than SGD5. Go enjoy!

We also shared a plate of satay which I'd reviewed before so I won't say anymore except that it tastes as good as it looks below! There is a min order of the no of sticks of satay which is common at all satay stalls of course but the stuff below cost less than SGD 5 as well.

Su Korean Cuisine

Because of a meeting I had at the end of the west of our island (I'd never been to this part of Singapore before and was amazed at the flat lands and massive factories), I ended up having lunch at The Village. Parking was free (although the sign at the entrance of the carpark said it was S$2/entry during work hours) and despite the rather deserted appearance of the place (there were about 20-30 cars max parked near the eateries), I decided to check out the restaurants there. I would have gone for Ah Yat but being just one person, I opted for the daily set lunch at Su Korean Cuisine Restaurant instead.

As is typical of the better Korean restaurants, appetisers were served. I don't eat Kimchi so I can't comment on the dish at the bottom right but the potato (top right), beancurd (top left) and veg (bottom left) weren't anything exceptional - the potato was in fact quite tasteless but the veg and salted fish with it was pretty tasty. The server removed the Kimchi which I hadn't touched and voluntarily returned to her, but didn't give me another appetiser to replace it. Bah.

There are 8 options for the daily set lunch priced at SGD 11.90 and I opted for the beef short ribs. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. Total cost of the set lunch and korean tea (SGD 1) with taxes amounted to SGD 15+ . A very healthy meal with lots of greens. Each slice of the beef short rib was thick but just a tad too chewy so that it didn't melt-in-the-mouth. The sauce for the beef had mostly dried up/stuck to the pan but whatever was left of it tasted fine, nothing special but nothing to complain about.

The restaurant was empty when I walked in although it was lunch hour. A couple came in about half an hour later but that was it. The friendly server informed me that in the evenings and on weekends, the place is far more crowded. The menu is pretty comprehensive so if I'm ever around the area again, I'll probably try something diff like the Korean Ginseng Soup which is just SGD 16 on Mondays (as opposed to other days).

Yoshinoya in Singapore and its beef bowls.

Despite the rather negative reviews on the web, I for one, love the fast food chain, Yoshinoya's beef bowls.

According to the Yoshinoya Hong Kong website, "Yoshinoya, founded in 1899, is a famous Japanese beef bowl (Gyudon) specialist with a well-established history of over a century. Its first store opened in Nihohbashi Fish Market in Japan. The market moved to Tsukiji due to an earthquake and Yoshinoya followed. After over a hundred years' continuous development, Yoshinoya now has over 1100 branches around the globe, spanning from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore to California, US and Malaysia etc., and continues to provide Japanese style quality food and services to customers around the world. "

The website further goes on to state that "Gyudon (beef bowls) are Yoshinoya's speciality. Prepared with premium beef and our special stock, over a steamy bowl of pearl rice."

While I wouldn't go far as to agree 100% with the above, I don't agree with the negative reviews either. It really depends on which outlet and chef you have a bowl of beef bowl at. And, one negative experience, while a turn-off, doesn't mean that the brand and all the food is bad. I did have some beef bowls which had meat that was tasteless and even rubbery and yet I had some beef bowls where I let the beef sit in my mouth while slowly munching at the tender meat and letting the juice just ooze out. So. I guess it boils down to the law of randomness and luck where you have your beef bowl at.

I had mine at Marina Sq for one of my lunches last week. This is a pic of the spicy beef bowl meal consisting of a bowl with rice, beef, onions and some chilli flakes sprinkled on top as well as a bowl of miso soup. Total cost: SGD 6.30. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. Here's a tip: Ask for more gravy for the rice which can get rather dry beneath the top layer (of rice) that the beef is on. Decent enough both price-wise and quality for Japanese fast food.

Yoshinoya is apparently one of Wing Tai's holdings. Click here for a list of the outlets in Singapore and their latest promotions.

Eve of Chinese New Year (Reunion Dinner Lo Hei and other traditions)

Happy Lunar New Year! It's the Year of the White/Metal Tiger now. In accordance with Chinese tradition/customs/practices for the Lunar Chinese New Year, I (a) bought new clothes to wear on the first day (b) have new red undergarments (c) spring-cleaned my office (d) spring-cleaned my bedroom (d) made sure that I had a full tank of petrol in the car entering the New Year (e) sent my car for a good wash (f) did my utmost to clear as much work as possible (wasn't possible to clear my inbox tho'); and (g) tried to clear my "debts" (whatever owed to others); That's My Precious after the car wash at Caltex at 5pm today. There was a horribly long queue and the 3 mins carwash cost SGD 8. After I got home, I had to clean the inside of the car myself and also, apply rainact solution on the windscreen. Unlike my previous car, a charming little Daihatsu Sirion which I nicknamed The Toad because it was green, I have never, until today, cleaned the car myself. It was always easier and cheaper to send it to a car wash for just RM8 when I go to JB (and that car wash vacuums and cleans the inside of the car too!). Maybe I should start cleaning the car myself as a weekly workout - I do so like the gleam after the wash. I would have pumped petrol in JB and washed the car there too this week if not for the horrible massive jams I've been hearing about- A lot of Chinese Malaysians are beginning to start the journey back to their hometowns for Chinese New Year.

Of course, per tradition, we had the reunion dinner this evening followed by rummy-o. My mother cooked curry chicken, chap chye, braised shitake mushrooms and scallops, sharkfin soup, cod fish and stewed pork. Frankly, I don't think losing weight is a very real possibility, given how much of her good food I've eaten and given that I have two buffets scheduled for tomorrow's lunch and dinner respectively! Argh! The pic below is of the second Lo Hei I've done this CNY and at home at that (the first was at the department's lunch)! My mum usually frowns upon having Lo Hei at all because of the mess - one uses the chopsticks to lift the ingredients as high as possible while uttering auspicious Chinese phrases and the end result is that the ingredients are strewn all over the table or the floor. It's fun, but there is a lot of cleaning up to do! I've heard that this Lo Hei tradition started in, and is unique to Singapore (but has since spread to Malaysia). Each ingredient in the dish is suppsoed to symbolise something - for eg, the sweet sauce is supposed to be mixed in when one is uttering a phrase to do with sweetness in one's life, and the crackers are supposed to symbolise wealth ie the Chinese traditional gold nugget.

KEK Keng Eng Kee Seafood

We had our department's yearly Chinese New Year lunch at Keng Eng Kee Seafood. The address of the place is Blk 124 Jalan Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-136 S(150124).If you want to make reservations, the telephone number is 6272 1038 / 97487054. The restaurant is open from 11.30am to 2pm for lunch and 5pm to 10.45pm for dinner. There are parking lots around and in front of the restaurant but it is a night mare trying to get parking at all during lunch!

We started off the lunch with Yu Sheng for Lo Hei purposes. The server (PRC lady) prepared the dish before us by adding in the various ingredients for us and uttering the appropriate Chinese phrases. And then the 6 of us "Lo Hei-ed" with great gusto, wishing for everything to get bigger/higher/better, from the stock market to advancements in career. That's the point of the dish - using a pair of chopsticks to toss the ingredients and lift each "chopstickful"of ingredients as high as possible. For the wishes to come true, one should always eat some of the yu sheng after it has been tossed. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. I'm not a Yu Sheng fan but this dish didn't taste too bad with the fresh sliced fish platter mixed in.

We had to ask the server to clean the table for us before she started serving the rest of the dishes (she was quite ready to put the plates down on the table shrewn with ingredients!). One of my colleagues did the ordering so I can't give any information at all on the prices and items on the menu. The first dish that came was sambal kangkong which was passable, being fresh and not cooked too soggy. The next dish was the beancurd. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. I really liked this dish which was full of butter mushrooms, sliced Chiense mushrooms, deep fried beancurd, pork slices and vegetable in a light gravy. The dish came topped with a layer of egg white which made the dish just the right amount of gooey to have with rice.

We also had pork ribs/pork chop. The Slog Reviews: 6.5/10. I wouldn't recommend this dish at all. The meat while soft enough didn't taste very nice and it seemed like the awfully thick and too-sweet sauce was used in excess to mask the tastelessness of the meat. The meat certaintly didn't taste as if it had been marinated long enough in the sauce for the sauce to permeate the meat, resulting in one having the separate taste of the meat and sauce in one's mouth at the same time. Not good.

On the other hand, the cereal prawns were excellent. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. The prawns were extremely fresh and cooked so well that the meat was firm yet sweet and wasn't stuck to the shell. The cereal was very tasty of course, even on its own eaten with rice. I can't give this dish a 10/10 because cooked this style, the prawns are meant to be eaten with the shells on but it was not possible for our meal given how hard the shells of the prawns were.

We ended the meal with black pepper crabs. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. The black pepper sauce was just the right fiery spicy and I thought the crabs were rather fresh. The meat didn't stick to the shells. The only thing I disliked about this dish was that all the eggs had fallen out of the top shell and was mixed in with the black pepper sauce making it almost impossible to fin

The total cost of the meal was about SGD 150 for 6 of us inclusive of drinks (my boss gave us a treat). While this place is a far cry from Long Beach, No SignBoard etc, it still does pretty decent seafood for really reasonable prices. And, the service isn't too bad - you just have to speak up loudly to be heard and the dishes do not take a long time to come either.

Sing Ho Hainan Chicken Rice

I had dinner at my mother's favourite chicken rice place. The shop is located at 266 Middle Road a few steps down from the famous Rochor Beancurd and is open from 11am to 11pm.

As you can see from the picture above, the shop set-up is that of a rather aesthetically challenged coffeeshop. By the time I got there about 9.30pm, there was only white chicken left (the stall does sell roasted meat too). On the stall-front are an assortment of newspaper articles and food "awards" given to the stall for its achievement(s) in the chicken rice arena. However, the stall does sell other types of local dishes such as fried beancurd, vegetables (sambal kangkong, kailan etc), wanton, chicken noodles, laksa etc. The stall is operated mostly by PRCs who are able to speak limited English.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. The chicken is thickly (but not too thickly) sliced, tender and tasty with just the thinnest layer of skin. The kangkong isn't spicy and rather cheap at SGD 3 only. The cold beancurd with floss however is rather bland-tasting (the sauce is rather thin and tasteless) and not worth trying (SGD 4). The chilli is hot enough but nothing very special. However, unlike Hainanese Delights, one can pay for the food after one has eaten and one can walk the few steps down to Rochor Beancurd for some dessert after.

NB: This restaurant has been closed since end Aug 2010

Bee Cheng Hiang's Mini EZ Cheese Bak Kwa

I can't stop myself from eating these. Despite my resolutions for 2010, I had four (4!!!) of the mini ez cheese bak kwa in the past fifteen mins. Go me. My boss introduced these little snacks to us a couple of years ago. She, like the stuff she introduces, is good stuff. The Slog Reviews: 10/10 - oh sin, glorious sin. The bak kwa in each packet is oily, succulent and tender. Coupled with cheese, rich yellow melted cheese - how can one possibly resist these calorie-laden delights? The perfect Singapore gift to give to friends overseas (provided these friends are not vegan, vegetarian, halal or weight-conscious haha).

Anyway, I bought the most recent 500gm packet from JB a week ago from the Bee Cheng Hiang outlet at the Sutera Mall. With the current exchange rate, it is about SGD 2 cheaper than in Singapore. So far, I am only aware of the outlets at Jln Wong Ah Fook and at Sutera Mall in Johor. However, I remember that back in Feb 2008 when the China project started and I was in Shenzhen for the first time, I came across a small little outlet along Hua Qiang Bei Lu (near the ParknShop supermarket). I remember feeling this swell of pride that our little red dot had made its mark in China, that Singapore was in China. Sounds a little ridiculous typing this but I have to confess that I am one of those proud of one own's country, government and leaders.

Hainanese Delights at Capitol Building

Hainanese Delights located at Capitol Building (along the same stretch as Breadtalk is) is always very packed during lunch time and after work. Even as late as 8.30pm on a Wed night, quite a number of the tables were taken when I went there for dinner.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. This is one of my favourite places in Singapore for chicken rice (both white and roasted meat are good) because as we all know, it is the chilli that makes or breaks the dish and this place makes mighty good chilli sauce. Fiery spicy chilli sauce that starts a nice warm flame in one's tummy and a sauce which isn't too watery or too sweet, definitely a place for chicken rice chilli lovers to try out.



The cost of my chicken rice dish above is SGD 3.50. The egg, a mere 50 cents. The dish also comes with the obligatory cucumber slices, some pickles and a bowl of soup. The soup isn't the oily or thin-tasting "drop a chicken cube in it" kind of soup but a hearty home-cooked version with beans. I don't know whether the store charges more for an extra bowl of soup (they didn't charge me but they behaved like it was a favour they were doing). The stall sells sugarcane and lime juice (about SGD 1+), all of which are tasty and fresh. There are other items on the menu such as assam fish and fried bean curd but I'll say, save your money. The assam fish tastes nothing of assam but of a weak tomato paste and the fish looks shrunken. The bean curd does not only look unappealing, it is so unremarkable I won't even start on it.

Ambiance-wise, Hainanese Delights really isn't much to look at, very much like a coffee-shop and there is even a long horizontal table against the wall so one can sit eating facing the wall. And, one thing about this place which never fails to irk me is that they ask for payment upfront right after you order your dish and drink. If one is seated when ordering, one has to get up and go to the counter and pay before one is served.

Unless one is a chicken rice chilli lover, I wouldn't recommend going all the way to this place for a meal.

Rochor Beancurd

Rochor Beancurd is one of the most famous beancurd stalls in Singapore. It has been operating for more than 40 years and was featured in the media, most notably because of the family feud between the siblings making and selling beancurd. 1-2 of the siblings eventually set up a stall next to Rochor Beancurd which is located at Short Street and as of the date of this post, that stall is still in operation there.

My CEO and my boss swear by Rochor beancurd but secretly, I personally prefer the beancurd from the stall next to it. Sometimes after a department lunch, my boss will suggest having beancurd from Short Street for dessert and because I am sadly, a crowd-pleaser by nature, I end up eating from the Rochor Beancurd stall. And that is why today, even though I was alone and I had parked in front of the other stall, my legs automatically took to me to Rochor Beancurd stall.



The picture above is a picture of one of the tubs which I polished off today. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. It took me less than 20 mouthfuls to finish the entire bowl of the silky smooth beancurd. Each scoop brought up soft quivering white mounds of beancurd which slid down one's throat smoothly without a cloying sweet after-taste. A good place to bring one's overseas friends for dessert. However, do note the stall is not air conditioned and can be extremely crowded in the night(even weekday nights).