Big Eater

In case you thought that this blog has gone off on a "domestic" tangent altogether, I thought I'll write about a pretty good crab restaurant that my CEB and I chanced upon a couple of weeks ago. Or rather, one that my CEB had heard about and thought would satisfy his peckish wife who was demanding to go to somewhere different for dinner instead of the usual haunts.

The name of the restaurant sounded pretty awful - like a direct translation of a pretty decent Chinese word/phrase to English without thought to how it would turn out in a different language. And the location of the restaurant, near some large factory building and among a row of shophouses with extremely limited parking (we had to park at the back of the restaurant at the residential area) wasn't the most, well, asthetically pleasing.

All that aside, we had a good enough experience there which prompted talk of going back for a second time. As per the pic above, the restaurant menu has a page devoted to listing just its specialities to make for easy ordering.

My CEB ordered the Hokkien Noodles which turned out to be unlike the yellow/white noodles that we were expecting. While the dish was not easy on the eye - coiled wet worm-like noodles heaped in very dark looking liquid, the aroma wafting from the dish sent both of us digging in without second thoughts. We agreed this dish was yummy - not too salty despite the sauce, but tasty and wet as good hokkien mee should be. I would definitely recommend this dish to folks going to the restaurant.

I was debating between 2 of the chef's recommendation - the Claypot Herbal Mutton or the salted egg crabs. My CEB was pretty firm about not trying the latter, having had an unpleasant experience at another restaurant before with this dish but when the server told us they were out of the mutton soup, my CEB surprised me by ordering a crab cooked in salted egg (My CEB seems to be less fixed in his ways and more open to trying, and to giving in since the EE course).

The Slog Reviews: The salted egg crab was not the least bit too salty and the dressing (salted egg) surprisingly did not detract from the sweetness of the crab which was as fresh and "meat-packed" as the one we had in Malacca. This dish was extremely well done - the salted flavor of the sauce was a subtle contrast and brought out the full flavor of thecrab's natural flavor. A must try!

The total bill came to about SGD50+ for the noodles and the crab (abt 900gm) which was lower than what we had expected (too much of eating in Malaysia I guess!).

Address: No. 34 Jalan Pari Burong (Upper Changi Road) Singapore 488700.
Tel: +65 6245-7268

Peperoni Pizzaria

I realize I have been posting very little about food or books. And it really isn't the case that I haven't been having quite a bit of both in my life lately, especially the former. It's just that the current matter has occupied all my working bandwidth and the upcoming nuptials, most of my non-working bandwidth, leaving me with little time to blog about other stuff.

Anyway, to distract myself from the conference call I have with my boss in a matter of hours (the time zone difference means we are talking after he puts his kids in bed), I've decided to write about a meal that I had the week before with my best friend from Secondary school days. Being a strictly west-side gal (before and after married life), she suggested that we go to a nice little restaurant Greenwood Avenue to satisfy her pizza craving for dinner.

We were most surprised to be told that most of the tables were reserved when we got there at 6am. Nonetheless since some of the reservations were from 7.30pm, we were given a table and given the menus. We started with the Chicken Wings- S$8 for 8 pieces - undeniably finger licking good stuff.

I had been having a risotto craving for some time and so I ordered the Seafood Risotto - S$24. The Slog Reviews: 4/10. I think there is a reason this place has the word pizza in its name - it doesn't do Risotto very well - the risotto was freaking tasteless and a sheer waste of calories. Ingredients were mediocre and didn't impress. Do not waste your $ ordering this dish really

Unfortunately, my best friend decided to give risotto a try instead of her pizza and what a bad decision it turned out to be. The Prawn Risotto - S$26 was left 1/4 untouched - she said she ate the rest only because she was so hungry but she would never order this dish again either.

As we were there during Happy Hours, we ordered the Softdrink Jug at S$13. Talk about yet another mistake. The Jug was so full of ice that we only got less bang for the buck ordering the jug as opposed to ordering ice lemon tea at S$3.50 per cup.

I'm not in a hurry to go back to this restaurant but I think that if one has to dine here, one really would be better off trying out the pizza.

Here is the address and tel number:

Peperoni Pizzaria

6 Greenwood Avenue Singapore 289195
Tel: 6465 6556

Double Bay Australian Dining & Bar

Just like nothing beats a piping hot chocolate drink on a cold rainy day, nothing warms the soul more than a friend who takes the effort to show care and concern. As you may guess from the pic below, I had both today.

I'd been shivering and miserable the entire morning in the office because of the weather and my doubts about well, certain decisions and people. A friend of mine decided to relieve me of both by taking me out for lunch to a restaurant I'd never been before - Double Bay. He said a change of scenary would cheer me up and so we sat outside in the non-smoking alfresco dining area with a full view of Raffles Hotel's majestic architecture, sipping hot chocolate, talking and watching the world (rain and people) go by. The Slog Reviews: 9/10 for the hot chocolate - it was really warm, sweet and frothy. And bitter at the end bits which is a sign apparently, of a good quality chocolate drink. Best antidote for a rainy day.

Because Australia is famous for its pies, we decided to order the first pie on the pie list (I forgot the name) which was big enough for 2 pp to split. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. Would not recommend this pie to those who do not like vegetables or fish. The fish baked in the pie - sea bass - tasted very fresh but very fishy - and I have to say the chunks of fish were far from plentiful, making this pie a very over priced item indeed (it was more than 20 bucks I recall).

In any case, if I don't go back to Double Bay for its food any time soon, I'll certainly remember it as the place where I was struck by my friend's willing expenditure of his precious time, money and brain cells just to make me a rainy lousy day just that bit less gloomy for me. He impresses me - what good is all this talk about caring, or even loving if there is no effort shown indeed? And worse, what is the point of sweet words when one directs/uses one's effort and time to do things that do not build the relationship that one claims matters?

So, if you want to be where I was when I had all these mind-numbing relevations or just want some pick me up hot chocolate, you need to make your way to 252 North Bridge Road #01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre. The telephone number is 65-6334 6530

Seletar Hill Restaurant - The best braised belly pork (kong ba bao)

If I am not wrong, 95% of the posts in this blog are about places and food in Malaysia. That is not to say that I am not a born-and-bred Singaporean and darn proud of being one. And not to say that I don't travel to other places but Malaysia. Vegas, Paris, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Cairns, I've done in the past 2 years but I've never felt like blogging about these places for some strange reason - not even Cairns just a couple of months back.

When I find the time I guess - despite it being December, I am swarmed with my current workload to the point of being discouraged and despondent. And I miss my beloved boss's calm wise presence :( It sounds absolutely insane for a worker bee to count the days till her boss returns back to the office but I am. I miss her so much it actually hurts. Mad. Anyway, talking about her brings me back the original point of this post - the really good stuff that hails from Singapore, in this case, food (as opposed to a person) introduced to me by an expert foodie colleague of mine.

Because he was a regular at this haunt, we left the ordering to him. As with most traditional Chinese dinners, we started off with soup - in this case, Sze Chuan hot and sour soup. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. This soup was served piping hot and the fragrant aroma rising together with the steam made us drool even before the first spoonful. Excellent stuff.

My foodie colleague swears by the Camphor Tea Smoked Duck served by this restaurant -he has never had duck that tasted better, so he says. I am a duck meat lover - I always claim I am allergic to chicken to avoid eating chicken meat (when pressed further for details of this unique allergy, I usually reply that chicken triggers my anger management issues and the questioning inevitably stops) - and so I was really looking forward to the smoked duck he ordered. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Alright, I confess I had to swallow a couple of times before typing because the picture below triggered off the memory of the thin crispy skin which was laced with just the most delicate layer of fat and oil, and of the firm tender juicy meat. Simply mouthwateringly good.

Despite its rather unappealing appearance below, the sambal green beans he ordered didn't stay very long on its plate either. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Good on its own merits but can be given a miss in favor of the duck or the next item if one has limited eating/stomach capacity.

Now, I don't eat braised belly pork at all. The idea of all that quivering solid fat is simply abhorent and triggers unpleasant memories. However, my foodie colleague told me to try or regret this dish. The pork belly was served in this manner with just enough portions for the number of diners.

Because I was reluctant to pick up the belly pork with its thick layer of fats and put it between the white buns served together with the dish AND my foodie colleague was determined to have me try the dish, he ended up making the kong ba bao below for me - not much to look at but....one bite, and all was right with my world again. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Orgasmic. Who needs a man, what does the state of my inbox matter...irrelevant. The pork melts in the mouth - I swear - it MELTS and the sweet dark gravy which seeps into the warm oh-so-tender- buns makes the entire combination a testimony to the wonders of our good lord. The 8th wonder.

Because I had been craving durian so badly, despite my foodie colleague's persuasions to have me try the chendol, I ordered the popular durian pudding (only SGD 2) and the Slog Reviews: 7/10. No offense to the dish but come on now, who was I fooling to think a durian pudding and not the real thing could actually satisfy my craving. But it was sweet of my foodie colleague though to remember my craving. Can skip.

In any case, I got to try the durian chendol because he absolutely insisted that such pleasures should be shared. The other colleagues at the table bowed to his wiser judgment as per the pic below and had that dessert too. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. I am not a chendol person but the overall concensus is that this is really good dessert and a sweet end to a great meal. Thank you so much for taking us here!

So, for those of you who can afford the calories, or who can't like The Slog but love braised belly pork, the place to make a beeline for is Seletar Hill Restaurant located at 16 Jalan Selaseh Seletar Hills Estate.

Perle Noire Oyster & Grill Bar

If one is ever in the East and in search of fine grub in a really nice setting, one should most certainly drop by Perle Noire. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating and while the outdoor section is good for having a beer or some other type of poison (the restaurant has a pretty good wine list and serves cocktails too), the indoor seating area as per the pic I took below, is great for a romantic dinner or a cosy get together with friends. I'm not into music so I didn't really mind the background music being played but we heard a patron asking the staff for some variety to the music which was admittedly, the sort which would appeal to those into a certain genre of music only.

We each had the restaurant's signature black olive roll. Each roll is priced at SGD1 and comes served wrapped individually in a clean cloth. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. The thought given to the presentation of this simple starter is worth commending. The olive dip and creamy butter goes wonderfully with the warm fluffy bread which melts in one's mouth at the first bite.

As we got to the restaurant rather late about 9pm, I ordered the first item on the menu which appealed to me - Sea Scallops Carbonara @ SGD 30. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. This dish is a must try for those who love all warm, creamy and fattening meals. The scallops were cooked to the right degree and remained spongy to the bite. Although the scallops were large and cooked well, I have to say that they lacked the sweetness that smaller scallops have. Still, that aside, I would recommend this dish to all scallop lovers :)

My dinner companion on the other hand opted for the fish of the day. As he didn't offer me a bite (and no, I didn't ask), I am unable to comment whether the seabass below was worth SGD24 (after the 15% discount for the fish of the day). The only observation I have is that the presentation of such a simple food item was done very nicely

The Slog Reviews: The service at Perle Noire is impeccable and the staff here go all out to make your dining experience with the restaurant one a pleasant and memorable one. When I asked one of the staff if they were open for lunch, another staff provided us of her own initiative, the set lunch menus. They were also sought feedback on the food and this, combined with the atmosphere and good food, makes this restaurant a jewel in all sense of the word (Perle Noire - Black Pearl).

The Academy Bistro

I just had a buffet over the first weekend of October, which reminded me of the last buffet I had before that one. We had some credits in our academy of law account and some bright spark decided that we should utilise these at the academy bistro located on the first floor of the Supreme Court. Just to be sure we could, I called the bistro the day of our lunch and was told that we couldn't use these credits. Since we'd made reservations anyway, we decided to still go ahead with our idea of having lunch there.

We were told that only the buffet was available that day and at SGD15+ it didn't seem too awfully steep so we agreed to the buffet without checking out the spread. Well, I guess on hindsight we could have just walked in to look at the food items first before commiting to the reservation but as it was, we didn't and walking out after being seated is such a no-no. So, the next 2 pictures below will reflect what the spread consisted of - yes, there was such variety NOT.

As you would have noted from the pic above and the pic below, the more expensive food items would be the cod fish and the salmon. The Slog Reviews: Thumbs down for variety but the cod fish was cooked rather well in a flavorful gravy and if one loves cod fish, ah, the buffet would be well worth one's money then. If one doesn't eat fish at all, then one must be contented feasting on the rest of the other items which I am afraid, aren't too appetising.

There was a small section of the buffet for pies, cakes and fruits. The pecan pie was barely decent and the fruits were well, just cut fresh fruits. Nothing extraordinary or impressive at all.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10 for the buffet which really could do with more variety for that price. I saw The Rice Table's ad for its buffet which is priced at SGD17 and has a huge spread compared to the Academy Bistro's. And no, academy of law members do not get a discount off the buffet price at all. Given the proximity to Funan, my recommendation would be to give the bistro a miss if one isn't its target customer.

New Ubin Seafood (乌敏海鲜) - THE place for beef steak and crispy pork knuckles!

At our co's cocktail event last week, a group of us, each from a different department, decided to have lunch one weekday at New Ubin Seafood at the recommendation of R, a foodie. Now, I've been to New Ubin Seafood restaurant once before for an uncle's birthday and my impresison of the place was that it was an ordinary zi char restaurant serving good but not impressive dishes.

However, I'm now going to absolutely RAVE about the food this restaurant serves. It is, a bit of a co-incidence that the post before this one was about beef because I might have to switch loyalties between Astons Prime and New Ubin when it comes to decently priced beef steak. My colleague R had placed an order for good beef steak (emphasis is on good) a few days before our lunch date there and New Ubin delivered.

The Slog Reviews: 10/10. All 6 of us were blown away by the absolutely tender and moist medium-rare beef cubes. And the potato chips that came with the beef steak was fried to perfection. And I mean, perfection - the outside was hot, salty and crispy without a single pc which was overcooked (too hard or black) and the inside was light fluffy hot potato...fantastic! The restaurant should really re-name/re-brand itself so that most pp wouldn't think that this restaurant specialises in seafood when it does a beef steak so wonderfully well!

We also shared a place of the traditional Ubin Fried Rice, which as per the pic below, is black and not white rice. According to R, the rice is placed under the beef steak when it is cooked so that the gravy of the beef seeps into the rice as it is cooked. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. With some nice crispy burnt bits mixed with the softness of the rest of the rice, this is a must order dish too, if one goes to New Ubin Seafood. And, the rice isn't the least bit too oily for the stomach!

R claimed that the Crispy Pork Knuckles is better than those served in the more expensive restaurants and I have to say, R is absolutely right. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. The pork knuckles are to die for - I love pork knuckles and the pork knuckles by New Ubin Seafood are the best I've ever tasted. The skin is fried to such exquisite crispiness with the mandatory soft layer of fat on the inside. Unlike other pork knuckles which are just skin and fat, the dish below had lots (chunks of in fact) of tender delicious meat. And if all that isn't good enough, one should have the sauce. Spicy, fiery exquisite sauce - one absolutely CANNOT miss having the sauce. And the restaurant is quite willing to give an extra bowl too. Drench the crispy skin, tender fat and juicy meat in the sauce and put all of that in your mouth....you'll thank God for the little things on your tongue called taste buds!

The group also ordered the famous salted egg squid but as I don't eat sotong/squid/calamari, I didn't have any of that at all. The verdict from those who had the dish was that it was good but not extraordinary ie they had better at other places.

Just a little tip: It is far easier to find parking during dinner hours than lunch hours because all the parking lots are used by the car repair workshops in the area!

Block 27 Sin Ming Road (behind Block 26) #01-174 Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A
Tel: 6466 9558
Open Daily 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm

Beef - Wagyu Beef Grade 6 from Astons Specialities and Hock Lam Beef Noodles

Remember the last review I wrote about Hock Lam Street beef kway teoh (click here) where I gave the food a 6/10? Well, after having the take-away bowl of beef noodles below, I've decided to revise my opinion about the food. The bowl of beef noodles was fabulous on its own ie without comparison against the past experience eating the same. Maybe it is a one-off thingy, maybe it was a different chef, or maybe takeaway beef noodles is nicer than beef noodles eaten there (because the noodles were allowed to soak in the gravy for a longer period of time?), I'm not sure. All I know is that being the queen of second chances does pay off once in a blue moon and agreeing to have the beef noodles below is one of those times. :)

However if one is looking for consistency in the standards of beef at not too exhorbitant prices, I would recommend Astons Prime. Astons Specialities at Sembawang isn't too far off the mark either - it is value for money per my earlier review but based on my experiences there, I would only order the wagyu beef there and not the other options like Ribeye etc. The last time I was at Astons Specialities was somewhere back in June just before my SZ/HKG trip. We had the Wagyu Beef Grade 6 which came with 2 sides and was priced most decently at about SGD37 each. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. The beef was just the right thickness and cooked so perfectly that each bite of the meat retained its full flavor. All beef lovers should have wagyu beef at least once a month I think.

Happy Chef and Chicken Kiev

My CEB had been craving for chicken kiev for quite some time and although I tried to find some other place in Singapore which sells chicken kiev, the results of my search pointed to just one place - Happy Chef Western Food.

Because I'd been there all of 2 times, my CEB and I made a wrong turn getting there but eventually found the place which is located right along the side road branching off North Bridge Road named "Crawford Lane". The nearest carpark is the one with cashcard parking gantries. Happy Chef is right smack in the middle of the stalls of that coffeeshop and appears to be your rather ordinary Western food stall except for the many newspaper articles about the place pasted on the pillar in front of the stall.

One has to make payment upfront right after ordering from the rather extensive menu with the prices clearly displayed next to a picture of each food item. Cash terms of course. My CEB had the chicken kiev at SGD6.50 which was served quickly enough but had been cut into 3 pieces:


The Slog Reviews: ?/10. The reason for the ? is that I didn't get to have even a bite of the chicken kiev. Now, my CEB claimed it wasn't as good as the ones he had in UK when he studied there BUT he totally forgot to offer me a bite which is quite, unlike him. And he finished all of the kiev rather quickly so I guess it mustn't have been too awful. On a side note, if one wants to buy frozen chicken kiev, one can go to the shop specialising in frozen meat near Cold Storage at Parkway Parade.

I on the other hand, had the battered fish. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. The fish neither tasted fresh (but that doesn't mean it wasn't fresh) nor impressed the taste buds in any way. The chips were also tasteless and hard, much like the veg which was served along with the fish. After reading more about Happy Chef on the net, it seems that the dish to order is the pork ribs so one might want to give the fish a miss and try that instead.


Address:
466 Crawford Lane
11am to 10pm daily

Yum Cha at Serangoon Country Club

Ah, Yum Cha. I'm writing this post exactly one month since we were there and for the life of me, I can't quite remember what we ordered. However, as with most things we experience, while the details escape us, we usually remember how we felt.

We hadn't quite planned on going to Yum Cha but finding parking at Serangoon Gardens around 8pm was close to impossible. As we were literally starving, we decided to park at the country club (which cost us almost SGD 4 for about 2 hours) which would mean having dinner at Yum Cha located at the club itself. The service was very prompt and the servers professional and attentive. The decor and ambiance of the Chinese restaurant was pleasing enough, much like that of a good hotel's restaurant.

The first dish we had was some beef dish (let me see if I can find the receipt with the name of the dish) cooked with milky gravy. From the pic, it is pretty clear that food presentation was done very well. What is not clear however is how good this dish was. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. Bite-sized tender chunks of boneless meat bursting with "meaty juiciness" combined with the full rich milky flavor of the gravy. Very good indeed!

Next up was this dish that cost SGD 16. Organic vegetables and mushrooms. I wouldn't have ordered this dish if I had a choice but since I wasn't dining alone, my food companion had a say too and to my misery, ordered this dish from the menu. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. Although it is a tad bit expensive for just some veg, the fleshy thick mushrooms and the gravy more than made up for it. A must-try for mushroom lovers despite the price.

Ah, and the final dish, the dish which I had selected - cheese-baked lobster noodles. The cost was SGD 24 and the portion sufficient for 2. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. Nothing jaw-dropping about this dish except for the price tag. For that amount of lobster meat and the rather ordinary tasting noodles, I wouldn't suggest ordering this dish at all. If one wants lobsters per se, there are far better places to be having them. And as for the noodles without lobster, that's less than half the price. Conclusion? Do not order.

The total cost for the 3 dishes was about SGD 76.30 after a 10% discount (DBS credit card). As we have been thoroughly spoilt by JB food prices, I found the price a wee bit too steep for my liking although it was money well spent (heck, we were celebrating an unexpected revision of the Slog's humble wages!). To conclude, this yum cha outlet at Serangoon Country Club is definitely a place to consider if you have to bring the folks out or a Mother/Father's day celebration and cost isnt a consideration at all.

22 Kensington Park Road (Serangoon Garden Country Club)
Singapore 557271
Tel : 6343 1717

Opening Hours:
Mon to Fri: 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sat, Sun & Public Holidays: 9am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Hock Lam Street Popular Beef Kway Teow

We had lunch today at Hock Lam Street's beef kway teow newly renovated restaurant which is a far cry from their previous place. Co-incidentally, I had lunch there with my food companion a couple of weeks ago too (which is when I snapped these pics but never got around to blogging) so I had the opportunity to try both to the soup and dry version of the popular beef noodles.
Here is a picture of the menu - the options boil down to a combination of cow parts (sliced beef, tripe, brisket, beef liver, beef ball and tendon) that one selects. Although there are 3 options - small, medium and large, the servers tend to encourage one to have the medium portion. As I'm not a fan of innards, on my first visit, I ordered slice beef and beef balls in soup. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. The soup was rather light on the palate and the first thought that I had after a mouthful of beef noodles was that...I could have this same dish at a food court for lesser than SGD6, nevermind the history of this stall (as proudly displayed on the walls).

The second time, I decided to have the dry version which came with rather delicious looking gravy. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. All 5 of us ended up rather disappointed with our beef noodles which left us feeling far from satisfied. The standard of the beef noodles at Hock Lam is rather dismal and I wouldn't recommend the place to anyone looking for a satisfying meal. The quantity of noodles provided is sufficient but the quality of the gravy and all leaves much to be desired.

Address: Seah Street, a few shops down from Sin Swee Kee Chicken Rice.

Tokumika Jap Restaurant (second time) and Ice3

The thing about my food companion is that if he finds a place that he likes, he goes back there again and again. After our first visit to Tokumika and an almost daily request from him to eat there again, we ended up there once more on a Tues night after work. The place was deserted but filled slowly with 3 other couples which meant I could take a better shot of the interior of the restaurant with my camera phone.

My food companion loves sashimi and he ordered the Goshina Sashimi Set (5 diff types of sashimi) and a complimentary Tori Karaage (fried chicken). I ordered the beef sukiyaki again and the total cost of the meal came ot SGD 48.80 which I thought was pricy by JB standards. The problem with going over the causeway so often for good food is that I have a problem spending money in Singapore restaurants now. For eg, I thought that the rice and miso set at SGD 3 in Tokumika was pretty steep when, on hindsight, it should be considered pretty standard. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. People have told me that the mark of a good Jap restaurant is one where Japanese go to and in this aspect, Tokumika on the both occasions I have been there, is woefully lacking in. No complaints about the service and decor as before but unless it starts to attract the Japanese crowd or runs some promotion with some credit card companies, I don't see this place being on the list of popular/famous restaurants.

And no, the dessert below isn't from Tokumika but from Ice3 Cafe at Serangoon Gardens which we adjourned to after dinner. There was a promotion on the crepes (50% off every Tues) so we each ordered the same which took rather long (almost half an hour) to arrive. The reason, I suppose, is because the cafe only has 1 machine which makes crepes and each crepe can be customised by the customer. For eg, I chose peach filling, walnuts, chocolate sauce and walnut icecream for my crepe. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. An ice cream parlor more for teenagers than those past their prime - the crowd inevitably reminds one of one's age. Free flow of water (self-service) and a large range of ice cream which unfortunately, failed to impress the sensory buds (the first time we went to this cafe we had 8 scoops of ice cream!) again.



NB: Tokumika Jap Restaurant has been closed since end August 2010

Fish Soup at Chiang's Restaurant @ Geylang Lor 20

I'd posted pics on my Facebook account of the Teochew restaurant experience in Melaka, and a good friend who was Teochew recommended that I try the promfret dish at a coffeeshop located at Geylang Lor 20. So one day after work, I was struck by an inexplicable urge to have promfret and persuaded my companion for that evening to try out the food there too. We managed to find the place without much difficulty and even secured a parking lot right in front of the coffeeshop. However, the friend who had recommended me the place had neglected to mention that this lorong had chickens/prostitutes and seeing them was a brutal reminder that there was a profession that had been around longer than mine 

We asked for the menu which had very limited items and everyone at the coffeeshop seemed to be having the promfret soup or hotpot so we ordered a bowl of SGD10 promfret soup to share between the two of us. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. The soup was very tasty and there was a fair amount of thick fish slices. However, there were some slices which included the fine bones of the fish which made the slice quite inedible unless one scrapped the meat off the bones. We also ordered the prawn omelette. The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. This dish was done very well I must say - the egg omelette was light and fluffy and didnt taste the least bit oily. The prawns in the omelette were tender and somehow blended in very well with the egg instead of being hard individual prawn pieces. I would order that dish again if I went back to the restaurant After dinner, because the fish soup and prawn omelette didn't quite hit the spot, I wanted to have dessert and the servers at the stall told us we could get dessert around Lorong 25. So we walked past the No Signboard restaurant and further along till we spotted a large white sign on the opposite side of the road that read Yong De and Famous Beancurd. I ordered a bowl of beancurd with peanuts while my companion ordered a you tiao and soya bean milk. The total cost was slightly less than SGD 5 and proved to be a rather unremarkable finish to the night. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. The beancurd was ordinary to the point of blandness even wtih the peanuts. I wouldn't recommend going specially to this place for beancurd at all unless one is around the area. Rochor Beancurd tastes far better and is smoother.

Tokumika Japanese Restaurant

My food companion was in the mood for Japanese food just before my fishing trip and since the rendevous point was at Serangoon Central, we decided to have dinner at that area. At my suggestion, although I wasn't sure if there were any Jap restaurants there, we ended up at the row of eateries at the shophouses along Upper Serangoon Road.

And, to his delight, there was a Jap restaurant named Tokumika amongst the steamboat restaurants. The restaurant was smallish and functionally decorated with about 10 wooden tables and chairs, a large transparent food chiller housing various types of sashimi towards the back and a unisex 1 cubicle toilet at the far end of the restaurant. It also appears to be local family-run (as opposed to Jap-family run) and boasts having fresh air-flown sashimi.

As I don't eat sashimi and we were rather short of time, I ordered the beef sukiyaki (SGD 12) and my food companion ordered the bara chirashi don (SGD 10). The prices on the menu were rather reasonable starting from SGD 10 onwards and a plate of sashimi sufficient for 2 smallish eaters was SGD 25. The restaurant also serves various types of Jap noodles like ramen, udon and soba as well as rice sets but the emphasis is on sashimi.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10 for the beef sukiyaki. Nothing wrong with the presentation of the food or the time we had to wait for the dish, but I found the soup too sweet for my liking and the beef while generous in portion, was not tender or sweet. The beef pieces were also kind of stuck together in an unappealing mess. My food companion on the other hand pronounced the chirashi don fabulous with generous chunks of fresh sashimi and after finishing his bowl (not a very large or remarkably small bowl), proceeded to order yet another chirashi don bowl. He said it was very good and I suppose there must be some truth to his statement because to my amazement, the restaurant filled up pretty quickly (it was a Fri evening) with couples, families and groups of friends/colleagues. The service was prompt enough and while I wouldn't think of going back again, my food companion has been bugging me to. The cost of the meal was SGD 38 in all excluding any drinks (the rice for the sukiyaki was SGD 2!) but then again, he had eaten enough for two pax.


Address: 27 Teck Chye Terrace
Tel/Fax: 6284 3842

NB: This restaurant has been closed since end Aug 2010

Restaurant Aoba Hokkaido Ramen

Despite the short time I had to finish my quest for THE purple dress (click here), my companion was determined to have dinner all the same. Torn between my pressing need to continue shopping (I'd just finished shopping at Tangs at 7pm without success) and the motto that a hungry man is an angry man, I quickly concluded that it would be no fun shopping with an angry man and it would be better for both of us to have his needs met before mine.

So, the moment we got to Ion, we headed straight for the eateries. He was hungry enough to suggest Burger King (which told me he was downright starving) but I wasn't in the mood for beef and there wasn't a queue at Aoba Hokkaido Ramen. All the tables were taken so we had to wait a couple of minutes before being shown to a table. Service was prompt enough with the menus put in our hands within minutes of us sitting down. The list of items available was delightfully short and simple with fairly accurate pictures of the food.

I ordered the Shio Scallop Ramen at SGD 12.80++ (see pic below) which came within 10mins from the time I placed the order. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. My companion who tried some of the soup said that it was tasteless and that the noodles were like maggi mee. I could not agree more. It wasn't worth the money, I'm afraid. Give me my beloved collagen ramen anytime! If we go back there (which I'm sure we will, if you read on), I'll probably order something else.

While eating, we noticed the table next to us had ordered a cheesy dish which looked rather appetising and my companion was minded to try the same. This, despite my glancing at my watch pointedly and that we had almost finished our noodles. We ended up waiting almost 15mins for the dish to come, by which time, we had asked the kitchen twice to hurry and my patience-o-meter was pointing to the red zone. When the cheesy tofu finally came, we agreed it was worth the wait. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. I never knew that melting warm cheese over piping hot toufu could be such a delish combination. 2 mins after it was served, we both found ourselves scrapping the bottom of the hotplate for more. Do try this dish if you are there. I can't remember the price but it should be less than SGD 10.

I'm not sure if this restaurant takes reservations but here are the contact detrails:

Aoba@ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #B3-25
ION Orchard Singapore
Tel: 6509 9394

There are 2 other outlets. the first at Vivo City located at #01-104/105 Tel No: 6376 9519 and the second at Manpuku Japanese Gourmet Town, 10 Tampines Central #03-16 Tel: 6789 6810

Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Restaurant near NUS

Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Restaurant sells the famous teochew boneless duck and I'd been eating there since my NUS days. Almost a decade later, I'm still eating at this restaurant once every 2 months or so because my boss (also from NUS) loves the food there. The day I was to drive up to Rompin, we went to the restaurant for lunch and as usual, parking there was a real challenge - I handed my keys over to the restaurant's helper who specialises in helping customers to park their vehicles for them. As usual, during lunch time, the restaurant was pretty packed with the lunch time crowd. I'm not sure about accessibility by buses but the restaurant is located at the start of pasir panjang road (one should exit at the Science Park Exit on the AYE, keep left while making the exit and at the first traffic light, turn right to go down the long winding road. The drive is worth it, trust me and one should eat at this restaurant at least once in one's life. We had duck meat of course. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Mouth watering boneless tender duck that is served together with fresh slices of cucumber. The gravy is of the right consistency and taste. One has a choice of rice or porridge and one can ask for more gravy which comes in a seperate bowl. While I wouldn't make this my last dish on earth, the duck here ranks second in my books behind Xiao Dian Er's duck dishes. We also had 2 plates of sambal kangkong per the picture below. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. The kangkong is fried light and crispy and not soggy but has quite too many stems and too little gravy. Not a must try item. The restaurant also sells eggs, innards/liver but this time we decided to have the prawn dish (see pic below). The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. While the gravy was somewhat lipsmackingly tasty, the prawns did not taste fresh or sweet and were rather shrivelled and small in size. The cost of the dish was prohibitively expensive too for such quality and I wouldn't recommend this dish. So before we left, I decided to ta pao (take away) what was good which was the boneless duck and have that for dinner since I was leaving straight from the office to go to Rompin. The cost of the package of duck meat rice below was SGD 4. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. The duck meat needs to be eaten at the restaurant with loads of gravy. The difference between eating warm/hot duck dishes and a packet of duck rice which has turned slightly cold is huge! Do not take away from this restaurant but eat there instead if you want to enjoy the full flavor of the duck. For those who want to call or visit the restaurant, the details such as the full name, address and contact number of the restaurant is printed on the cover of each takeaway packet (see the pic below).