Paitan Ramen at Men-Ichi Ramen Restaurant

Coincidentally, the day after eating at Nantstuttei Ramen Restaurant, I had a dinner appointment with a friend at Jurong Point. And guess what we had? Yeah, ramen.

I was at the Japanese food street (consisting of Kushin Bo and other Jap restaurants) at Jurong Point and Men-Ichi Ramen caught my eye because it was smallish and I hadn't seen any other outlets before. So I joined the queue (oh, that was a criterion too) and ordered the Paitan Tonkatsu Char Siew Ramen at SGD15.

Paitan (which translates to white soup) ramen is the restaurant's current promotion and the soup is without a doubt, one of the richest and creamiest ramen soup base I've had. The noodles though, of which there wasn't too much of, was pretty ordinary and rather springy like instant noodles instead of authentic ramen noodles.

If you go to the restaurant's website (click here), it states that this Paitan ramen promotion is for a limited period only so if you are into creamy ramen, Jurong Point is the place to go until they open more outlets in the country

Nantsuttei ramen at Parco Marina Bay

When we were just friends, my CEB and I hung out pretty often at Ajisen. It was either dinner there or at Cafe Cartel. Week after week. After watching my CEB down about say, 80 bowls of volcano ramen, we/I decided that it was time for a change. And so one weekend evening while at the Marina Bay belt, we joined the long queue outside Nantsuttei Ramen restaurant.

We were given counter seats so we had a bird's eye view of how the noodles were prepared. And the chefs in the kitchen appeared to be actually Japanese and not locals. I ordered a bowl of the original Nantsuttei Ramen which cost SGD12. The egg cost an additional SGD 1. As you can tell from the picture below, there is unfortunately, only 1 slice of char siew in the bowl of noodles but the entire meal was flavorful with just the right amount of roasted garlic oil that did not leave a greasy film on the lips.

My CEB on the other hand, ordered a bowl of the hot/spicy ramen with a "hotness" level of 4. Apparently, someone actually ordered a bowl with a "hotness" level of 10 before and lived to tell the tale. My CEB however declined to challenge that record claiming he was here to enjoy a meal and not suffer. Oh well, in any case, by the time he was done, he was perspiring but well satiated.

The Slog Reviews: Definitely good authentic ramen with great noodles texture and slurp-worthy soup :)

Address:

9 Raffles Boulevard #P3-06

Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk Singapore
Tel: +65 6337 7166

Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice at Toa Payoh

1 of the places that sells the most delicious and tender soya sauce chicken is Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice Stall at Toa Payoh, a traffic light or so down from the exit door of Risen Christ church. I've eaten at this place for years, and the staff and quality has not changed one bit. The shop has undergone renovations of course, over the years and from the pic below, is evidently well-lit and clean with about10+ tables in the restaurant, and a counter for takeaways. Other than soya sauce chicken, the stall also sells other types of roast meat and veg dishes but believe it or not, I've never even bothered to try the other dishes because the soya sauce chicken is THAT good.

If there are 2 of us, I'll order half a chicken and a bowl of sui jiao soup. And if there are 4 of us, like there were last Sunday, 1 chicken (See the pic below) is just the right amount for all. And before I forget, the chili that the stall serves is mighty good too (a little sweet), but it is unlikely that one would eat much of it given how mouth-watering the dark sauce that the chicken comes in, is.

The price was pretty reasonable at SGD 30 for the entire chicken (not a very big one though, there were loads of cucumber slices under the chicken meat), and about SGD 10 for 1 big of sui kao (dumpling) soup which had about 10 sui kao. We asked for a couple of refills for the big bowl of soup and the service staff was friendly and prompt in bringing us bowls of steaming fragrant soup. Be warned though that one gets rather thirsty after drinking all the soup.

So, if one is in the mood for great soya sauce chicken, do go to

Lee Fun Nam Kee at Blk 94 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh.

Opening Hours: 11am to 3pm, and 5pm to 9pm

Tel No: 6255 0891

What must be the best beef noodles in Singapore

I'd been wanting to write about this place for some time, and blogging about the beef noodles we had at Seremban reminded me that I had yet to.

So. I believe this place sells the best beef noodles in Singapore. The stall is located in the hawker centre opposite Parkway Parade Mall, along the same stretch of stalls as the famous and popular wet fried kway teoh stall.

We always order the dry version which comes with a small bowl of soup. The gravy is extraordinarily delicious and the beef, oh, the beef is so tender and sweet. The best bit is of course, the hawker is pretty generous with the amount of meat given for each bowl he dishes out. Looking at this picture brings back the memory of how absolutely delish this dish is...and easy on the pocket too.

Be warned though that the place does a pretty brisk business - we were disappointed a couple of times when we got there at almost 8pm for the stall was already closing for the day.

Yee Kee Beef Noodles at Seremban

Thanks to the friendly and helpful server at Pasar Besar where we bought more of the famous Empayar Seremban Siew Pau who gave us clear directions (go pass Jusco which will be on your left and at the end of the road where you see a Petronas, turn left), we managed to have some famous Seremban beef noodles while in Seremban. When we got there about 6.20pm, there was only 1 other table occupied at this so-called famous beef noodles stall and I had my misgivings. But it was too late to do anything and so we sat down and looked through the menu which was pretty extensive with set meals (RM 13 for a bowl of noodles, beef ball soup and a drink) and stand alone beef noodle dishes.

The picture below shows the interior of the restaurant. I found it strange too that most of the servers were Malays and not Chinese, given that beef noodles are more of a Chinese dish than Malay dish.

And where we were seated had me facing a mural that covered the entire wall of peaceful grass-eating cows. However, even the cow staring straight out at me did not faze me or my CEB from tucking into the bowls of dry beef noodles, which were served within minutes.

Here is a close up picture of the beef noodles. I had the set that came with the soup while my CEB ordered a large bowl of dry beef noodles (there is the option of a regular bowl but my CEB being my CEB....).

I should mention here too that Yee Kee Beef noodle stall sells more than just beef noodles per the poster they had up below. If not for the fact that we had a complimentary buffet dinner waiting for us back at our hotel in Port Dickson, we would have tried the other dishes too.

Or maybe not. Now, if one has limited capacity, one should definitely just order a bowl of their ultra-delicious dry beef noodles. Despite my CEB's resolution not to eat everything (so he would have space in his tummy for the buffet), he finished the entire bowl of beef noodles and even eyed my below. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. We agreed that Seremban beef noodles are indeed the best. The gravy was not too thick or salty but was just the right texture and taste, and the noodles were cooked to soft perfection, sliding down our throats together with the sauce. The seasoning of nuts and sour veg made a perfect complement to the gravy and noodles. The only thing that could do with some improvement was the beef - not that it wasn't tasty or well cooked but this dish would have been perfect if the beef was sliced beef fillet.

I should also mention here that my CEB said that the beef balls were the best he ever had - they were so springy that when he bit down on them, he could feel the sponginess and the soup squirting out of 'em balls.

In any case, I would definitely recommend a visit to this beef noodles stall if one is in Seremban. I don't have the exact address but I took a picture of the road's signboard on our way out and I hope that helps, in addition to the directions at the start of this post.

In search of the famous Seremban Siew Pow

I feel like 1 of those sad characters in stories where there is a race to the finish line and one just makes it in the nick of time...only to find out that the prize one was racing for was given away.

We left Berjaya Times Square at 4.15pm and since Seremban was on the way back, we decided to buy the famous Seremban siew pau. Now, based on my research the night before, I'd read that the best siew pau was from Kee Mei Siew Pau in Seremban. Despite setting my GPS for the address, it was difficult finding the way to the shop as it was off the main road (a road behind the main road) and one had to really look out for the place. (Address: 1849 Jalan Tok Ungku. Contact No: 06-633 6219)

I knew the shop closed at 5pm and after my CEB asking at 2 restaurants for the exact location, we finally found the shop...at exactly 5pm. I pumped my fist in the air with glee when I saw the shop was still open, and with a mouth full of drool in anticipation of the hot siew pau that I would reward myself with, I rushed into the shop.

Only to find that all the siew paus were sold out. Every single epithet I'd learnt, English, Chinese and Hokkien, filled my mouth in place of the warm savory buns. Since I knew better than to spit them out, the lady boss seeing me wordlessly staring at the empty tray where those damn siew paus used to be, suggested that I return the next day at 7am when they opened. She was even prepared to reserve some of those pows for me. But alas, when I told her we were staying at Port Dickson, she agreed it was too far for us just to drive back for the paus.

Since there was nothing to be had but to move on without my pows, we went next to the alternative source: Warong Serembang Siew Pow shop which was located at 1607 Jalan Rasah (Phone number in case you get lost is 06 764 9360).

There were many W-plate cars (KL folks) there and the shop did a pretty brisk business of selling its paus, which thankfully it had in abundance per the pic below. Although I was thankful that we hadn't make a wasted trip to Seremban and we could at least try the paus, I felt a tinge of regret that I couldn't compare these paus to the ones from Kee Mei - the paus that got away.

Anyway, as it was almost dinner time and although we had a complimentary dinner waiting for us back at the hotel, my CEB wanted to go for the Seremban beef noodles and I keyed in the address Pasar Besar into my GPS because that was where the famous 747 beef noodle stall was supposed to be. To our surprise, we ended up instead at another famous Seremban Siew Pau shop. There was a restaurant in the premises but the attraction was the siew paus and being KS Singaporeans, we joined the queue just because we were there.

Well, it turned out that no one knew about the so-called famous Seremban beef noodles at this market and the restaurant most certainly did not sell beef noodles. I even asked if the beef noodle stall was on the second level of the market but the helpers around all replied in the negative. However, one of them did direct us to a beef noodle stall which I shall blog about next.

Oh, and guess what, the siew paus we bought from this famous Seremban Siew Pau shop was exactly the same as the ones we bought from Warong, right down to the packaging. We hadn't realized that at the time we bought the same and so we ended up with 12 Siew Paus.

I ate about 5 in the night and I thought that the crust was nice and flaky , and the meat juicy and tasty despite the pau's rather unappealing appearance. And if you are after the famous Seremban Siew Paus, do eat them when they are piping hot. The ones we got were right from the oven and even in their boxes, filled the car with a wonderful mouth-watering porky fragrance.

Weng Yin Seafood Village at Port Dickson

I figured that since we were so near the west coast of Malaysia, having at least one seafood meal was a must. "Google-ing" "best seafood restaurant in Port Dickson" threw up the name of this restaurant "Weng Yin Seafood Restaurant" more than once.

And hence, we decided to have our last meal in Port Dickson at Weng Yin before driving back to Singapore. The restaurant is located almost opposite Thistle Hotel, and next to PD polyclinic. You can't miss the place from the main road, given how close it is. The pic below shows how the interior looks like and it is evidently pretty crowded on a Sunday afternoon (about 12noon) for lunch. There were many cars with the local number plates, so we figured we were going to have a great lunch.

Well. Let me start by saying that the servers were very polite, helpful and friendly. They showed us to a table and gave us a menu which had no prices next to the dishes. We figured it couldn't be too expensive given the ambiance (or should I say lack of) so we ordered crabs. But we must have offended the God of Seafood that day because we were informed, rather regretfully, that the restaurant had no crabs.

So, we decided to order the other dishes we'd read about on the web. The first dish was the sambal kangkong. The Slog Reviews: 6.5/10. This dish was the really wet, loads of oily moist not spicy gravy kind. It was not definitely not outstanding in any way but was the 2nd best dish of the lot we ordered.

As there were no crabs, we decided to have the Kam Heong Lala (instead of Kam Heong crabs). Alas, alas, the slog reviews: 5/10. This dish was so ordinary tasting with overly salty sauce and shells which was smallish in size and tough in meat. Enough said.

And because we would not have a chance to stop by my favourite Muar restaurant for my beloved otah, I thought my craving for otah would be satisfied with a helping of hot plate otah but instead, I was most sorely disappointed. The Slog Reviews: 1/10. Yes, just 1 point for the dish being edible. The otah was so horribly tasteless except for the excessive sprinkling of pepper on the otah. I would absolutely not recommend this dish to anyone else.

The only saving grace in my opinion was the 3 flavored fish. This was a 750gm fish which was not only fresh but cooked very well so as to be very nicely crispy on the outside yet moist and not burnt at all on the inside. The thick sauce on the top of the fish was something we'd never had before and went very well (slightly sweetish it was) with the fish. I would say that if one had to go this restaurant, this fish dish is a must-order.

Anyway, the meal I had at Weng Yin was one of the shortest most unpleasant meals I've ever had. Not because of the food or the service...but because of the sheer number of flies. It was horrid, simply a horrid experience trying to eat with the flies landing boldly on the straws of our drinks and taking every opportunity to land on the dishes with their dirty "Gawd-knows-which-pile-of-dung-they-have-been" legs. 

We spent much time swiping away the flies until towards the end of the meal, a lady server brought over some lighted candles (flies-repellents) to the table. But guess what - the flies still buzzed around and when the flame of one candle went out, a few flies boldly landed on the candle too.

Oh, and there is no air-conditioned area at all. I would absolutely never go back to Weng Yin, even though it was amazingly cheap (the fish was only RM34 and the total meal was about RM50+).

哩香海鮮村 Weng Yin Seafood Village KM15.5, (Batu 10), Jalan Pantai, 71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Phone: +60(6)6627559, +60(12)6281660 URL: www.portdickson.net/wengyinseaf ood

Lucky Seafood Restaurant at Lukut in Port Dickson

One of the "must eat" places in / near the Port Dickson Area is Lucky Seafood Restaurant which houses the infamous Lucky King Bun stall. When we were there, every single table at the restaurant (the entire place is non-conditioned, more like a coffee shop) had at least one curry chicken bun from the stall. And there were quite a few folks queuing to "take away" a bun. Although the female server rattled off the restaurant's specialties (which was kind of touching given that she must know from experience that everyone goes there solely, if not primarily for the chicken curry bun), we decided to have just one curry chicken bun to share for brunch.

The cost of our curry chicken bun above was about RM 24 (I'm guessing this is the price cos we paid RM27 for the bun below and a can of coke). My CEB said the dish was like "Jin Zheng Tou" and nothing exceptional. However, his actions spoke louder than his words, and he ate at least 65% of the dish, ripping off the soft buttery fragrant bread slices and soaking them in the thick flavorful warm curry. *wipes drool.

As you can tell from the picture above, there was plenty of chicken meat and potatoes in the bun - quite sufficient for 2 hungry folks, and all of it, especially the curry gravy which was amazingly tasty despite not being spicy. Coupled with the prompt and friendly service, and the lack of flies, I would recommend this restaurant to all who go by P.D.

To make things easier for all, here is the exact address and telephone number of Lucky King Bun / Lucky Seafood Restaurant / Lukut Seafood Restaurant. 好運海鮮飯店 Lucky King Bun (Lucky Seafood Restaurant) No.4366, Taman Aman, Lukut, 71010 Port Dickson Negeri Sembilan. Phone: +60 (6) 651 2392 (Mdm. Lew)

As the restaurant was in Lukut which was in the direction of Kuala Lumpur from Port Dickson, we decided to try driving up to KL. With the help of the trusty GPS, and after several tolls, we reached Berjaya Times Square in about one and a half hours (there wasn't a traffic jam because it was the eve of a public holiday)

Madam Kwan's @ Suria KLCC

Many of my fellow countrymen have recommended that I have at least one meal at Madam Kwan and until the last trip, despite my frequently pausing before its restaurant's entrance, I've resisted having a meal at the restaurant because of its "zi cha" menu. Stuff like Otah, Nasi Lemak, Assam Prawns, all these I've eaten all too often, whether locally or in JB.

However, simply because we've never eaten at Madam Kwan before, we decided to join the crowd in the restaurant and have at least one meal there.

So we did. And a rather expensive and unremarkable affair it turned out to be. Good enough food but definitely overpriced given the quality and type of food served. I'll tell you how much the meal above turned out to be - RM111 - and the only item not shown is my longan drink which cost RM5. The nasi lemak was RM15+, the nasi bojari RM 22.90, kangkong (small) RM14.50 and the plate of assam prawns (large) was RM 37.50.

It was more than enough food for the both of us, and the food was decent enough without being extraordinary BUT I would definitely not recommend this restaurant to my fellow countrymen given the prices, unremarkable service and interior decor, and the type of food served.

Iketeru @ Hilton Hotel KL Sentral

At the recommendation of a friend who is a Jap-food lover and because we were staying at Meridien which is just next to, and conveniently connected to Hilton Hotel (they share the same swimming pools), my CEB and I decided to have dinner and lunch at Iketeru last month. My CEB had flown in on a Fri afternoon and was starving because he hadn't had a chance to grab a bite before his flight. However, the prices on the menu certainly gave pause to his appetite. And mine as well. As it was one of the rare times I was feeling healthy, I ordered the black cod from the teppenyaki menu. It came done excellently but the portion wasn't very much for RM50. I also ordered a plate of shitake mushrooms from the teppenyaki menu for us to share and that was amore reasonably priced at RM17. I would definitely recommend this delicious dish with its crisp garlic chips at the side. My CEB ordered the gyu katsu curry which he proclaimed delicious after a few mouthfuls. This again was reasonably priced (as compared to the rest of the menu) at just RM60. Even with the complimentary green tea (free flow), the bill for dinner came up to almost RM160. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to go back to Iketeru until I have deeper pockets!

The next day, we went back for the recommended Sunday buffet lunch and despite the cost RM131.10 per pax (inclusive of tax), the restaurant was pretty fully booked. Lunch started at 12 and ended about 2.30pm, and unlike the normal buffets where the food is laid out, most of the food had to be ordered off the menu alacarte style. There was quite a nice variety with teppenyaki, noodles, rice and even some soups on the menu. Sashimi on the other hand, as well as the makis had to be ordered from the chefs behind the glass-covered counters. From a websearch of the restaurant, it seems that Iketeru is one of the more famous Japanese restaurants in KL, and indeed the quality of each dish we had testifies to that. Do not expect quantity though (even for the buffets where each order means just enough and not in excess).

Lao Beijing @ Novena Square

Last Sunday, my mum suggested Lao Beijing because of a prior pleasant experience we had there before. The "8 Treasures" Tea (in Chinese, "Ba Bao Cha") we had for about SGD3 each was very sweet and refreshing, something I would recommend instead of the usual kind of teas like pu-er and ju-hua.

Because it was about 2.20pm when we reached there, we weren't quite so hungry any more and decided to order dim sum. But Lao Beijing doesn't have a dim sum menu at all. So we ordered the Xiao Long Bao which came in a basket of 8 for about SGD12. The Slog Reviews: No complaints at all about the quality or quantity. The skin was soft but firm, as was the meat but it isn't an exceptionally tasty dish.

We also decided to order another "dim-sum" like dish which was some bamboo shoots wrapped in the same skin as the xiao long bao. The Slog Reviews: These were far less tender and a bit dry compared to the xiao long bao dish. And, they were more expensive too. Definitely would not recommend this dish below over the xiao long baos!

My CEB was in the mood for toufu and he ordered the hot plate spicy beancurd with seafood which turned out to be a most excellent choice. The small scallops and shrimps in the dish went very well with the soft fresh quivering cubes of toufu, and the sauce was too die far. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Definitely would recommend this dish to anyone going to Lao Beijing!

1 of my ex-suitors had brought me to Lao Beijing for its duck dish and so I thought the braised duck would be a good choice but alas. It was the furthest thing from good. The Slog Reviews: 1/10. This half a duck below which cost SGD19 was a pure waste of money and was not only pathetic in quantity but quality. The meat was tough and tasteless, the skin too dry and the sauce horrible. To tell you the truth, I was embarrassed for Lao Beijing that a restaurant of its standing would actually serve such an awful tasting dish!

I would recommend the pork trotters dish instead which we had the last time (See pic below) - it was a million times better than the duck dish above!

We ended the meal with a plate of red bean sesame pancake per the pic below. Like the prior experience, it was very good and devoured quickly by both my CEB and my mother. :)

I would have really liked the mango and coconut mousse dessert that we had the last time but my CEB claims to hate mango and so we gave this dessert a miss. Which is a mistake because I actually have a craving for the same, just by looking at the picture below. The mango inside was sweet and soft and the crisp flaky coconut on the outside was a perfect complement.

Address: Velocity@Novena Square #02-11/12 238 Thomson Road Singapore 307683 Tel : +65 6358 4466

Shark Fin at Thai Village

Over lunch on Sunday, my mum had raved so much about the Shark Fin Soup she had at Thai Village @ Goodwood Park that my CEB decided that he would take me there to celebrate our 2nd Monthiversary.

So I checked out Thai Village Restaurant's webpage and there was a listing for a branch at Changi. However when I called the tel number, I was told it was a residential number. So I called Goodwood Park and the staff confirmed that the Changi branch was closed. So rather than try to make it to town, we decided to go to the one at Stadium Walk and I made reservations at 7.30pm.

We only got there at 8.15pm because the restaurant was not where it was listed on the webpage - Oasis building! It was actually located on the first floor of Kallang Leisure Park. When I called the restaurant at 7.45pm looking for directions, the staff confirmed the address was at Stadium Walk which was where Oasis Building is. It was most frustrating and I had a telecon with the US at 9pm which I had to postpone. Bah - Thai Village needs to update its webpage!

Anyway because I was busy on my BB trying to postpone my telecon call, I left it to my CEB to select the dishes and place our order. We started with a medium sized bowl of shark fin soup, the cost of which was about SGD90. As per the picture below, the size of the shark fin in the soup was rather sizable and the texture was amazingly soft and chewy against the mushy texture of the soup.

I have to confess that although the bowl of soup was meant to be shared, my CEB gave me the lion's share of the shark fin. This is the last time I will be eating shark fin though. Even though I am an avid angler, I don't like fishing for sport and thinking about the inhumane way sharks are killed just for their fins, which are in fact tasteless, makes me quite ill. So while I am grateful for my CEB's generosity this time, no more shark fin. The pic below marks the last bowl of shark fin I will be ordering.

My CEB also ordered a plate of roast duck breast at my request. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. This must be one of the best duck meat dishes I've ever had! The sauce was nothing to shout about, being too tangy but the meat...the meat! How tender and soft it was with just the right amount of seasoning and fats. A must try for all duck meat lovers!

My CEB had a strange craving for beancurd in XO sauce which turned out to be a really good choice because it was a simple dish yet tasty enough because of the sauce.

I think the bill for just these 3 dishes came up to about S$140 and it was worth every cent!

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