Wow! I didn’t expect a 2-day-1-night trip to span over 7 days of blog posting but there’s just too much I want to share, like the unblemished simple-styled yet tasty food and the pulchritudinous landscapes of Sungei Lembing, an old tin mining town, that has in recent years become an exciting tourist destination for Malaysians and foreigners alike.

All good things must come to an end and this is it, folks! We’re on our way back to Singapore but first, a stopover at Ooi Kee Restaurant for lunch in Endau, a small town located north of Mersing, Malaysia. Endau lies on the northern tip of east Johor and the southern tip of Pahang. It is known for being one of the largest fishing ports on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Restoran Ooi Kee is located in an idyllic fishing village – Endau, Mersing, Johor, Malaysia.

Our last groupie meal.
Michael said, “Trust me” when I asked what we were having for lunch.

Fish Head Curry.

It’s like a one pot meal with proteins and vegetables.

Egg Fuyong.

Chicken stewed with Bittergourd.

Stir-fried Greens.

Taukee (Dried Beancurd Sticks) and canned Button Mushrooms.
This was meant for Michael who had recently turned vegan but some of the boys didn’t realised that and started digging into the pot devouring the clear broth, nodding their heads approvingly of the tasty (I think it’s similar to BKT ) soup.
Of course, generous Michael didn’t mention anything.

The sign usually rean “No outside food and & drinks” in Singapore but here in Restoran Ooi Kee, the folks were helpful enough to stir-fry the leftovers of our Lembing Roasted Pork take-away.

Robin (standing) was reluctant to leave his seat for this picture as he was hungry.
“Why me?” he asked, when I said to move. Lol…
I was puzzled with Benny’s action in this frame when I took the picture until he posted…

The shooter’s been shot! :D
Photo courtesy of Benny Ng.

Enjoy the video:

So many fond memories we brought back with us. Benny is already planning a Sekinchan trip with Michael and Mr. Aw said he is looking forward to it! As for me, it spells another shot at the Milky Way :D

We’re on our way back to Singapore after lunch but there’s always room for dessert!
We’re heading to a petrol station to get Magnum Ice Creams when the bus gets refuelled later! ;-)
Photo courtesy of Benny Ng.

Map from Singapore to Sungai Lembing by land.

Restoran Ooi Kee
*Address: Jalan Endau Mersing & AH18,
86900 Endau, Johor.
Malaysia.

*Address given may not be exact as I got redirected from Foursquare to this location but this homey restaurant is in Endau, Mersing (a fishing village), Johor, Malaysia.

Happy eating, traveling and bonding :D

Our photography outing was lead by Michael Lee of Xing Asia (亚洲行). You may contact him at: info@xing-asia.com or visit their website: http://www.xing-asia.com/

Xing Asia provides exceptional value and authentic experience for like-minded people to experience Asia through photography.

Photos with Penguin Pictures watermarks are courtesy of Benny Ng.

I was on full steam last week with a few Malaysian friends heading back to their hometown for reunion dinners so we had ours earlier. No doubt Lo Hei was served earlier this year, too! Well, after one particular Lo Hei lunch, I went on to karaoke and then a photography outing to Chinatown to shoot some of the festive mood in Chinatown Singapore. After that, I had supper with my photography kakis, frog porridge! Now, don’t jump (pun intended) at that. It’s yummilicious and you’ll see in my next post :D

Next is here! Gribbit! ;-)

I wasn’t really hungry as I had had a scrumptious huge lunch and lots of alcohol earlier in the day but I was being greedy. I needed to satisfy my cravings for something like porridge or dim sum. The boys who were with me didn’t want to eat either but I always go out with nice people so they relented and went supper with me.

Most places were closed by now since it could be 11pm or past midnight, we didn’t even check our time even though it was a Wednesday with most of us having to work the next day.

I said, “How about porridge from the famous corner shop?” Desmond said he got tired of waiting for table at Chang Cheng so he went to the next shop (during his past few visits and has been eating there since) and the porridge was not too bad. We went there to check the place out. Upon reaching, I realised it was another famous cze char place in Geylang branching out and they are also well known for their porridge, in particular the kungpao style frog porridge!

“Oh, G7 Sinma. They have buy 4 get 3 free frogs menu!” I was happy. It only cost SGD30 and comes with a claypot of piping hot flavoursome congee.

G7 Sin Ma Chinatown shop.
Apparently, they have a few branches across the island now.

We waited quite a long time for our food to arrive and that’s understandable. The porridge needed time to be simmered further to a rich grainless consistency, like thickened congee.

I said further simmered because the porridge is already cooked.
They had to further cook it like reduction?
You get what I mean. I was just being irritating, hahaha :D

Whenever someone asks how a foreign or exotic food tastes like, the common meat association tends to be, “It tastes like chicken.” It’s so cliche but I’m telling you these bull frogs really do but they were sweeter and more tender than chicken!

Deep-fried Pig’s Intestines was done very nicely with no offensive smell.
Chitterling is usually the small intestines but sometimes, they use the term even for the big intestines.
I guess it is less gross (to some) than to call it deep-fried pig’s big intestines which means sh*t tube.

Bittergourd stir-fried with omelet.

Homestyle Tofu with Haebee (dried shrimps).

G7 Sinma Live Bull Frog Claypot Porridge
Address: 267 New Bridge Road.
Singapore 088746.

Tel: +65 6222 6797

Happy eating and bonding :D

See posts with the fellows in:
Kampong Glam

Sungei Lembing Trip – Part 1 (7 parts)

Kukup Resort Here I Come Pt.2 (3 parts)

P.S. Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year and I will be busy visiting friends and relatives for the next few days. Here’s wishing all of you who are also celebrating a very HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! :D

祝你新春愉快，万事如意！

The night before, I was partaking Reunion Dinner at my sister’s home when my friend WhatsApp-ed to invite my family and I to lunch.

“Hey, I’ve got shitload of food for steamboat and meat for grilling. Want to come over tomorrow for lunch at 12nn?”

Invitation accepted!

Valerie and Ryan would be visiting my in-laws (Ryan’s family) for their first 설날 (Seollal) which is similar to our Spring Festival – 春节 (chūnjié), so they could not make it to this lunch. Vanessa and Sam went with me.

Valerie’s first New Year lunch at her in-laws.
LA Galbi, mini pancakes, crab stew, pepper wings, japchae, kimchi, bean sprouts and purple Korean rice.
Photo courtesy of Valerie.

Yup! That’s definitely a shitload of food for 5 people ;-)

We’re waiting for the broth to be heated up on the kitchen stove before transferring into the steamboat pot which would then be placed on the table.

The ingredients laboriously prepared for our lunch.

Round things are auspicious because they symbolise never-ending.
Fish balls, lobster balls, fish paste and meat rolls as well as cheese tofu for the steamboat.

Sambal belachan, cut chillies with light soy and sweet chilli sauce with pineapple (now that’s quite special).
The sauce that scored was the sambal belachan (top left)!
Vanessa said, “Spicy with a kick!”

Meats for grilling.
Can you guess which is lamb?
I can’t make out as there was no strong gamey smell of lamb and the colours looked the same after cooking.

Steamboat or Hotpot is a common Reunion Dinner and CNY Lunch/Dinner option as everyone gathered around the table to cook and enjoy the meal. It encourages intimate mingling and communications using food as a bonding tool.

Steamboat – our first meal of Spring Festival.
Lunch was ready!

See the cheese in tofu?
I doubt the tofu was purely soybean as the texture was denser and firmer than silken tofu.
It should be a variation, seafood (paste) tofu perhaps.

These are not ordinary udon.
They are fish paste and wheat flour noodles.
Very tasty with natural “sweetness” of the sea not unlike those I had from Tonny’s Restaurant.

Halfway through eating, we were served a very sweet wine, Trockenbeerenauslesen (TBA) from Austria.

Trockenbeerenauslesen is the highest in sugar content in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classifications. To me, the sweet taste was similar to Canada’s Ice Wine except that it was not as cloying like the latter. It is best drunk very chilled but not icy cold. Because it was still considered very sweet, we did not over-indulge, sipping and refilling (once poured, the bottle was returned to the chiller immediately) very little at a time so that it remain chilled when we drink. I like it and I think it paired well with our steamboat lunch.

Alois Kracher Jr. (February 23, 1959 – December 5, 2007, Illmitz) was one of the most successful winemakers of Austria, and was known under the nickname “Luis”. The wines from his vineyard Weinlaubenhof Kracher reached a world reputation and high acclaim from international wine critics such as Robert M. Parker, Jr., who awarded 98 points or higher on his famous 100-point scale to several of Kracher’s wine. His fame was mainly built on his sweet wines, so called Trockenbeerenauslesen (TBA) of high sweetness and enormous concentration that results from the development of noble rot on the grapes. Local conditions on the shallow Lake Neusiedl, where the Kracher vineyards are situated, are conducive to the development of Botrytis cinerea (the fungus responsible for noble rot). – Wikipedia

After I’ve had my share, I saw a “newcomer” on the table. The marbling was wonderful. I asked what cut those were. I was informed they were Meltique Beef. I hope I got the word right. I’ve never had it before. I was further let on that those were artificial marbling – injected with sunflower oil.

Meltique Beef.

YuLi said nothing beats the flavours of well marbled beef but they can be very expensive. Meltique beef is very tender and offers a cheaper option.

YuLi and I.

I did some reading online and found out that the idea of oil-injected meats is nothing new (https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/356/356.F2d.1013.7595.html). I suppose it is a technique parallel to larding with caul or barding with bacon, except that liquid fat is used instead of solid. An alternative to the traditional way of using strips of fat and a larding needle.

I was given a piece of the sunflower oil-injected grilled meat. The initial juiciness was the same as any beef but on continued chewing, the meat stayed tender and juicy, something which less marbled and unlarded meat cannot sustain. It was so tender that earlier I was able to break up the meat with a spoon. In other words, the fork-tenderness of this chunk did not have to undergo long cooking to break down its muscle or fibre. How about flavours?

For me, marbling is more than just the presence of fats. Natural marbling is the ultimate indication of breed and feed of the cattle. I’m lucky I do not have a horde of hungry boys to feed so my occasional indulgence of good beef is justified.

CNY Tangerines are a must have and it was nice to have other fruits on the platter.

We had a wonderful meal and time with our host and friends.
Thank you for having us over :D

Happy eating and bonding :)

Previous posts on Fish Noodle and Steamboat Meals:
Tonny Restaurant @ Geylang Lorong 3

Delicious Makan Trail In Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia! Part 5 (Yong’s Steam Bot Garden 泳池海鲜生锅園)

Hualong Fishhead Steamboat 華龍魚頭爐

Whampoa Food Street (KENG) – Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant

136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head Steamboat 香港街魚頭爐

Le Le Pot 乐乐锅 @ Seng Poh Road

The Wood Horse Has Arrived! 马年已到!

En Japanese Dining Bar – Irrashaimase いっらしゃいませ

Crystal Jade Korean BBQ Buffet – Boil and Broil

Wanna Lok Lok? – Malaysia Local Delights

Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market 노량진수산시장 Part 2

Early Reunion Steamboat Dinner @ King Restaurant (Macau)

Tai Shan Shui Lao Rong 台山水老荣

Last Sunday, I was invited to Chaine des Rottiseurs (Singapore) Annual Lo Hei Dinner. This year, the venue was Peach Blossoms @ Marina Mandarin Hotel. Dress code evening elegance.

I do not own a Cheongsam so the next most suitable attire was a dress that Valerie got me. This Chinese-Korean costume required a little skill and thus my search on YouTube began frantically at the eleventh hour when I realised Valerie has forgotten how to tie an Otkorum.

After following the tutorial, I still couldn’t do a good job (it’s supposed to be a rectangular knot with the bow facing inwards) but I left it as it was since Andrew would be here any minute.

Marina Mandarin Hotel.

The F&B outlets are confined to the 4th and 5th levels of the hotel.
This is the 4th level.

Of course, I had to look up. Me and my wandering eyes, remember? ;-)

Cocktails, Champagne and Mingling!!!

I don’t know why but I kept thinking the name of the Chinese restaurant was Cherry Blossoms when it is Peach Blossoms!

This year’s CNY Lo Hei Menu for Chaine des Rottiseurs Singapore.

Lo Hei is always eaten as the first dish.

Marina Mandarin Premium Yu Sheng with Mixed Fruits served with Traditional Plum Sauce.
(Salmon, Hokkigai, Fugu & Fish Skin)
2011 JJ Prum Gracher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett.

Double-boiled Sea Whelk Soup wuth Morchella and Flower Mushroom in Clear Soup.
2011 JJ Prum Gracher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett.

Alaskan King Crab on Steamed Egg White topped with Fragrant Minced Garlic and Spring Onions.
2011 JJ Prum Gracher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett.

BBQ Suckling Pig Roll (on left is Jellyfish).
2007 Au Bon Climat Knox Alexander Pinot Noir.

I was very impressed with how the chefs shaved and manipulated the crispy skin to wrap around the Chinese Waxed Sausage.

Braisd Amadai in Chicken Bouillon.
2007 Au Bon Climat Knox Alexander Pinot Noir.

Braised 8-headed Whole Abalone, Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Dried Scallop, Shimeji Mushroom, Prawn and Black Moss.
2005 E Guigal Chateauneuf de Pape.

Baked Claypot Rice with Four Kinds of Chinese Preserved Meat.
2005 E Guigal Chateauneuf de Pape.

Chocolate Egg Tar and Poached Mini Pear with Bird’s Nest and Pomelo.
2010 Familie Perrin Muscat Beaume des Venise.

The rectangular piece of chocolate (on bottom right) with the character 福 (Fu – meaning fortune, prosperity) was intentionally turned upside down by me to symbolise that Fortune has arrived.

The Egg Tart had edible gold leaves atop the custard and chocolate at the bottom of the flaky pastry.
Not mentioned on the menu in this dessert platter were the Tadpoles (behind the egg tart), Mango Puree Roll (soft mochi skin) and Kueh Bangkit (crispy yet melt-in-the-mouth biscuits made with tapioca starch and coconut milk – one of my fav CNY cookies).

The mini Pear (stuffed with Bird’s Nest and pomelo) was such a cute sight.

The peach looking dessert that was served after we started digging into our dessert was the Cheese Nian Gao.
Not everyone got used to this new creation but I was very happy with my lot of 3 pieces.
I thought the savoury sweet east-meets-west fusion was quite good, especially with the Armagnac.

Armagnac is a highly aromatic brandy from the Gascony region of far south-western France. Armagnac was France’s first brandy and is said to date back more than 700 years, to the early 15th Century. If accurate, this makes Armagnac the oldest distilled spirit produced anywhere in Europe.

Despite its long history, Armagnac is often confused with (and compared with) its more famous cousin Cognac. On the surface the two are really very similar: they are both wine-based spirits (eaux-de-vie de vin) from south-western France, produced in essentially the same way and from similar grape varieties. But there are subtle, vital differences between the two, which are the source of great regional pride. (© Wine-Searcher)

The two most obvious differences between Armagnac and Cognac are region of origin and flavor profile. Armagnac comes from Gascony, 75 miles (120km) south-east of Bordeaux. Cognac comes from the Charente, just north of Bordeaux. Armagnac is more deeply flavored, weightier, earthier and darker. Cognac is slightly lighter, finer and fruitier.

Beyond region and style, there are a few less obvious ways in which Armagnac and Cognac differ. The most technical of these is that most Armagnac is distilled just once, in a continuous still. This single distillation creates a heavier spirit – lower in alcohol and higher in flavor than Cognac (which is distilled twice in a traditional pot still). Because the distillation process naturally separates the spirit from its heavier flavor compounds, the less refined a spirit is, the richer its flavor. Most Armagnac leaves the still between 53% and 60% ABV, versus Cognac’s 72% ABV.

Armagnac is made by distilling wine, so everything begins in the vineyards. The Ugni Blanc grape variety accounts for around 55% of Armagnac-producing vines, typically accompanied by Folle Blanche, Baco Blanc and Colombard. Also permitted (but less commonly used) are Blanc Dame, Graisse, Jurancon Blanc, Mauzac Blanc, Mauzac Rosé and Meslier Saint-Francois. Each of these brings its own particular qualities to the spirit, so the varieties are harvested, vinified, distilled and aged separately. This gives producers greater freedom and flexibility when creating their final blend.

Following distillation, the spirits are aged in oak barrels: an initial 6 to 12 months in new barrels, followed by a longer period in used barrels. They are then blended together to create the desired flavor profile. This blend of spirits is then transferred back into barrel, where it homogenizes and is (if necessary) diluted gradually to bottling strength (typically between 40% and 45%). Because alcohol evaporates gradually over time in barrel, the longer a spirit is aged, the less dilution it requires. This is one of Armagnac’s great advantages; older examples require no dilution at all. From this perspective, mature Armagnac is extremely ‘pure’, more so than even the best vodka (which is inevitably diluted with water).

The barrel maturation process is vital to Armagnac’s character. It softens the spirit, deepens its complexity and introduces new flavors of vanilla and spice. Much Armagnac is aged in oak from the Limousin and Troncais forests, but some producers maintain the tradition of using the so-called ‘black oak’ of the local Monlezun forest.

All Armagnacs are assigned a quality level, based on how much time the spirit spent in barrel: VS (between 1 and 3 years), VSOP (between 4 and 9 years), Napolean (between 6 and 9 years) and XO (10 years+). Some are marked with a specific age (that of the youngest spirit in the blend). Vintage-marked Armagnacs are produced exclusively from the stated vintage. Read more at: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-armagnac

Castarede Hors d’Age / XO – 20 Ans D Age.
It was fluid gold, warming and smooth.
It paired very well with the savoury Nian Gao.

It was a coincidence that my cousins and families ate here a few days before this event during CNY. I haven’t eaten at Peach Blossoms for the longest time – we patronised often when they first opened for business. I have no memory how good the food was then but there could be a change of chefs since I last visited.

This evening, the favourable tastes and service will make lasting impressions. Food presentation was stunning and the portions were generous. While, the food was generally slightly saltish to my palate, I loved them all with bias to certain dishes, of course!

Less of the plum sauce and I would be swooned over by the Facai Yusheng.

Double-boiled Clear Soup – tender chewy sea whelk and crisp morchella were to die for.

Alaskan King Crabs – very fresh (live?) and clean tasting and the best part was – they peeled most of the shell away making it very easy to eat.

Suckling Pig Roll – what did they do with the meat? I was and still am (while writing this post) very awed by the way this dish was dealt. How did the chef managed to cut the roasted pig’s skin into such thin slivers? It is not an easy feat to keep the crackling in shape especially when the stuffing was rigid lap cheong “waxed sausage”. I also liked the fact that there was no gamey smell which I am very “aware” when it comes to suckling pigs and mutton.

Braised Amadai – truth be told, I don’t know what Amadai is. I reckon it must be the name of the fish! The deboned flesh was very smooth and sweet. I suspect there’s pumpkin puree in the chicken bouillon, too. The combination was perfect and not too cloying. I had to stop myself  from licking the bowl, hahaha…

Braised 8-head Abalone – this dish had everything, it was a mini Poon Choy! I am wowed by the puff pastry with shocking neon pink character “財” which means Fortune! Which Chinese doesn’t like auspicious sounding dishes during CNY? Everyone, rich or poor, could do with a little more fortune. The first whiff that hit us all was the curry aroma in this bowl. It had a strong presence but not too overpowering. It took a little while to get accustomed to (curried dishes in Cantonese restaurants are more Hong Konger’s style) but on continued mastication, the layers of pleasant flavours start to reveal itself. I like the textures of the fish maw, sea cucumbers and black moss (a.k.a fatt choy). I found the abalone too soft, lacking the chewy texture I like in mollusc/shellfish. I am not a big fan of shelled prawns, so enough said for this dish.

Baked Claypot Rice aka Lap Mei Fan (腊味饭) – the big hooha was the topping of crispy pork lard!!! It was an eye opener for everyone at the table. The best claypot rice I have had was in Macau but this had to be the second best. Nothing beats sizzling hot pots and to have crispy lard (I do believe some liquid lard was drizzled into this dish) as garnishing will unquestionably excite most Chinese’ palate.

Dessert – fatal attraction (I was scavenging Andrew’s platter).

Wine pairing – absolute high! I liked the Riesling and loved the Armagnac.

Overall, albeit the saltiness, this meal was definitely not pedestrian quality! Kudos to the Chef and his team in the kitchen as well as the restaurant manager and his wait staff!

I had a very enjoyable and fatt CNY dinner. Thank you, Andrew! :D

Peach Blossoms (Level 5)
Address: Marina Mandarin Hotel
6 Raffles Boulevard
Marina Square, Singapore 039594

Operating Hours:
Lunch: 12.00pm – 2.30pm (Monday – Friday)
Lunch: 11.00am – 2.30pm (Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday)

Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm (Daily)

Reservations: (+65) 6845 1118

Happy lo hei-ing and bonding :D

Previous posts on Lo Hei & Claypot Rice:
Lo Hei – 七彩魚生撈起! @ Kok Sen Restaurant 国成餐室

Lo Hei Dinner @ Tonny Restaurant

Lo Hei Dinner @ Tonny Restaurant

Geylang Clay Pot Rice @ Geylang Lorong 33

Claypot Chicken Rice Recipe 砂煲鸡饭

Macau – Just Do It? Just Did It!

25th Feb 2015 or the 7th day in the Lunar Calendar – Today is 人日 Renri and therefore in accordance to the Chinese legend, it is everybody’s birthday! It is also the official day to 捞起 (Lo Hei) but nowadays, we have started Lo Hei-ing even before the first day of CNY.

Last night, I had another Lo Hei session with Adrian, Yap and Paulina! May and Ross were supposed to come but they couldn’t make it.

Raw Fish Salad 捞起魚生.
I think it’s $43 or $43.80 for this portion with Ikan Parang.

While 魚生 yu sheng can be eaten any time throughout the year, 捞起魚生 Lo Hei Yu Sang can only be eaten during the CNY period and thus you will see a lot of this dish in every Chinese food blogger’s post, every Chinese family’s table and every Chinese businessman’s banquet. You may think they taste similar because the fundamental ingredients are the same. Originally, sliced raw fish (魚生) is used but these days, again because of commercial value, pricier items like sashimi grade salmon, fugu, abalone, etc… etc… are introduced (which will decide the price of the Lo Hei) but for me, the catch is in the sauce really!

In this short span of 6 days, I have eaten 4 Lo Hei which is not much by Singapore’s standard. Some eat twice a day, so they would have had 12! Why eat so much?

捞起魚生 (Lo Hei Yee Sang in Cantonese, and Lao Qi Yu Sheng in Mandarin) where
捞 = Lo/Lao = toss
起 = Hei/Qi = up
魚 = Yee/Yu (魚 = fish sounds like 馀 = surplus, in Cantonese and Mandarin) = abundance
生/升 = Sang/Sheng = thriving/rise

The phrase 捞起魚生 means to toss up one’s good fortune and that one may live a rich and bountiful life!

In short, 捞起/捞生 (Lo hei/Lo Sang, both are abbreviation for 捞起魚生) is a most auspicious dish that can only be enjoyed during CNY which many believed the good luck will carry them through the whole year. The higher one toss, the greater height one will achieve so this can be a very messy affair where bits and pieces of the dish could erupt onto anyone at the table.

Many are surprised that Lo Hei is not a tradition in China. In fact, 捞起 was hatched in Singapore! It is a celebrity dish around the world during CNY among the Chinese community and has umpteen non-Chinese keen in partaking this meal with their Chinese friends during this time of the year, too! Due to its popularity, Lo Hei-ing at fancy restaurants can be expensive. However, supermarkets are stocked with packaged ready-to-eat base ingredients providing cheaper alternatives. You just have to buy some raw fish or the variants you desire and toss up your fortune at home.

This Lo Hei is very special to me because it is a toss for Adrian’s good health. Two days before Valentine’s Day, Adrian suffered heart attack.

During dinner, Adrian described his symptoms leading to his hospitalisation – 3 stents were inserted into his 2 blocked arteries via his right wrist area through a small incision, called the access site.

Angiolasty is a procedure where the surgeon inflates small balloons inside Adrian’s 90% blocked arteries. The balloons help to widen his blood vessels for stenting. Stents are tiny metal mesh tubes that support one’s artery walls to keep the blood vessels wide open.

Adrian’s vascular surgeon performed the angioplasty by inserting a long, thin tube called a catheter through the access site. The tip of the catheter carried the angioplasty balloon or stent. His surgeon then ushered the catheter through his blood vessels to the blocked area, using X-ray as guidance.

“No one has the right to judge you, because no one really knows what you have been through. They might have heard the stories, but they didn’t feel what you felt in your heart.” – Anonymous

Now that Adrian is “brand new”, we’re celebrating life. More health and fitness issues were discussed during dinner but I shan’t bore you with that. Now let’s go Peking!

Sorry but the empty plate actually consisted of 4 pieces of crispy duck skin which we ate before I took pictures (how can I forget???)
Those skin were to be eaten with the sugar dip.
On left of photo is the breast meat. They can be eaten on its own without the pancake wrappers, if you desire.
On the right were the cuts from other parts of the duck. They are fattier and is recommended to eat with the brown sweet sauce, cucumbers, scallions wrapped with the pancake sheets.

The Peking Duck from Imperial Treasure is definitely one of the better ones if not the best but surely we didn’t just have Yusheng and Peking Duck right?
Of course not!
We had 2 starters before Lo Hei.

They literally translate this dish of 白飯魚 into Crispy Rice Fish ($10) on the receipt. Lol…
Lancelet (Lencelet) a.k.a amphioxi and locally known as White Rice Fish, Silver Fish or Silver Baits.
Cooked with pepper and salt, it is a popular starters in Chinese Restaurants serving Cantonese cuisine.

Siew Yoke or Roasted Pork Belly ($10) is another popular starters.
The best dip for this is actually mustard and not sweet chilli sauce.

Leftover duck meat from the Peking Duck fried with Ee Fu Noodles for an additional $10.

年年高升
Steamed Nian Gao with ground peanuts not unlike the “lai sa tong yuen”.

Aloe Vera Jelly.

Papaya, Watermelon and Rock Melon.

The restaurant was empty by then and we must go before they chase us out.

The deal was to bring a bottle each.
We left after dinner, each our own way.

While I was still in cab, text messages of “I’m bursting with happiness and moscato”, “thanks for the lovely evening and great to see you all”, “love all”, “love all, too”, and all the loving emoticans sent to each other. I said, “we are so mushy”…
Must be the alcohol talking. Hahaha…
Friendship! It doesn’t matter how distant and how long we have been apart.

祝您全家幸福美满！万事如意！

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant
Address: Paragon, #05-42/45,
290 Orchard Road,
Singapore 238859.

Tel: (65) 6732 7838.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday
Lunch: 11.30am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Saturday
Lunch: 11.00am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Sunday
Lunch: 10.30am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Happy eating and bonding :D

Oh and Happy birthday everyone!

Read on Renri and Nian Gao (recipe) here:
Human Day – 人日快乐!
Nian Gao – 年年高升

Post on Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant:
Smoking Fowl of Beijing 北京烤鸭 @ Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant

*Take note that the Peking Duck has gone up by $10 from $68 to $78 per bird since my previous visit.

We were chatting about food on Facebook last Saturday when I “demanded” Stanley to bring me to eat the famous kway chap he had talked about many times. After learning about the nice kway chap stall in Tampines from Stan last year, I had gone there with Benny and Ricky but the stall was closed that day. A neighbouring stallholder informed me that Xing Yun Kway Chap only operates 3 days a week – from Fridays to Sundays. Good old Stanley acceded to my request and brought me the very next day!

Pronto at 7.30am, Stanley WhatsApped me, “Are you still awake?” He knew I was an owl. In fact, I have not slept since 6.30pm Friday. I was almost zombie-ing out and had hope Stan had forgotten our date.

Stanley and I.
Wefie taken on the way to Tampines Round Market.

I think we waited for about half an hour to reached 3rd in line.

While Stanley was queueing up for food, I was live updating on Facebook about our potential meal. I started teasing Vince that if he would like to do some macro that Sunday. Andy saw the word “macro” and quickly chimed that he was free and would like to go for it. I had sabotaged myself and remained deprived of sleep until Sunday night! We would all meet at 11am for macro photography at Pasir Ris Park.

Back on the food track…

This is the Kway in kway chap.

So what’s 果汁? It is definitely not fruit juice although kway chap and fruit juice sounds the same in Mandarin!

Kway (果) is the name of the broad rice noodle and Chap (汁) means mixture or assortments which in this case is the array of pork innards/offal, meat and some other secondary ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, taupok and salted vegetables.

How does one define a good Kway Chap? I don’t know but for me, a good Kway Chap meal consists of 4 parts.

1) It must have slippery smooth thin white kway (as in kway teow?). How thin? There must be translucency (not fully opaque) in those rice noodle! The texture should be delicately al dente so that they do not break easily in the broth (this is especially important when we buy extra kway so as not to queue up again for our seconds) nor should they “melt” in the mouth.

2) The broth that the Kway swims in is a diluted form of the richer gravy for the braised meats. I do not like it to be too herbal in taste so the spices used should not be heavy-handed. It should be subtle in aromatics, more savoury than sweet and thus complimentary to the silken kway. It should be “drinkable” to me.

3) The braised meats should be tender without losing hearty texture when masticated. The intestines should be thoroughly rid of any foul smell. I shudder at the thought of eating sh*t in the large intestines. Jokes aside, the meats must be well seasoned so that the succulent morsels exudes pleasant piquancy instead of bad pungency. The accompanying sides like taupok should not have greasy rancid oil after-taste which is a common trait. Salted vegetables (which we did not order that day) should be slow cooked till tender and be endowed with some garlicky fragrance. Hard-boiled eggs should be stewed long enough for the spices to penetrate into them. The viscosity of the gravy should be balanced, not too watery or gooey from starch added to it.

4) The dipping chilli sauce should possess sour tang and not too sweet nor salty although I do not mind it being very spicy (as in heat). I welcome sour from either white vinegar or lime.

I reckon this must be the Chap in kway chap then, haha…
A good Kway Chap Meal has 4 components to me.

Xing Yun Kway Chap 幸运果汁.
The queue seemed perpetual even as we leave.

Xing Yun’s Kway Chap had all the qualities that I looked for and so when Stanley asked me to give a rating from 1 to 10, I said 11. That’s because the boss came to say hello to me. I had a photo taken with him but I looked horrible so no posting here. Lol… Stanley wisely commented after I answered him. “I’m glad you liked it. We share the same taste in Kway Chap. We can explore other dishes in future.” His wisdom? There’s no right or wrong, taste is very subjective and to each his own. If you like it, then it is the best and it is all that matters!

After a hearty brunch, Stanley dropped me home to gather my macro gears while he dabao-ed food for his family. He picked me again for our macro session with Vince and Andy later that morning. See some macro photos on my next post or skip it if you are entomophobic or arachnophobic.

Xing Yun Kway Chap 幸运果汁
Address: Tampines Round Market.
#01-14, 137A Tampines Street 11.
Singapore 522137.

Opening hours: (closed on Mondays – Thursdays)
Fri – Sun: 9.30am – 2pm

Happy eating and bonding :)

It was a rather early brunch and Fu Lin 福林 wasn’t ready. The staff allowed me to buy drinks from another shop a few doors away to be consumed in their premise.

We were waiting for the shop to start selling the YTF.
I bought drinks from the kopitiam at the left end of this building where Benny was seated.
I then left him to take pictures of Thian Hock Keng Temple.

This was my second visit to Fu Lin YTF at Telok Ayer. The first was more than a couple years back when Jeremy, my cousin, brought me there. I had thoroughly enjoyed the fare so when Benny suggested lunch, Fu Lin came to mind.

I am not sure if this 福林 is an offshoot of another shop by similar name – Fu Lin Dou Fu Yuen (Yong Tau Foo) 福林豆腐园 which started in 1994 in Katong, East Coast area, but the way they served the noodles and YTF are of the same style.

There wasn’t as much mince as I remembered from my previous visit a few years ago.

The gravy version of YTF served at Fu Lin 福林.

There’s minced meat in the sauce that goes into the noodles. The same starchy gravy with minced meat was ladled onto the dry version of YTF. This is not typical of our local Hakka Yong Tau Foo, which can be served soupy or dry with sweet and chilli sauce. This time round, it wasn’t as delicious but still, my cravings were satisfied.

Benny’s first taste at 福林.

Whilst waiting for the YTF to be ready, I saw a beautiful temple across the road. Usually, there’ll be busloads of tourists going into this temple but it was quite early that morning when Benny and I were there. I had my camera with me but no tripod. Still, I managed to take a decent unobstructed photo if it. That was last October (2014).

Thian Hock Keng Temple 天福宫

“Thian Hock Keng Temple 天福宫 (Temple of Heavenly Happiness; also: Tianfu Gong Temple) is the oldest and most important Fukien, or Hoklo (Hokkien) temple in Singapore. The main temple is dedicated to Mazu, the Taoist goddess of the sea and protector of all seamen, while a second temple at the back is a Buddhist one dedicated to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of mercy.

Thian Hock Keng Temple was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.

Constructed in the temple architectural style of southern China, Thian Hock Keng has a grand entrance with a high step in front. The side entrance gates feature brightly coloured tiles portraying peacocks, roses and the universal Buddhist swastika in green and brown. This symbol represents good luck, eternity and immortality.

Guarding the doors are tigers, lions and Door Gods, traditional sentinels of any Taoist temple. Beyond this elaborate entrance are two courtyards. Straddling the courtyards is the temple proper, comprising the shrine of Ma Cho Po. On either side of the temple are pagodas — the one on the left is a shrine of Confucius while the one on the right houses ancestral tablets of immigrants who founded the temple.” – Wikipedia

Recently, I have been contacted by Singapore’s National Heritage Board asking for my photo (below) of Thian Hock Keng to be used on their EDM promotion for their upcoming Telok Ayer Street Light-Up. I am very excited to share this event as there will be special lighting installations on Thian Hock Keng and Al-Abrar Mosque on 8th and 9th May evenings, and this may be a good photography opportunity for street/heritage photographers :D

Thian Hock Keng – Hokkien Temple

“The temple has been restored several times. The most comprehensive one commenced in 1998 and was completed in December 2000. This restoration project won 4 architectural awards, including the most prestigious award from UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 2001 Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation Building” – Quoted from the Thian Hock Keng temple’s website.

There will be Henna workshop and performances for those interested in cultural arts, too!

Guided Tours Date: 8 & 9 May
Time: 6pm to 7.30pm or 7.30pm to 9pm
Meeting point: In front of Al-Abrar Mosque.
Each tour will cover three National Monuments.
Admission for guided tours is free and pre-registration is not required.

Telok Ayer Street Light-Up Event on 8th-9th May 2015.

Fu Lin Dou Fu Yuen 福林豆腐园
Address: 127 Amoy Street.
Tel: (+65) 64231911

Operating hours:
Mon-Sat: 7.30am – 4pm (Closed on Sundays)

Happy eating and bonding :D

We celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday (I had trouble with Flickr so “yesterday” was few days ago) on Sunday, 10th May 2015.

Vanessa gave me these roses for Mother’s Day 2015.

This year’s Mother’s Day is very special to me because it was the last time I’ll have exclusivity of this event with my immediate family. It would be hard in future when my girls have to juggle celebrating among all the mothers (my mom, my elder daughter, 2 mom-in-laws and myself). Therefore, to enjoy this year’s preferential treatment from my darlings, I did not bring my DSLR to dinner. Of course I took pictures of our meal, but it was fast, a hit or miss type of photography. Valerie, the mom-to-be said, “Aiyah, no need to take photos lah!“. Nah! Valerie doesn’t speak Singlish, hahaha… What she said was, “Just enjoy our company and food, mom.” :D

Valerie & Ryan, the new parents-to-be.
Flowers for Valerie were presented by Vanessa, too!

Eating out on Mother’s Day (the actual day) can be a stressful event because the restaurants are usually running at full steam and booking of tables especially at Chinese restaurants is a must! There are usually two seatings and if you got the first seating like us, you have to jockey for position, sometimes quite aggressively, in getting the attention of wait staff and order taker due to the the urgency in finishing your meal before the next round of diners. Of course I am exaggerating here but it is true on some smaller eateries/restaurants where seats and staff are lacking. Most of my friends celebrate on weekends a week or two before the actual day to avoid unnecessary agitation.

Vanessa bought Valerie flowers to celebrate her 1st Mother’s Day!

That night’s celebration was held at a “secret” venue. I was just told to be ready by 5pm but when we arrived at Paragon and hit button “5th level” in the elevator, I instinctively knew that Mother’s Day celebration would be held at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant! Besides, grumpy grandpa (new nickname for the new grandfather-to-be), prefers Chinese meal over western most of the time.

These condiments meant Peking Duck would be served!

And true enough the duck came :)
Please note that Peking Duck has to be ordered in advance.

The fowl was sliced and served in separate dishes – white (foreground) and dark meats.

Normally, soup would be served before the mains but Peking Duck is considered “appetiser” so was eaten before we were served this Lor Bak Tong (Carrot Radish Soup).
The orangey broth was rich and definitely loaded with beta-carotene.

Cod Fish.
We loved the fish! The flesh was satiny smooth and juicy. The skin of the cod was really crispy.
The sauce only served to lubricate the fried seafood so I wasn’t that impressed with its standard taste.

Asparagus with XO Sauce.
Sam said that asparagus is in season now and most western restaurants are promoting them.
I wonder if this is true for Chinese restaurants, too.

Normally, we would pay $10 more and have the skeletal remains of the Peking Duck stir-fried with noodles but when the restaurant is busy, they will not provide this service and being Mother’s Day, they did decline us.
So for the first time in our lives, we had had to eat the remains this way.
I’m guessing and rightly so, that the duck was reheated.
The taste wasn’t bad, slightly salty with a hint of 5-spice and there was the sweet plum sauce as dipping sauce.
Despite the plain look, it was quite nice.

Ee Fu Noodles.
Now this would be tossed with the shredded remains of the Peking Duck but I guess the restaurant did not have enough kitchen helpers to strip the carcass.

Beef Steak Chinese Style.
The steaks were uber delicate!
I wonder what the chef use to tenderise them.
The sauce was too sweet for me and I did detect some HP sauce.
Under the beef was a pile of caramelised onions mixed with the same sauce.
I really like the flavour of this dish but it was definitely too sweet. Please cut down on the sugar!

I have been to Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant quite a few times and have posted a couple on my blog so I wouldn’t dwell on the cuisine (you can see links to the posts below). Although the restaurant was packed, the service we received was commendable. Food, as usual, was yummilicious! We were all happy. We didn’t order dessert as we wanted to have kopi afterwards. It’s been a while since the whole family including Sam P ate together and we wanted to “lepak” (chill/relax) a bit and gossip.

We window shopped to size up what Valerie’s baby would further need before heading for coffee.

Instead of going to Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (my usual haunt), we had local style kopi and tau sar piah (豆沙饼 – mung bean pastry).

Valerie and I.
Happy Mother’s Day Valerie!

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the super moms out there!

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant
Address: Paragon, #05-42/45,
290 Orchard Road,
Singapore 238859.

Tel: (+65) 6732 7838.

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday
Lunch: 11.30am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Saturday
Lunch: 11.00am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

Sunday
Lunch: 10.30am to 2.45pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.00pm

See more of Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant below:
Smoking Fowl of Beijing 北京烤鸭 @ Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant

Eve of Renri At Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck!

Before setting foot on Pulau Ubin, we had substantial brunch so much so we thought we could do away with dinner. Big mistake! We did have enough drinks but the storm made us feel cold and hungry come nightfall. Yama was dreaming about having a cup of hot instant noodles!

When Mr. Teck picked us at our camping point the next day, we were famished! We asked him if any of the makan shops were opened. He said no shops are opened in the early morn as there’s no demand for breakfast on Pulau Ubin, and that it is better to go to mainland Changi Village Hawker Centre where there’s plenty of varieties to choose from.

Changi Village is noted for being a nasi lemak haven but I must say I totally disagree! I have tried more than a couple of stalls and each has its weaknesses; not sweet enough sambal tumis or fragrant fluffy coconut rice, both the backbone of a good nasi lemak. Still the queues are long each time I visit the food centre. The Chinese stalls were also disappointing. To date, I have yet to come across one stall that I would make a purposeful trip just to savour their fare. Whenever I’m there, it would be more for convenience’s sake but that’s my personal taste experience since my friends did enjoy some dishes which I am sharing in this post.

That said, there are a few stalls that I like in Changi Village Hawker Centre. Million Stars Goreng Pisang’s banana cake fritters is one of them and a couple of Malay rice (our local version of nasi padang) stalls selling rich tasting rendang, assam fish curry, sambal goreng, sayur lodeh, etc… etc…

I had Malay rice from this stall before we left for Pulau Ubin.
The macik (Malay for aunt) was very attentive reminding her assistant or daughter to put in more curry over my rice as I had requested.
The price was value-for-money although I had forgotten exactly how much but I remembered telling Yama and he agreed that it was rather cheap since I had chicken, fish, mussels and vegetables.

The price was value-for-money although I had forgotten exactly how much but I remembered telling Yama and he agreed that it was rather cheap since I had chicken, fish, mussels and vegetables.

Alaric’s meal of herbal mutton soup was more expensive than my plate of rice but he didn’t mind since he enjoyed it.

Jimmy’s meal of omelet on rice.
This dish is a bit too dry on its own for me.

Ben had fried rice earlier and bought these chicken wings for all of us to share.
The wings were nicely crisp but the chilli dip was so so only.

Andy was running a little late that day and had his own lunch. We met at the ferry terminal. The following were foods that we had after returning from Pulau Ubin to mainland Singapore. We had gone without dinner and suffered cold weather and sandfly bites. We were all tired and hungry. And yet when the food failed to satisfy me, I think it is fair for me to say (again I must stress that this is my personal taste) that generally, Changi Village Hawker’s food is not extraordinary.

We were seated on the left of this stall.
I saw a queue forming and decided to give this stall a try.
I ordered a large plate so everyone of us could share.
Unfortunately, the taste was slightly below good.

Carrot Cake here was almost minced.
There weren’t wok hei, sweet and savoury tastes that I expected.

Traditional Nasi Lemak where Alaric and Jimmy bought their meals.

Jimmy had a bowl of noodle and some chicken wings with nasi lemak sambal.

Alaric’s meal of nasi lemak.
Both the look and taste did not appeal to me (I had some of it).

Jimmy told me that he bought his noodles from a stall behind the row we were sitting which I am guessing is this stall.
Yet the colour of the bowl of his noodles are different from this stall’s so I could have gotten it wrong.

Jimmy’s meal of Bak Chor Mee which he said was okay in taste.

Three or four of us ordered from this stall because Yama had chicken cutlet noodles from it the day before and said it was very good.

Chicken Cutlet Horfun that Yama and the boys had over the two days.

The boys had Chicken Cutlet Horfun but this picture showed mine, Ipoh Horfun.
I found the taste a tad too sweet for my liking.
I took a bite of the cutlet from one of the boys and found it sweet, too.
Yama said the taste was slightly off that morning. Perhaps I should give this stall another try on my next visit. It is a very popular stall in this food centre.

The stall that Yama bought his Malay rice seemed popular, too.

Yama’s plate of Malay rice had nice sambal and aromatic rendang.
The price at below $6 seemed reasonable, too.

I have patronised many stalls in Changi Village Hawker Centre. The few famous nasi lemak stalls, overrated!!! In fact, a packet of factory packed nasi lemak sold in petrol kiosk tasted better, not joking! The BBQ stall, the cze char stall, chicken rice stall, tahu goreng from a Chinese stall, sambal fish head stall, and quite a few noodle stalls but while they are not downright lousy, there’s nothing to shout about either (that’s why none or very few of the stalls were posted on my blog). To me, Changi Village Hawker Centre is a place to eat if you happened to be in the vicinity.

Read post on “Pulau Ubin – The Legend of An Elephant, A Frog And A Pig!” by clicking here.

See more food from Changi Village Hawker Centre here:
Birds Of Different Feathers – Part 3

Last Thursday was Grandpa-to-be’s birthday and as I have mentioned he is not adventurous in food – Chinese cuisine, in particular, the Teochew and Cantonese are his main favourites. Thus, it was only natural we picked a Cantonese restaurant to celebrate his special day!

Taste Paradise at ION Orchard is considered a fine dining din sum place.
The service was efficient and the dining environment French Chinois “grandeur”.

Paradise Group’s Concept

“Poised as a diners’ paradise for Oriental cuisine, the Paradise Group offers gourmet menus of exceptional value in a wide variety of restaurant concepts together with a catering arm.

Promising a sensorial experience with service from the heart, every concept immerses the diner in an atmosphere that captures the finer points of Chinese culture, particularly the finest from its rich array of culinary delights.

True to our mission to improve, enhance and create for its our customers’ the ultimate experiential enjoyment, the Paradise Group marries tradition with innovation – a match that, as they say, is made in heaven.” – Paradise Group’s website

The appetiser offered this time was quite different from the usual braised peanuts, pickled acar or caramelised walnuts.
These were melon strips (likely wintermelon) soaked in orange juice.
They were crunchy (not too hard so could have been par boiled) and sweet and tart from the juice.

Our lunch may not be the most healthy fare but I am pleased Paradise Group does their bit in healthy eating.

Cooking Masterclass For NUH (National University Hospital)

“We are pleased to be working together with National University Hospital to conduct cooking Masterclass for cancer patients and their caregivers. The first class conducted by Paradise Inn on 27 April was a success with a cooking demonstration of two healthy and delicious dishes that the participants sampled on the spot. With a cheerful and amicable group of participants who love food and asked questions actively during the class, you can be sure that our chefs enjoyed themselves at the class as well!” – Paradise Group’s Admin At 06/05/2015

Without further adieu, let’s dive into our 廣州茶飲 lunch!

Har Gao (4 pcs) – S$5.80
Traditionally, har gao should have at least seven and preferably ten or more pleats imprinted on its wrapper.
The shrimp must be cooked through, but not overcooked.

Dumpling with Wild Fungus (3 pcs) _ S$5.80
I thought these were the Teochew-styled Dumplings and I was delighted to be wrong.
The wild fungus were moist and quite refreshing.

Siew Mai (4pcs) – S$5.80
Traditionally, the amount of meat should be generous, yet not so much that it cannot be eaten in one bite.
Here, they ignore tradition and gave us generous meaty bites which I preferred.

XLB (4 pcs) – S$4.80
Xiao Long Bao’s skin must be thin yet be sturdy enough not to break when picked up with chopsticks.
Surprisingly, the standard XLB here was better than those at Paradise Dynasty (sister company, a few doors away. See post link below).

Pork Dumpling with Foie Gras (4 pcs) – S$8.80
I can’t really taste the foie gras but it was still an interesting rendition.
Good XLB, or all steamed dumplings for that matter, must not stick to the paper, container or the other XLB in the basket.

Fried Beancurd Skin (3 pcs) – S$5.80
Ordinary tasting but these had meaty (prawn) bites.

Cheong Fun with Dough Fritter – S$4.80
The soya sauce was poured at the table when serving so as not to make the fritters soggy.
Indeed, the dough fritters were still crispy when I ate them.

X.O. Carrot Cake – S$7.80
X.O. Sauce with shrimp bits, beansprouts, scallions and scrambled eggs gave this simple carrot cake dish a delicious, crisp and chewy texture all at once.

2 BBQ Combination Roasts – S$20
I didn’t get to taste the roast pork belly at all so I gathered it must be good to be gone before I could stab at it.
The roast duck was crispy on the skin, tender and moist inside. It went very well with the plum sauce provided.

Ramen with Scallops in SS – S$10
What is SS? Special Sauce?

Ramen with Scallop, Tobiko and Bonito Flakes.
We ordered 3 portions.
The birthday boy had one all to himself since noodles represent longevity in Chinese tradition.
Vanessa and I shared one while Ryan and Valerie shared the other.
Ryan is a big fan of scallops, too bad there’s only one fat scallop in this dish.

Edamame Tofu with Crab Roe – S$26

The green colouring was from the peas (Edamame).
I’ve had standard tofu (whitish), egg tofu (yellowish), charcoal tofu (blackish grey) and now edamame tofu (green)!
What will they come up next?

Steamed Custard Buns (3 pcs) – S$5.80

Aka Liu Sar Bao, the oozing hot larva like salted egg yolk custard is what we are looking forward to each time we break into these.

Mango Pudding – S$5.

I don’t remember anyone having a steamed rice…

We had a great time bonding over lunch; catching up on the latest happenings in each other’s lives and sharing news worthy titbits.

The hearty meal was satisfying but I was only interested in scrutinising the dumplings in Taste Paradise 味之楼 @ ION. I wondered if their XLB had a minimum of 18 pleats on their wrappers. Hahaha… Anyway, all their dumplings had thin, translucent and smooth skin dough which did not break easily when picked up with chopsticks. So what’s the big deal, you ask. Well, dumplings are said to be the one that the skill of a dim sum chef is judged on. Basing on that, I must agree then that the chefs did a very good job here, and which is to be expected when dining in any of Paradise Group’s restaurants!

Happy birthday dearie! :D

Taste Paradise 味之楼 @ ION
Address: 2 Orchard Turn.
#04- 07, ION Orchard.
Singapore 238801.

Tel: (+65) 6509 9660.

Opening hours: Daily
Lunch: 11am – 3pm (Mon – Fri)
Dinner: 6pm – 11pm (Mon – Fri)
Sat – Sun: 11am – 11pm

Happy eating and bonding :)

See more Dim Sum posts here:
A TASTE OF PARADISE – 樂天皇朝
HONG KONG DIM SUM 香港点心 @ NEW CENTURY FOOD PARADISE
YUM CHA (CHINATOWN) RESTAURANT 飲茶酒楼
YUM CHA IS CHINESE BRUNCH – 點心
CHINESE TAPAS, ANYONE?
MEET THE PARENTS @ IMPERIAL TREASURE NAN BEI RESTAURANT 御宝南北小馆
HUA TING RESTAURANT 華廳 @ ORCHARD HOTEL
DIN TAI FUNG RESTAURANT 鼎泰豐
KUN SHU FOOD STALL 根叔美食世家 – UPMARKET FOOD AT HAWKER PRICES
CHOON MING BAO DIAN 春茗手工包点
VICTOR’S KITCHEN – GOLDEN EGG YOLK LAVA BUN 黄金流沙包
MAD ABOUT MAD! – MODERN ASIAN DINER (Ceased Operation)

In Malaysia:
RESTORAN CLAN 大家城点心茶楼 @ SRI PETALING
DELICIOUS MAKAN TRAIL IN BATU PAHAT, JOHOR, MALAYSIA! PART 1 (CHOP SEE KEE WANTON MEE 張亞泗雲吞面)

In Macau:
PETRUS RESTAURANT 碧翠轩餐厅 @ THE LANDMARK HOTEL MACAU
THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS EVE @ KING RESTAURANT 帝皇樓 (MACAU) – They serve very good Dim Sum and Claypot Rice.

Was it because I had it again immediately the next night without a cooling-off period that I did not find it delicious? No! I am used to repeat menu. So are the kids. If we like something, we can eat them daily and then some (for years).

I posted on my FB wall that “I’m still thinking of their Hokkien Mee with pork lard” yesterday and Valerie commented in the thread later that evening, “I’m **dabao-ing now”.

“Yay!!! Ask for the crispy pork lard and sambal”.

Dinner came but the noodles looked very different from what I had the previous night at Lao You Ji 老友记. The journey home did not dry out the gravy so I’m guessing the noodles were cooked al dente and weren’t soft enough to allow the gravy to continue to penetrate into them with residual heat. And here lies the difference with Singapore style Hokkien Mee versus KL style Hokkien Mee (福建面). Ours is soft and wet while KL’s dry and springy. To compare them is like comparing grapes and blackcurrant; they are similar but not the same. Know what I mean? It’s all personal preferences. As for me, I do enjoy both the wet and dry versions.

My only grouse with Lao You Ji’s Hokkien Mee was that eating the stewed noodles in-house tasted rapturous, how come it did not deliver when we dabao home? Maybe the cook thought he was doing us a favour 1) by not thoroughly cooking the noodles, taking the chance that the gravy would bore into them or 2) so we don’t have to wait too long for our meal. OR they were busy running a full house and needed the wok!!! After all, infusing takes longer time. I found the noodles lacklustre and was embarrassed that Val and Ryan did not get to enjoy it as much as I did last night. I apologised but Ryan was sweet enough to say it was not too bad since there were pork cracklings which made the sauce yummy (he didn’t complain but those crispy cracklings had turned soft).

Lao You Ji Hokkien Mee 老友记福建面.
We asked for sambal and they gave us 3 sets each of sambal, limes as well as chilli padi in light soy.

Seasonings are in the gravy and because the noodles could not absorb the gravy, they didn’t taste as good.

3 x S$6 each

Singapore-style Hokkien Mee is supposed to be softer, not al dente, either very moist or with some gravy but not soupy like that you see in photo above. The secondary ingredients consist of prawns, squid and sliced pork with some greens like chye sim (mustard greens) or nappa cabbage. Some eateries and home-style cooking will garnish this dish with crispy fried shallots and crispy pork lard. Sliced chillies with light soy is the favoured side dip.

Malaysia’s Johor Bahru-style is very similar to Singapore’s style in terms of flat noodles and gravy.

JB’s Hokkien Mee is most similar to Singapore-style.
Hokkien Mee is a “Must Eat” when visiting Malaysia, especially the KL-style!
This dish was eaten at Good Luck Restoran 泗湾幸运海鲜酒楼.

Kuala Lumpur or KL- style Hokkien Mee have similar ingredients of prawns and sliced pork but they use cabbage instead. The yellow noodles are much fatter, providing a QQ (chewy) texture, than those employed by JB and Singapore. Their drier version of this dish is usually charcoal-fried with lard, which most Singaporean and some Johorian hawkers have abandoned due to environmental (more likely cost and labour) and health reasons.

KL Hokkien Mee from Restoran Ahwa 新青山亚华福建面.
There’s sliced pork , prawns and cabbage.

A variant of KL Hokkien Mee using Rice Vermicelli (Beehoon).
This had been topped with lots of crispy pork lard as we requested.

Lao You Ji Fish Head Steamboat Seafood Restaurant 老友记鱼头火锅海鲜
Address: 245 Outram Road.
Singapore 169046.
Operating hours: Daily
5pm – 5am
Tel:(+65) 62215280

Lee Do Restaurant 丽都饭店
Address: 61 Ubi Avenue 2.
#01-13 Automobile Megamart,
Singapore 408898.
Tel:6742 2181
Opening hours: Daily
Lunch: 11.30am – 3pm
Dinner: 5.30pm – 11pm
Lee Do (Fuzhou cuisine) is famous for their cold crabs and prawn roll (my favourite!) but we also often have Hokkien mee whenever we eat there. I must find time to go to Lee Do. I have not been there since they moved to Ubi.

Where I had my Hokkien Mee in Malaysia:
Good Luck Restoran 泗湾幸运海鲜酒楼
No. 86, Jalan Telok Ramunia
Sungai Rengit
81620 Pengerang
Johor, Malaysia.
Tel: 0207 826 3555.
David Law H/P: 013 775 3555

Restoran Ahwa 新青山亚华福建面
Address: 66, Jalan 14/48 (Jalan 222),
46100 Petaling Jaya.
Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel:(+60) 12382 9895
Whenever we are in KL, we would drive up to PJ just to eat this dish. Also when I was residing in Subang, I had this almost every night for about a year!

Happy eating and bonding :)

Click here to see post on Good Luck Restoran 泗湾幸运海鲜酒楼.

Click here to see what is Fried Hokkien Mee (Sotong Mee), a dish that is quite uniquely Singapore.

*Braised Hokkien Mee is not the same as Fried Hokkien Mee a.k.a Sotong Mee, commonly found in Singapore’s street food scene. It is one of the 四大天王 (4 heavenly meaning must-eat if you visit Singapore) noodle dish in Singapore. The other 3 heavenly noodle dishes are Bak Chor Mee, Fish Ball Noodles and Char Kway Teow (those fried with cockles). Noticed anything? The dishes seemed Hokkien and Teochew (dialects) based.

**Dabao is hanyu pinyin for Chinese words “打包” meaning “package” usually, if not mainly, for food items only and adding “-ing” to dabao indicated Valerie was in the act of buying the noodles to go. That’s Singlish!

I have been busy lately but here’s a heads up if you are traveling to Petaling Jaya in Malaysia. This no-frills restaurant may just be the place you can enjoy seafood (live tanks), some local cze char dishes and double-boiled soups.

This is where the locals eat! The restaurant may be no-frills but their dishes are no nonsense! I especially liked the steamed pomfret Teochew style. The tangy sour gravy made me order some rice (after we had noodles) to go with it.

I traveled to Kuala Lumpur immediately after my Taiwan trip to meet up with a friend who flew into Malaysia from Canada.

My Canadian friend had several supplier meetings and they treated us to yummy makan (food) and Pantai Seafood Restaurant is one of them.

I had thought the green shreds to be seaweed but they were actually the leafy parts of the Kailan (kale).

Chinese Spinach with Shimeji Mushrooms.

Steamed Pomfret Teochew-style.
I was blown away when my host told me this was a “live” fish.
I have never had a swimming (just prior to ordering and cooking) promfet before. In Singapore, most if not all promfets are chilled/frozen.

白灼蝦 or Boiled (live) Prawns with yummy spicy shrimp dip.
It was so good we ordered another round.

Sang Meen is crispy fried egg noodles and this was served with prawns and squid.

The food is generally good if not excellent by food snob standard; I’ll risk by saying that the dishes will be delighting even the fussy Singaporean tastebuds! As for the price… Sorry, my friend’s host gave us a treat and it would be rude for me to ask him how much he spent on us when I only got to know him.

Happy eating and bonding :)

Address: Lot 13575, Jalan Cempaka,
Kampung Sungai Ara,
47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel:+60 3 7725 1099

Operating hours:
Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

Exactly one week ago, Mark invited me to join Alvin and himself for lunch. I had been asking around and have heard that Fei Lao’s horfun has one of the most intense wok hei in Singapore and that was where we were headed!

Mark gave me the address but I had no idea then that it was the same kopitiam I had gone to with Benny and Ricky. The taxi brought me to the back of the estate and when I arrived, I realised the cze char stall is located within the same coffee shop as Western Food 85 where I had the deep-fried version of German pork knuckles. The knuckles were so good, I brought Sam and Vanessa there a few days later and on a different occasion bought 3 pieces, one for Cynthia and Dominic to consume at Ho Tit Coffee Factory and the other two to be stewed with assam pedas gravy at home.

I saw Mark at the table but Alvin was no where in sight. I suppose Al was at the stall placing orders for our horfun but he returned with a bowl of curry chicken wings and a neat plate of mess.

Hainanese Curry Png and Curry Chicken Wings – $6.50.
Alvin had no idea of the breakdown but we’re guessing the curry chicken to be $3.50 and the plate of rice containing breaded pork cutlets, sunny side egg buried under the meat and cabbage to be S$3.

“I saw Hainanese Curry Png and thought we give it a try.”

“Sam said the pork knuckle is good, wanna try or not?”

“I ordered horfun, fish head and pork liver. Now with these two extra items, still can stomach the pork knuckles meh?”

“Can la.”

And they both look at me!

“Erm… We eat first?” I offered.

I don’t know why. I shouldn’t refused. It was very unlike me. But maybe it was a premonition for since that lunch till now, I have been down with flu through the weekend, followed by hacking cough and am still sick.

Mark and Alvin will be eating the pork knuckles soon but I can’t join them. Better not pass them my germs. The venue reminded me of our last meal which I have yet to post so I dragged my lifeless shell and started to work on this post. It is 3.15am!

Western Food 85 German Pork Knuckle Set – S$16.50.
Alvin and Mark will be enjoying this dish of deep-fried German Pork Knuckles at Western Food 85 later!

I digressed. Back on track…

Hainanese Curry Png is a very unique cuisine on its own.
I guess you can say it is one of the earliest fusion dishes found in Singapore.
The main components are rice, breaded pork cutlets (probably from the cook boys days where Hainanese men worked for the British homes and army canteens during the 50s), plain stir-fried cabbage and the gravy.
The gravy is made of two sauces: 1) curry that has been slurried with tapioca starch and 2) the braising liquid from Tau Yew Lor Bak (dark soy braised pork).

We started with the Hainanese Curry Png (png = rice in Hokkien dialect). The curry chicken wings were ordinary, maybe even slightly below standard according to my personal preference as I found it to be watered down. And if one were to argue, it could jolly well be the correct Hainanese-style consistency but this Hainanese lady here, that’s moi, prefers “lemak” (Malay for rich texture in food) when it comes to curries.

The sambal looked very different from the standard Hainanese Curry Png also. To me, it looked more Indonesian/Malay style but I am not complaining. I am not documenting heritage food so there’s no need for authenticity in my food. I am looking for tastes, fusion or otherwise that suited me and this ferocious looking red mound suited me fine! Looking back, that sambal could have irritated my sore throat but I loved it and will definitely go back for more!

Allow me to side track here a bit. We were taking photos and the kopi uncle (we call all the servers/owners of coffee shops kopi uncle or kopi aunty as a sign of respect since we do not know their names) asked if we were going to post on Facebook. He was amused 3 diners shooting with dslr (most uses handphones). Later, he told Alvin the history of the Hainanese Curry Rice stall. We had thought the owner to be away from his stall leaving his foreign-probably-domestic-helper ladies to man the stall. Turns out one of them, the Indonesian lady, is the wife of the late stallholder. He had passed on but she managed to learn from him and kept his standard of cooking! Except for the sambal (which is great btw) you will never guessed they’re not Hainanese-cooked. Is there such a thing that one can taste ethnicity in food? I think so. Because for some, if not all food, you just won’t get it right if you are not immersed in its culture.

The most delicious mess one can eat!
It has been a long time since I have eaten any Hainanese Curry Png with its address worth sharing.

There are no words to describe the above heap of gooey looking meal. That’s because I forgot how it tasted. I only remember how I felt after eating it… *Shiok!

I used to wait every night till the clock strikes 1.30am and drive to Upper Serangoon to eat Hougang Curry Png. The shop opens only at 2am exactly, not a minute earlier (could be some fengshui thingy). That was my nightly supper routine for many years until the old man died. The new owners did not cook well. They even used lousy grade rice as I chewed on sandy grits. I have tried many curry png after that – some were good and others, bleh! Not sure if it was sudden nostalgia or something else. I can’t put my finger on it but this one happened to excite me.

Seafood Horfun – S$15.

Stewed Fish Head – S$10

Quick-fried Pork Liver – S$8.

Total cost S$33.

The infamous Horfun known for its robust breath of wok!
Horfun, in Cantonese, is broad noodles made of rice.
The charred parts of the cooked noodles were obtained through pan-frying, either with some dark soy to “dye” or very high heat to scorch.
Needless to say, it is the latter method which produces “wok hei” that foodies go for!

I am really behind time when it comes to food cost in Singapore. I need to reconcile with current market prices. I’m still calculating in terms before I left Singapore and keep getting alarmed each time I asked for bill breakdowns.  No doubt there was a few sea cucumber (not a normal inclusion in horfun) but they weren’t top grade. My raised brows and opened jaws betrayed me when the lady said the horfun was $15. I felt that price to be a bit extravagant for a cze char noodle dish served in kopitiam but I must admit it was very delicious!

Will I eat this horfun again? Yes! But next time, I will ask for takeaway even when dining at the coffeeshop because it would be wrapped in **Opeh Leaf which will impregnate an awesome fragrance into the rice noodles.

By the way, did you noticed that the Horfun does not have egg ribbons in it? That’s because it is Singapore style! Wak Dan Horfun (滑蛋河粉 -the ones with egg) is said to be Malaysian style. We have it because most of our cze char cooks hail from Malaysia! I do not think Hong Kong Horfun has soft egg in it, too!

The Fish Head dish was not good. I had the last piece as the guys were filled and that piece was not cooked through. Yikes!

The Pork Liver was so so to Alvin. It was good to me as I could taste the “sweetness” of Huatiao (wine) and “powdery” texture of the organ but I would prefer them to be sliced slightly thicker for more hearty mouthfeel.

Western Food 85

Hainanese Curry Png (the one with red banner).

Fei Lao (Mandarin) means Fatty!
In the past, maybe still applicable, the saying goes, “Do not trust a skinny chef!” and most cze char stall cooks are known as “fei lou” (fatty in Cantonese).
As the name suggested, it used to be at Changi Lor 108.

You must wonder why I didn’t review the German Pork Knuckles. I have had it in 2 consecutive days and dabao-ed one for my friends and bought 2 home to cook. What do you think, nice or not? But best to eat there for the shiokadoonz crunch!

If you’re in the neighbourhood, just head up for Shiok Food at Blk 86 Bedok North Street 4!

Changi Lorong 108 Fei Lao Seafood 樟宜108巷肥老煮炒
Address: Blk 86 Bedok North Street 4,
Singapore 460086.

Tel:6346 4116

Operating hours: (Closed on Tuesdays)
Lunch: 11am – 2pm
Dinner: 5pm – 9pm

Western Food 85
Address: Blk 86 Bedok North Street 4.
Singapore 460085.

Tel: +65 90070531

Operating hours: (Closed on 1st & 3rd Wed of Month)
Daily: 12pm – 11pm

Hainanese Curry Rice
Operating hours: 10am – 3pm but I do not know their day of rest.

All the stalls mentioned in this post are located inside the same kopitiam.

Happy eating and bonding :)

Click here for Pork Knuckles Stewed In Assam Pedas Recipe using the pork knuckles I bought from Western Food 85.

“Bedok is a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Singapore. Bedok New Town is the fifth Housing and Development Board (HDB) new town.” – Wikipedia

*Shiok – is it Malay? It is likened to the state of perfect peace that comes when a craving is eliminated.

**Opeh Leaf or ‘upih’ in Malay language is actually the leaf-sheath of the Pinang tree (betel nut palm, the areca catechu). The pale whitish-yellow fibrous sheet was used traditionally as food wrapper before the introduction of plastic and styrofoam carriers in modern Singapore. Its come-back is making umami waves in our street food scene as foodies believed that wok-fried food packed in it is further enhanced with a slightly sour (good sour) and woody aroma.

Example of Opeh Leaf as food wrapper:

This is the promised recipe from my previous post on 16th August 2015 Confinement Snacking After Snapping!

What made this ordinary tasting dish value-for-money to me was that it brightened my day with its pleasant visual appeal. That day had been plagued with hostility but while I was having this meal, I suddenly felt tension leaving my rigid shoulders. I slouched relaxed a little and dug into my first meal.

Later in night, I recalled how wonderful a good meal (visual appeal and taste) had saved my day and decided to make Valerie a snack that will incorporate both elements even though she has a confinement caterer.

It was a very last minute shopping. Boon and Alex came to fetch me at about 11pm last Saturday night to the supermarket. Thank you fellas. You are God sent!

Here’s what I managed to get and concocted the next day as a snack for Valerie. She loved it! :)

Mis en place for my experimentation of U-Mian (wheat noodle).
Organic Baby Sinach
Wood Ear Salad
Black Chicken Egg (hard Boiled)
Dry pan seared Chicken Fillet
Yellow Tail Fish Balls

I have never tried them before but the ingredients of only flour, salt and water without additional preservatives made me buy it.

U Mian.
This noodle has fantastic QQ texture and mouthfeel.

I washed the chicken fillet with salt and rinse off.
Pat the chicken fillet well with kitchen towel and then dry pan-fry (without oil) on a heated non-stick pan till cooked and golden charred on both sides without additional seasonings.
Hard boil the black eggs.

This pot contained chicken stock, wood ear fungus, ginseng and ginger.

The instructions said 3-5 minutes and I blanched the noodles for about 4 minutes as Valerie likes al dente texture.

U Mian Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
U Mian (there 3 bundles in this packet, one bundle for each person).
Leafy Vegetables (I used organic young spinach).
Hard-boiled Eggs (I used black chicken eggs).
Chicken Fillet/Breast or Thigh (I used fillet and breast meat as Valerie doesn’t like thigh).
Fish Balls (I used Yellow Tail Fish Balls).

Actually, this dish is suitable for almost everyone and you can use any secondary ingredients you like if not for confinement. For confinement purpose, use only ingredients suitable according to your dialect or tradition so that there is peace at home (don’t argue with mom or mom in-law).

Ingredients for the Stockpot:
Clear Chicken Broth (*home-cooked or store bought like Swanson’s).
1 big piece of Wood Ear (rinsed, soaked and torn into smaller pieces).
2 Red Dates, remove the pit/seed.
1 slice Old Ginger Root.
2 slices Ginseng, optional.
1 teaspoon Goji Berries (枸杞子), optional.
1 tablespoon White Rice Wine, optional.

Rinse all the herbs/spices briefly.

*You can make your own Clear Chicken Broth with 500g chicken bones/carcass.
1) Rub the chicken bones with coarse salt and rinse well under running tap.
2) Scald bones with boiling hot water. Discard the bloodied water and drain dry the chicken bones.
3) Put chicken bones (or packaged stock), wood ear fungus, red dates, ginger, ginseng and white rice wine in a stockpot.
4) Add enough hot water to cover the ingredients and more. Bring to a fast boil.
5) Add a pinch of salt to the pot, lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
6) Add the goji during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
7) Adjust final seasoning with salt (if necessary) and white pepper powder, to suit your taste.

Remember to skim off any broth scum during simmering. Do the above steps (skipping 1 and 2) if using packaged stock.

Also, avoid too much or vigorous stirring during cooking as traditional Chinese believe this action would incorporate air into the soup and thus causing flatulence for the new mother and through her feed, the baby as well. Since theoretically, it is like whipping up a meringue, incorporating air… I’d rather be safe than sorry so I avoid stirring, as much as possible, all of Valerie’s soupy meals.

While the broth is simmering:
1) Dry pan-fry the chicken fillet (without or very little oil) in a non stick pan till both sides are cooked through (2-3 minutes each side or as long as the inside is white and not pink) and slightly golden charred.

I had used plenty of salt during washing so I did not season the fillet again. You may if you want to. The chicken fillet was still tasty and moist when they were cooked.

2) Hard boil the egg and peel shell off when cold enough to handle.

Once the chicken broth is ready, it is time to Assemble The Dish. See video below for an idea.
1) Blanch vegetables.
2) Boil the fish balls over medium high heat till they float.
3) Blanch the U Mian or any noodle/pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
4) Assemble all the ingredients into a bowl, ladle soup over and serve immediately.

The reason why I blanch the ingredients in such order is that after assembly, it is easier to “reheat” the vegetables and fishballs with the hot broth since the U Mian was thicker and harder to penetrate once cooled.

You may serve sliced chillies with light soy dip for yourself but we DO NOT serve chilli to confinement moms. Why? Beats me!

One for Valerie and one for Ryan.

Whenever Tae Jin cries, Bam and Butter would become concerned.

“The biggest communication problem is that we do not listen to understand.
We listen to reply.” – Anonymous

Tae Jin – without him, this and all other confinement snacking posts would not have been possible.

Happy eating and bonding :)

Click here to see Confinement Snacking After Snapping!

Click here to see Wood Ear Salad Recipe.

Vanessa and I wanted to eat fish ball noodle the other day but the stall was closing up when we arrived at the food court.

“Come early, tomorrow!” The uncle said.

85 Redhill Teochew Noodles.

Spoilt with the many good choices readily available in Singapore’s food scene, sagacious diners have become exacting about food and when we are in a dilemma of giving our absolute thumbs-up on recommending a certain dish, we would say, “Not bad, la!” which pretty much sums up as “the food is so so only but hey, you may happen to like it”.

Armed with mixed reviews from food blogs and forums, I decided to visit 85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles (earlier this time and without Vanessa) to find out for myself.

My order was number 6 on the menu and I chose Mee Pok Ta to go with the Meat Balls (3 original and 2 fried) for S$5.

85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles employs a recipe handed down by Fei Siong Group’s directors, Mr. Tan Kim Siong and Mr. Tan Kim Leng’s grandfather. The elder Mr. Tan used to operate a Teochew fish ball noodle stall in Redhill more than 30 years ago. 85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles uses only 100% yellow tail fish meat as primary ingredient for their fish balls, fish cakes and *meat balls.

*These meat balls are actually a blend of yellow tail fish paste, minced pork and I think, chopped preserved winter vegetables, 冬菜 (dongcai).

Fish Dumplings that look like ravioli (centre of bowl under the scallions) – S$2 (3 pcs of dumplings).

I love the old school bowls they use to present Teochew Fish Ball Noodle, a heritage food of Singapore.

I was third in queue with the first in line ordering for 3 persons and the second in line ordering for a family of 4. I scanned around and all tables were fully occupied but the crowd did not loitered. Most diners finished up and went before my order was handed to me.

I am not a fan of fish balls so I had the meat balls, instead. I also added fish dumplings at extra cost to go with my Mee Pok Ta (“mee pok” is flat yellow noodles, you can say it is Chinese fettuccine and “ta” means dry version).

I did a quick mental debate, mee kia or mee pok? In the end, I was prepared to forgive if the mee pok lacked QQ-ness and true enough, it wasn’t. Mee Kia would have been a safer bet but I’m here to take “risk”, hahaha. Now, what the noodle lacked in texture, the tasty sauce (a mixture of lard and oil, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar and chilli sauce) made up for it. And even though I was not impressed with the dense meat balls, the size was actually generous in my opinion. I did not order their signature dish (fish ball noodle) so I shouldn’t be too critical. Overall, I would rate this dish as enjoyable if you are hungry and if my friends pestered me for a more “definitive” answer, I would say, “Not bad, la!”

Not bad la!

85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles
Available in most shopping malls’ food court.

Fei Siong Group owns eateries and food courts in shopping malls,including Tangs Market in Tangs Orchard, Malaysia Boleh!, food court in Jurong Point and the Eat chain of noodle shops. Fei Siong Food Management (part of Fei Siong Group) will manage an **Entrepreneurship Programme – a two-month training programme which pairs 18 retiring or retired hawkers with budding entrepreneurs and Fei Siong Group will operate two stalls – a drinks stall and the 85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles stall, which uses recipes handed down by Mr Tan’s grandfather.

**Read about the Entrepreneurship Programme here: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/want-to-be-a-hawker-learn-from-veterans

It’s been a while since I had dim sum in a proper restaurant. I say this because one can get dim sum in kopitiams and food courts but the mass produced fare tasted nothing close to those of an established restaurant’s Hong Kong-styled dim sum.

Crystal Jade Kitchen is one of those establishments that is nearly as good as those from Hong Kong. The pricing is also affordable to most folks. Here’s what I had recently… Dim Sum @ Crystal Jade Kitchen (翡翠小厨) Tampines Mall with Jerry. I must admit we had ordered slightly more than we can finish but I was greedy after a long dry spell from proper Chinese fare.

3-Roast Platter.
You can choose from two to three mix and I chose 3 – Pork Belly Char Siu (叉燒), Roast Duck (燒鸭) and Crispy Roast Pork Belly (脆皮燒肉).

The Char Siu we had is from the belly which is not the usual cut used in making char siu. This one had more fat ratio and to me that was yummier.

Chinese Spinach with 3 Assorted Eggs (上汤苋菜三色蛋).

Chee Chap Jook (豬什粥) is pig’s offal (innards) congee.
Again you get to choose the specific pork items/offals you like.
I had the small intestines, liver and pork balls.

Lor Mai Kai (糯米鸡) where lor mai 糯米 = glutinous rice and kai/gai 鸡 = chicken, in Cantonese.
Most, if not all, people speak Cantonese in Hong Kong, therefore, we are accustomed to ordering Hong Kong dim sum in Cantonese.

Chee Cheong Fun (猪肠粉) is loosely translated as Chee Cheong = “Pig’s Intestine” Fun = “Noodle” or simply put, Rice Noodle Roll.
The name comes from its cylindrical shape that looks like pig’s intestine but there’s no intestine in these.
They can be served plain, with vegetables, fish, youtiao, char siu, etc…
We already had a roast platter so this succulent prawn filling seemed ideal.

Siu Mai (烧卖) is pork and shrimp dumplings although there’s more pork than shrimp.
Siu Mai and Har Kow used to be a must-have at every dim sum diners’ table.
These days with more varieties of dim sum and smaller number of diners per table, some of these oldies must-have have to go.
We had to choose between Siu Mai or Har Gow and since we had Chee Cheong Fun with Shrimp, this was the uncontested decision between Jerry and I.

Char Siu Sou (叉燒酥) is one of Jerry’s favourites and is a must-order flaky pastry when eating dim sum with him.

叉燒酥 Char Siu Sou’s filling is of course, char siu!
The filling is savoury sweet BBQ Pork but in some halal establishments, you can get chicken char siu (not in Crystal Jade though).
The light flaky texture of the puff pastry is achieved by folding two types of dough together – the oil dough and the water dough.
The oil used in the past was lard. I often wondered if Chinese pastry chefs, in general, still use lard or have turned to using shortening.
The high heat produced during baking puffed up the layers (same theory as croissant making) thus the flakiness of this very delicious snack.

Bill for two big eaters.
We had DBS card and was entitled to a 10% discount on food.

My family started dining at Crystal Jade in 1991 at the now defunct Cairnhill Hotel. We were regulars eating there about 4 times a week for many years before they became a restaurant-chain. Throughout the 20 odd years, I have always enjoyed my meals at most of Crystal Jade’s outlets except for the Korean food experience at NEX Serangoon. The food was so so but the service at that outlet was terrible! I haven’t been back since. I know better places for Korean BBQ.

Crystal Jade (翡翠) chain of restaurants has made a name for itself with its Cantonese-style dim sum, congee, noodles, rice dishes, Chinese roast delights and other Cantonese “small eats” specialties. It started with traditional Cantonese and Teochew cuisine but has grown and diversified to include many different kinds of dining and culinary concepts i.e. bakeries, casual and fine dining, northern Chinese specialities, Korean food and in recent years, the C-Jade Viet Café IN located in Bugis.

I got this off their website’s promotions announcement tab so do check out the following to see if it is still available:

PIONEER SPECIAL – 50% OFF DIM SUM SET

Enjoy any two selected dim sum with any beverage at 50% off from 3pm to 5pm on weekdays. Available at Crystal Jade Jiang Nan, all Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Crystal Jade Kitchen (except Suntec City & Causeway Point).

You can almost always find a Crystal Jade Kitchen in every shopping mall. That’s how popular or aggressive they are, hahaha…

Happy eating and bonding :)

Crystal Jade Kitchen 翡翠小厨
Address: Tampines Mall
4 Tampines Central 5, #B1-11.
Singapore 529510.

Tel: (+65) 6788 0633

See post on the Korean food we had from Crystal Jade:
CRYSTAL JADE KOREAN BBQ BUFFET – BOIL AND BROIL

May was transferred to work in another location (away from her head office) which was along Bukit Merah Road. Last week, I followed Ross to fetch her when she had to work late that evening of 17th September. After that, we went to a nearby hawker centre – ABC Brickworks Food Centre (the locals simply call this market, ABC).

When we arrived at ABC, almost all the hawker stalls within sight were bustling except for one. That stall had a very long queue earlier and we wanted to wait out for it to be shorter but by the time Ross went over to place our orders, they just about half-closed their shutters. The lady boss apologised profusely saying that they had already taken their last order for the day and was waiting for the cooks to finish up dishing the last few plates. It was only nearly 8pm! Wow!!! I told May and Ross we must come back for it.

Meanwhile, I scouted around with my eyes. Actually, I’d only turned 180 degrees and saw one of my favourite noodle dish. Needless to say, that would be the next best available option for me. Lor Mee!

I asked this lady what Ma Bo stood for and she replied that the boss was from Muar ( a town in Johor, Malaysia) which is “Ma Bo” in dialect.

“Muar is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malaysia to be visited and explored for its food, coffee and historical buildings from the pre-war. An alternative name to it is Bandar Maharani. It is declared the Royal City of Johor and is the fourth largest city (after Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat and Kluang) of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is geopolitically situated in Muar District in the region or area of Muar in northwestern Johor, Malaysia.” – Wikipedia

My Lor Mee up-sized!

“Lor mee (鹵麵) is a Chinese-inspired noodle dish served in a thick starchy gravy and thick flat yellow noodles. The dish is eaten by Hokkiens in Singapore and Malaysia. The thick gravy is made of corn starch, spices and eggs.” – Wikipedia

May had gone to the ATM and upon returning saw me at the stall waiting for my meal. She came over and said that it looked delicious and she would have the same. I told her I had ordered the bigger portion at S$3.50.

May’s order also up-sized.

A good Lor Mee should have al dente flat yellow wheat noodles, rich flavoursome “Lor” which is the braising liquid of pork belly and 5-spice. The broth should be starchy with generous egg ribbons in it. Secondary ingredients vary from hawker to hawker but this stall really scored with crispy golden meaty fish nuggets, pork belly slices, thickly sliced ngoh hiang (meat roll), sliced deep-fried fish cakes and hard-boiled egg steeped in the “Lor”.

I tend to garnish my bowl with lots of cilantro, minced raw garlic, red cut chillies and loads of black vinegar for that acidic sourish punch to ease the heaviness of the meal!
This stall complied with all that makes a good Lor Mee except for the missing egg ribbons.

I was a little shocked when May marvelled (not at the S$2.50 pricing but) at the inclusion of battered fish. She has never had one with them. I told her that there’s a stall in North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre, Zhen Hao Lor Mee, that sells it with an option of a huge piece of “fish & chip sized” fish fillet.

I tried searching for my post on Zhen Hao Lor Mee (珍好卤面) to show May but couldn’t find it. Bad blog housekeeping, Samantha! Note to self, “Tidy up your blog!”

Alright, I side tracked. Did I like this Lor Mee and will I eat them again? The answer is yes to both even though I like the Lor Mee from Tiong Bahru Market and North Bridge Road Food Centre better. I still cannot believe I have not blog about Zhen Hao!

Ross doesn’t eat pork so he ordered the following items which I am posting as token shots to remember what we had eaten. This blog is my personal journal after all. In my opinion, the BBQ Chicken Wings and especially the Otah do not deserve a mention so I am not naming the stalls. These hawkers still need to make a living but if you happened to be in ABC and want these aforementioned items, order with your eyes wide open and follow your olfactory sense! As for the Popiah, they weren’t too bad but my personal preference is for the squishy ones.

Hawker-styled BBQ Chicken Wings.

Otah Otah or Otak Otak is fish paste (this is spicy and there’s the whitish non-spicy version) wrapped in coconut leaves and grilled till cooked.
These were overly dry. I wonder if they were re-grilled from earlier or worse still, the day before’s batches!
Tasted yucky, too!

The Popiah (fresh Spring Rolls) seemed popular but I can do without them.
I prefer the overly moist ones from Newton Circus which never fails to render the crepe soggy.

Ross said as I got out of the car, “We’ll go to ABC again before Wednesday.”

Stay tuned for the meal we originally wanted but missed! :)

Ma Bo (孖宝) Lor Mee 蔴坡卤面
Address: ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre.
6 Jalan Bukit Merah, Unit #01-139.
Singapore 150006.

Happy eating and bonding :)

Other stalls in ABC Brickworks Food Centre:
ABC 煮炒 GU ZAO REN 古早人煮炒台湾粥 @ ABC MARKET

It was back in July on Desmond’s off day that we arranged to go shoot SG50 Golden Jubilee Fireworks Rehearsal. By the time we reached our destination, Jubilee Bridge was a sea of people! All the photographer’s sweet spots were already taken by fanatics who’d camp-out as early as before noon so Desmond and I had to make do with standing behind the horde.

Before the fireworks rehearsal began, there was the SG50 National Day Parade (NDP) Aerial Display which I was not shooting since I did not bring any tele-zoom lens, so I made use of this period of time sussing out who I know were in the crowd. I spotted Ben, Calvin and Seow in the middle of the bridge and went over. I told Calvin I was nervous about shooting fireworks as I did not get a single use-able shot last year and he kindly WhatsApp-ed me a list so that I have a record and can review when I get back to my position. That’s how possessed I am of my mental faculties these days!

Fireworks photography:

Quick recap!

1. Tripod.
2. Wide angle lens or fisheye (normal cases).
3. Shuttle release cable.
4. ISO 100-200 (max).
5. Focus at f14 – f16… once focused change to Manual mode to lock focus.
6. Switch to Bulb mode.
7. Wait for FW… Hold 3-5 sec for each burst.

You know what? He forgot to list CAMERA! Yes, lame but I can be an eejit when under stress and needed The Complete Idiot’s Guide To “How To Shoot Fireworks” 101. Hahahaha… Thanks Calvin for the precious tips! It is now safe and forever in print here in my hemisphere blogosphere. :)

Singapore’s SG50 Golden Jubilee Fireworks Rehearsal in late July.

It was not a “lucky” night for us as firstly, we did not get a good spot and secondly, the wind was blowing towards us.

The wind was not cooperative and blew into our direction. Metallic particles in the smoke emitted by fireworks got into my eyes and lens but I think the experience and shots were worth it.

Ben, Seow, Desmond and I gathered together after the fireworks. We were in dire need of water and food. We also have to beat the mad crowd which was starting to disperse.

Roads around the Marina Bay area starting from High Street, Coleman Street, St Andrew’s Road, Connaught Drive, Fullerton Road, Parliament Place, Stamford Road, Beach Road, Esplanade Drive, Marina Boulevard, Bayfront Avenue, Raffles Avenue, Nicoll Highway, Stadium Drive, Stadium Boulevard, Stadium Crescent, Mountbatten Road, all the way to Old Airport Road were closed! The road along Esplanade Bridge was filled with chartered transportation for the NDP participants. The only way out was to walk.

“What’s there to eat at this hour?”

“Somewhere nearby la. We have to walk and we’ve got heavy equipments on us.”

“Gluttons Bay? It’s the nearest.”

“Surely, it will be full house!”

“Lau Pa Sat?”

“Nothing nice to eat there leh.”

I cried out, “Maxwell Food Centre!” It was actually the furthest out of the 3 suggested places, towards Tanjong Pagar Road. And the crazy part was, I wasn’t even sure if any of the food stalls still operates at those hours, but the guys swallowed the bait!

After about 25 minutes’ walk, we were finally inside the food haven (by day) where most stalls were already closed. I had to quickly find a stall that’s still operating or the boys might rebuke me. Alas! I saw a queue at the far end and we proceeded like bees to honey. Singaporeans love to queue. It usually means two things – 1) that the stall is popular or 2) it is the only stall that’s open. At this time of the day, the reason for this small mob is anyone’s guess.

We scattered to buy our own food and by the time I went to place my order, lucky me, it was the last bowl! And only #4 was available. The photos below are from my second visit. I had #1 on the menu. I even had an extra bowl of sotong and pork ball soup this time.

Teochew Hand Made Sotong Balls Pork Balls Mixed Soup.
麥士威83号

There is nothing out of the ordinary when I looked at this bowl of noodle but then when I tasted it…
Wham!
Behind is an extra order of pork and sotong balls.

Take my word for it!
The sotong balls, pork balls with bits of tee po fish.
These are amaze balls!

The portion was rather small. My bowl of QQ mee kia dry came with one dumpling, one fishball, one pork ball, one sotong ball, a couple slices of stewed mushrooms and fish cakes and a small mound of minced pork. You have to ask for more chilli or the dish can dry up rather quickly without enough oil from the sambal, unless you prefer a “cleaner” taste. There will be no overwhelming oomph at first but take a bite into the meat ball and sotong ball and you will experience something divine I promise!

Take my word for it unless our tastes differ. These are amaze balls! I suspect they are hand chopped not blended. Everything is in those balls! And at 80 cents a pop (if you want extra, I can easily devour another 3 pork and sotong balls each), it is definitely not cheap but to me, there is value-for-money because the ingredients were fresh, flavoursome and solid! No frills, no fillers detected! Umami at its highest!

Teochew Hand Made Sotong Balls Pork Balls Mixed Soup
麥士威83号 。潮洲手工苏东丸 。猪肉丸 。什锦汤 。
Address: Maxwell Food Centre.
Stall number 83
1 Kadayanallur Street,
Singapore 069184.

P.S. This was the second time I ate this dish although I visited them 4 times (twice they were closed).

There are 106 stalls in Maxwell Food Centre. It is situated at the corner of Maxwell Road and South Bridge Road and this noodle stall is located nearer the South Bridge Road side, opposite Hoe Kee Porridge and Dim Sum.

Happy shooting, eating and bonding :)

See post on SG50 Golden Jubilee Fireworks here:
CELEBRATING THE GOLDEN JUBILEE WITH A BIG BANG!

Here’s a directory of all the stalls in Maxwell Food Centre with most of them operating in the day time till early evening as this is in the CBD area (near financial hub):
#01-01 – Maxwell Ban Noodle Fish Head Bee Hoon Fried Oyster 麦士威手工板面。鱼头米粉。蚝煎
#01-03 – Mix Vegetable Rice Porridge 肥仔杂菜饭。糜
#01-04 – Nan Sun High Calcium Soya Bean Milk 南山好立克高钙豆奶
#01-05 – Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake 洪家福州蚝饼
#01-06 – Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff 东陵酥皮咖哩角
#01-07 – Ah-Tai Chicken Rice 阿仔海南鸡饭
#01-08 – Fuzhou Fishball Wanton Mee 福记福州鱼丸云吞面
#01-09 – 熟食
#01-10 – Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice 天天海南鸡饭
#01-11 – Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice 天天海南鸡饭
#01-12 – Day & Night Herbal Shop 日夜滋补上汤
#01-13 – 天记粥品
#01-14 – Quan Yuan Fresh Fruit Juice 泉源林记生菓汁
#01-15 – Vegetarian 顺成
#01-17 – Tong Fong Fatt Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice 东风发
#01-18 – Pra Khun Thai Kitchen
#01-19 – Oriental Stall Duck Noodle Duck Rice 东方鸭肉面鸭肉饭
#01-20 – China Street Hainanese Curry Rice 中国街海南咖哩饭
#01-21 – Eng Hiang Beverages 永香茶室
#01-22 – Ha Ha MeiShi 麦士威哈哈美食
#01-23 – Hock Kee Food Stuff 福记食品 Provision Shop
#01-24 – 赌间口油条
#01-25 – Madam Jan’s Nasi Lemak
#01-26 – Pancake 翁翁椰浆米煎饼
#01-27 – Ho Peng Coffee Stall 和平茶室
#01-28 – Hum Jiu Pang 中国街咸煎饼
#01-29 – Foo Zi Curry Rice 福利咖哩饭
#01-30 – Welcome Food Stuff 侬来小食
#01-31 – China Street Heng Heng 中国街兴兴蕃薯旦。木薯糕
#01-33 – Beach Road Prawn Mee 老地方
#01-34 – Maxwell 麦士威
#01-35 – Marina South Delicious Food 濱海南美食
#01-36 – Joy Feast Beef Noodle 乐餐牛肉面
#01-37 – Wonderful Nasi Lemak 旺得福
#01-38 – Kim Leng Coffee Stall 金龙咖啡
#01-39 – Afternoon Tea
#01-40 – Maxwell Hainanese Chicken Rice 麦士威海南鸡饭
#01-42 – Roasted Duck Roasted Pork Char Siew Wanton Mee 肥仔烧腊云吞面
#01-43 – Kway Chap 友记鸭饭鸭面
#01-44 – Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice 兴兴海南鸡饭
#01-45 – Ho Kee Porridge 和记粥
#01-46 – Ho Kee Pau 和记包
#01-47 – Soon Li Coffee Shop 顺美咖啡室
#01-48 – Hong Kong i Bean 香港冻豆花
#01-49 – 炎记
#01-50 – 福海（芳林）咖喱鸡米粉面
#01-51 – Swee Ting 瑞珍福建
#01-52 – Hong Xiang Hainanese Chicken Rice 宏香鸡饭
#01-53 – Fried Kway Teow Prawn Mee Friend Oysters Carrot Cake 炒粿条。炒虾面。蚝煎。菜头粿
#01-54 – Zhen Zhen Porridge 真真粥品
#01-55 – Rixin Snacks Delights 日新糕粿美食
#01-56 – Rojak Popiah Cockles 啰惹。薄饼。鲜蛤
#01-57 – China Street Peanuts Soup 中国街花生汤
#01-58 – Soon Heng (Drinks) 顺兴饮品
#01-59 – Peanut Ice Kachang 花生红豆冰
#01-60 – Somerset Delicacies 美味佳肴
#01-61 – Lim Kee (Orchard) Banana Fritters 林记油炸芎蕉
#01-62 – Zhong Xing Fu Zhou Fishball & Lor Mee 中国街中兴自制福州鱼圆面卤面
#01-63 – Aspirasi Food Galore
#01-64 – China Street Fritters 中国街五香贯肠
#01-65 – Fresh Fruit Juice 65新鲜果汁
#01-66 – 一家潮洲鱼粥鱼汤
#01-68 – Hainan Curry Rice 中国街咖哩饭
#01-69 – 69号茶室
#01-70 – Lei Cha 擂茶
#01-71 – 福顺锦记烧腊面家
#01-72 – Heng Heng Porridge & Rice 中国街兴兴糜。饭
#01-73 – Auntie Carrot Cake 安第菜头粿
#01-74 – Fishball Noodle 中国街瑞娥鱼圆面
#01-75 – Hu Ru Beverages 日新香记
#01-76 – Fried Sweet Potato Dumpling 日新香记
#01-77 – Fishhead Bee Hoon Sliced Bee Hoon 金华鱼头米粉。鱼片米粉
#01-78 – Drinks & Dessert Corner
#01-79 – Ho Kee Porridge & Dim Sum 和记包
#01-80 – Ho Kee Porridge & Dim Sum 和记包
#01-81 – Sunto Gyoza 三多饺子
#01-82 – Meal Nasi Lemak Set Bee Hoon Set 椰浆饭套餐。 米粉套餐
#01-83 – Teochew Handmade Sotong Ball. Pork Ball. Mixed Soup 潮洲手工苏东丸。猪肉丸。什锦汤
#01-84 – 848 Sugar Cane Fruit Juice
#01-85 – Sisaket Thai Food
#01-86 – Bean 豆
#01-87 – Rickshaw Noodle 中国街熟食拉车面
#01-88 – Beng Seng (Maxwell) 明成饮品
#01-89 – 南京街肉骨茶
#01-90 – 金成号饮品冰室
#01-91 – Lao Ban Soya Beancurd 老伴豆花
#01-93 – Bento King 便当王
#01-95 – Lian Cheng Coffee Stall 联成咖啡
#01-96 – vacant
#01-97 – 中国街合记五香贯肠
#01-98 – Teochew Rice & Porridge 新加坡河畔潮洲饭。粥
#01-99 – 唐人拉面
#01-100 – The Grean Lea Authentic Nasi Lemak & Chili Sambal
#01-102 – S.M.H. Hot & Cold Drinks
#01-103 – Hajimeer Kwaja Muslim
#01-104 – K3 Coffee
#01-105 – Ice Kiss
#01-106 – Bubble Tea

Vanessa is off to Japan this morning for a fashion shoot and before she left, we had to fill her with some good old cze char for a couple of days!

She googled and saw a post on zi char at 446 F&B 海鮮小廚. The blogger had convinced her we should give this stall a try. By the time we reached Pasir Ris Drive 6, the stall helpers were already doing closing but the lady was kind enough not to turn us away.

We ordered two dishes but found our choices dry so after the Marmite Pork Ribs and Omelet came, we placed another order for Hotplate Tofu.

Marmite Pork Rib King – S$12.
The coating sauce of the marmite pork ribs had an amount of sweetness which was dangerously leaning towards cloying on my palate.
We both liked the crispy external texture and although the deep-fried meat was not tough, they were on the dry side and that caused some discomfort to Vanessa after chewing a couple pieces.

Chye Poh Omelet (with preserved radish) – S$8.
Had decent wok hei and the saltiness was just right but a tad oily which is expected of this dish any where you go.

Hotplate Tofu – S$10.
The hotplate tofu had some gravy so that provided moisture to our otherwise dry meal. That said, I prefer the egg to be less set – a personal preference. Now that I know how they prepare this dish, I will indicate that I want runnier egg on my future trips.

3 dishes and 2 rice – S$31

To sum it up,  the Cze Char @ 446 F&B 海鮮小廚 is generally above average in comparison to other cze char stalls I have tried in Pasir Ris town. While the food was enjoyable, it did not possess any phenomenal wow factor we had been expecting. We’ve been too hyped up by the review “Best in the *East”, so that could have dampened our excitement and also my opinion of the overall meal.

Back track… Before, we placed our order, I saw a huge plate of fried rice (presumably for the staff) topped with crispy silver baits. I wonder if that was on their menu. I would like to go back again to try this fried rice and their other cze char dishes. Hopefully, our next meal there will be more tantalising!

446 F&B 海鮮小廚
Address: Block 446, #01-128.
Pasir Ris Drive 6.
Singapore 510446.

* If “East” means Pasir Ris and Changi Village only, then I agree this could be the best (keeping in mind I haven’t try a lot of dishes yet but a seasoned gourmand can guesstimate whether the cooks can make it or not). But! And a big but, I do not agree if the reviewer’s “East” included Bedok, Changi (not the village area), East Coast, Katong, Siglap, etc… etc…

Happy eating and bonding :)

I was pretty excited about the media invite on 7th January 2016 to taste Chef Julian Tam’s Chinese New Year offerings. I have seen some promotions of Wo Peng on Groupon deals and they were always sold out. This was a great chance for me to get acquainted with some of Chef Tam’s signature dishes as well as some bloggers and foodie instagrammers.

Wo Peng Cuisine @ Furama City Centre.
Helmed by Platinum Award-winning Chef Julian Tam Kwok Fai from Hong Kong.

We were served the standard Chinese Tea but when May offered us Snow Chrysanthemum, Mark and I chorused, “Got special tea, of course we drink that lor!” Giggles…

According to the Teasenz, this is not only a tasty beverage, but a healthy one too:

A ‘heavenly’ rare flower tea that is grown only in the Kunlun mountains, where slow flower growth results in a delicious flower taste with notes of caramel and dark red tea liquor. Snow Chrysanthemum flower tea contains high amounts of amino acids and proteins, which are beneficial to your health by lowering blood sugar, reducing high cholesterol, and preventing heart diseases.

In 2011, Snow Chrysanthemum flower tea prices suddenly increased to over 3000 USD per KG due to high demand while supply fell short.

Snow Chrysanthemum Tea Origin
Snow daisy is produced in the alpine region of the Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang. This flower tea mainly grows at high altitudes on the cliffs and only blooms once a year in August. Snow chrysanthemum tea is rare because it only has a very short blooming season and a very small yield. It’s the only wild Chrysanthemum in the world that grows at high altitudes. This makes this tea really hard to pick, because farmers have to go up the mountains during the harvest season. Thus, it’s pricey but definitely worth all the health benefits that you can enjoy while sipping a cup of this flower.

Health Benefits of the Snow Chrysanthemum Flower
Due to 18 kinds amino acids (and 15 kinds of trace elements), researchers claim that it can prevent high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, coronary heart diseases, inflammation, colds, and insomnia when consumed in form of tea. Wild Kunlun snow daisy has been passed down from generation to generation as a Uighur medicinal herbal flower tea.

How to Brew Xue Ju Hua Cha
Use water with low hardness and steep this flower tea at boiling temperature. A transparent glass or teapot would be the best to observe the flowers and tea liquor. The tea is ready when the liquor color turns slightly red (I think *deep orange or saffron is a accurate description). Compared to most flower teas, this Snow Chrysanthemum tea can be steeped for many brews, while maintaining its intense mellow sweet taste. To preserve the taste and aroma, store it in a dry and clean place.

Snow Chrysanthemum, known in Chinese as 雪菊, 蛇目菊 or 昆仑雪菊 among other names, is the Sanvitalia procumbens plant.
The Snow Chrysanthemum Flower Tea has no caffeine and the properties within the flowers are said to have calming effect and aid sleep.
In the Traditional Chinese Materia Medica Snow Chrysanthemum is described as aiding respiratory fitness, regulating blood pressure and preventing cancer.
Regardless of any health claims which I didn’t know until researching for this post, I did enjoy the “honeysuckle” aroma and soothing mellow taste.

*I think rich saffron colour is a more accurate description for this flower tea’s colour. The red colour tea behind is a “standard” Chinese tea.
The two pairs of chopsticks are not due to Michelin Star rating but one pair is for… Yu Sheng!

Since we are tasting Wo Peng’s CNY offerings, the first dish that was served was of course, their Fa Cai Yu Sheng!

While these Flour Crackers are quite the norm that goes into the Yu Sheng as one of the secondary ingredients before the great toss…

Crispy deep-fried Fish Skins are fast catching up during the last few years!

There has been recent scare of raw fish poisoning and some of the bloggers were talking about it.
May overheard and let us on that these are not real salmon.
She further informed that these Mock Salmon fillet were product made specially for the Japanese vegetarian community.
Mark ate and exclaimed, “Wow! These are scarily real in texture and taste!”

Together with the sweet Plum Sauce (on left next to the mock salmon), our Lo Hei began!

Lo Hei (撈起) is a term for eating Yu Sheng.

This auspicious plate of rainbow coloured Yu Sheng 七彩魚生 looked good and tasted even better after we have tossed it enthusiastically to good heights.

Double-boiled Superior Chicken Soup with Almond Juice; dried scallops, bamboo pith, gingko nuts, goji berries.
If you are familiar with the components of traditional Chinese cooking, you will notice the nutritious and hearty elements this concoction holds!

Sautéed “Peach Resin” with Egg White and Green Vegetables.

I did a double take when reading “Peach Resin”. Mark asked, “Isn’t resin a kind of plastic material or sap of tree???”

Peach resin also known as “peach blossom tears” is peach tree’s secretion of resin or amber-coloured gum. Apparently, it is a common Chinese “medicinal” ingredient said to be rich in amino acids, collagen, galactose, rhamnose,  etc… etc… The Chinese believes that peach resin has blood lipid, and thus consuming it can relieve stress. I don’t know how long this peach resin has been used in Cantonese or for that matter Chinese cuisine, but this is the first time I have heard and tasted it so to me, at least, herein lies the modernity Chef Julian is incorporating something “new” in his traditional menu!

Steamed Wild Cod Fish Fillet accompanied with deep-fried cod fish head and fish tail with superior soya sauce in Hong Kong style 鸳鸯蒸鳕鱼.

Did the menu say cod fish? I have never seen a whole cod fish served. We usually have fillet or steaks since the cod (银鳕鱼) is huge! The texture of this wild cod was firmer than expected without the silky smooth bias similar to that of a gindara I had foolishly assumed. The flesh tasted very much like that of a big garoupa’s (斑鱼), firm and slightly coarse, but not in an unpleasant way. You may not be familiar but an “authentic” Chinese diner would know that a whole fish must be served with together with its head and tail intact! The person who eats the head will also eat the tail so that everything s/he does has head and tail (有头有尾), a Chinese idiom meaning “I started, so I’ll finish; to carry something through to the end; no loose ends, has conclusion.”

Le Master Chef and I playing “shoot out” while we were waiting to be served his specialty – Poon Choi!
After taking a few shots at each other, he graciously allowed me to win, saying, “Okay, okay, I give up!”

Another must-have Chinese New Year dish is the Poon Choi 盆菜, literally basin cuisine.
That’s May portioning out the premium ingredients from Chef Jullian’s signature dish Poon Choi.

What’s in this bowl?
Starting clockwise at 12 o’clock: Abalone, Prawn, Mushroom, Pork and Black Moss Seaweed (Fatt Choy), Fish Maw, Broccoli, Sea Cucumber, Dried Oyster and Dried Scallop was under the fish maw.

The first helping of Poon Choi consisted the top layers of prized ingredients as shown in the photo above. After eating those, we probed the pot and discovered roasted pork, pig’s skin, daikon, nappa cabbage, dried shrimps, etc… etc… which, although are pedestrian ingredients, they played a crucial role in overall flavour enhancement, sealing the basin cuisine with a crescendo of umami notes. By then, I was yearning for steamed rice to slurp up the delectable gravy.

This is the real McCoy of a Poon Choi dish if you know what I mean!
Some impatient diners will use their chopsticks to plough into the base for the daikon instead of waiting for the layers to be eaten.

Smoke Roasted Duck with Rice, Tea Leaves and Camphor Wood 樟茶熏烤鸭.

The duck’s delicate crisp skin with tender juicy morsels made me forget to dip it in plum or hoisin sauce… Were there any in the first place?

Wok-fried Glutinous Rice with Assorted Chinese Waxed Meats 糯米饭.
Glutinous rice is also known as sticky rice but a good wok-fried sticky rice shouldn’t stick to your teeth or worse still, grandma’s dentures! Lol… ;-)
The grains were well lubricated making it “liap liap” or fluffy in dialect, retaining soft yet chewy texture.
This rice dish boasted of wok hei combined with the smoky savouriness of preserved meats.

Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Buns aka Liu Sar Bao.

Liu Sar Bao is the new chocolate molten lava cake!
How not too get fat???

Before this shot, we were fighting who would stand in front when I told him I was hiding my fat tummy after this feast behind his svelte frame, Chef Tam burst into laughter.

Master Chef Julian Tam is a culinary master in Hong Kong-style cuisine. He began his career at the tender of of 17 which he later embark on a 9-year apprenticeship programme in a renowned culinary school in Canada. He has worked at Hong Kong’s esteemed Kowloon Club and illustrious Yung Kee Restaurant during the 80’s and moved back to Canada in 1989. He is currently based in Singapore running two restaurants Wo Peng Cuisine Furama and Wo Peng Cantonese @ myVillage.

“At Wo Peng, our philosophy is simple. We cook with love, joy and harmony.”

Chef Tam is the man behind Wo Peng Cuisine. He is also the first to introduce the famous traditional festivity “Hong Kong Wei Cun Poon Choy” dish into Singapore’s food scene as well as making it available daily his restaurants’ menu. The Poon Choi was definitely a crowd pleaser and if you aren’t planning on cooking during this CNY, you might just want to check out Wo Peng’s value-for-money CNY take-outs!

CNY Set Menu for Take Out:
$298 for 5 pax or $528 for 10 pax includes four dishes:
Wo Peng Poon Choy Braised Australian Abalone w/ Dried Assorted Seafood in Casserole
Prosperity Crispy Fish Skin, Vegetarian Salmon Yu Sheng
Wok-Fried Glutinous Rice w/ Assorted Chinese Sausages
Deep-Fried Red Bean Pan Cake

Poon Choy for Take Out (FREE STAINLESS STEEL TREASURE POT!)
$228 for 5 pax (Usual Price $298)
OR
$428 for 10 pax (Usual Price $568)

What I liked best from this tasting were the Yu Sheng sans the mock salmon. I’ll definitely use sashimi grade fish or canned abalone to top up to their freshly prepared crisp rainbow salad. The next dish, which is also what everyone at the table agree, was the Poon Choi – strip-teasing our tongues. The next dish I enjoyed was the Superior Chicken Soup with Almond, simple yet steeped in robust flavours! The least favourite of the banquet was the Liu Sar Bao – I don’t know if our photography had taken too much time, the luke warm baozi had become a little harden and the salted egg yolk custard didn’t quite match up to those I have had in other establishments. That said, the amicable Chef Julian, the impeccable wait staff and May, the trendy bloggers at my table together with reliable Mark, my makan partner for the night, were such good spots I had a Whopping Good Time At Wo Peng Cantonese Cuisine 和平宴! Thanks to Hazel Hearts for the invite!

Wo Peng Cuisine @ Furama City Centre
Address: 60 Eu Tong Sen St,
Singapore 059804.

Tel: (+65) 6534 2282

Operating hours: Daily
Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

Wo Peng Cantonese @ My Village At Serangoon Garden
Address: #02-01, 1 Maju Avenue,
Singapore 556679.

Tel: (+65) 6634 7666

Operating hours: Daily
Lunch: 11am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

Happy eating and bonding :)

Info credit for Snow Chrysanthmum Flower Tea, Teasenz:
http://www.teasenz.com/snow-chrysanthemum-flower-tea#.Vpm2e1N96gR