BBQ-ing in a village

Here I am again, blogging about my little adventure at 'A' village. I have to admit that this place is located near or too near to my current workplace that I just couldn't resists the temptation... And it just so so happen that I have been popping by this 'village' for the second time this week... =="""

Anyway today's menu.

Sambal Kang Kong (Water Spinach) and BBQ Sambal Stingray.

I love BBQ Sambal food. Especially when you take a bite from a
plate of freshly cooked BBQ seafood with spicy and delicious
sambal chilli spread on top of it, the taste is fantastic.
Especially when the chef have prepared this properly, you would
ended up biting and chewing the bones in a corner asking for
more. (I know I'm doing that... How about you?)

Taste wise, it's pretty much similar to all the other BBQ
stalls out there except for the fact that this place is
located the city area and the portion is pretty generous.
But once you add the chilli that was given on a separate
plate to the Stingray, you will be playing with fire.
And I enjoy playing with such fiery fire, pushing my
tongue to the limits...:D
(By the way the one that I had shown in the above was the
smallest plate of Sambal Stingray that they are offering.
They do offer bigger plates of Sambal Stingray, which is
meant to be shared among a large group of people.)

Usually it's the other way round but this Sambal Kang Kong was
much much more tastier that the Sambal Stingray. I enjoy eating
Sambal Kang Kong that was sir fried with a lot of Sambal Chilli
and it doesn't ended up to be too wet nor too dry. One of the best
part of this dish would be the shoots. Once you put it in your
mouth, you will realised that the shoots still have this crunchy
touch and I love chewing these crunchy shoots. Its nice.:D
I reckon that this stall was serving one of the nicest Sambal
Kang Kong that I had eaten over the past few months and it has
also set the standards of a good plate of Sambal Kang Kong.

As per what I had mentioned earlier, this stall is located in 'A' village and

this is the stall serving all the spicy delicacies that I have shared
here. The name of the stall would be 'Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood'.

Notes:

• The dishes can be very spicy and if you are not a big fan of spicy stuff, better try requesting for lesser Sambal chilli to be added to the dishes.
• Operating Hours: Daily 5 pm - Midnight

* Click here for the map of 'Alexandra Village hawker centre'.
^ Click here for some other delicacies that can be found in 'A' village.

Pork Rib + Chinese angelica = ?

I love to go around eating and trying all sorts of delicacy. Therefore whenever I'm free during the weekends or after I knock off from work, I tend to keep a lookout for all sorts of delicacies. O.O (Eyes getting big big... :P) So back to my topic today, what do you get when you have a mixture of Pork Rib and the Chinese herb angelica? The answer would be...

'Bak Kut Teh', or more commonly known as Pork Rib Soup or Tea.
What makes this interesting was the fact that the owner was using the
Chinese herb angelica(当帰) as one of the key ingredients in making the
'Bak Kut Teh' soup. If I'm not mistaken I was blogging about the fact
that most of the 'Bak Kut Teh' soup in Singapore are mostly white in
colour, and it's pretty difficult for you to find dark coloured
'Bak Kut Teh' soup nowadays. I should say that I'm pretty fortunate in
finding another stall selling dark coloured 'Bak Kut Teh' soup, which is
the one shown in the photo. So what makes this 'Bak Kut Teh' soup special?
Firstly, the herbal soup really taste of Chinese herbal and it doesn't
comes with a strong pepper taste. Secondly, most Chinese herbs are bitter
but when you mixed it with Pork Ribs, which is sweet, the taste of the
soup will ended up becoming neither too bitter nor too sweet. This is
perfect. :D Last but not least, the amount of 'Pork Rib' that was given
was pretty generous. By looking at the photo, you can easily identify the
amount of meat floating out of that bowl of 'Bak Kut Teh' Soup.

Although, I was alone, that doesn't stop me from giving the sides dishes
a try. Besides for the 'Bak Kut Teh', I have also placed an order for the
'You Tiao', or fried crullers, preserved vegetables, braised peanuts and
on top of all the items listed in the above, a plate of braised ingredients.
The extra plate of braised ingredients were pretty normal. The fresh 'You Tiao'
are pretty good and not too soft. The preserved vegetables and braised
peanuts are not 'over-cook'. 'Over-cook' here means that the owners doesn't
prepare a very big pot of ingredients everyday, probably they only prepare
an amount of ingredients that will only be sufficient for the day. So that,
we the consumers will only be getting fresh ingredients everyday.

The above shows a photo of my dinner that particular day. :D
(Dreaming of the exact moment of eating the 'Bak Kut Teh' again...)

But wait, before I started dreaming, when can you get the above delicacy?

The name of the stall would be 'Leon Kee Claypot Pork Rib Soup'.
It is located in 'A' village or 'Alexandra Village hawker centre'.

Note:

• Operating Hours: 8am - 10pm (Closed on Wednesday)

* Click here for the map of 'Alexandra Village hawker centre'.
^ Click here for some other delicacies that can be found in 'A' village.

Eating a Cactus?

I haven't tried eating a cactus before. However, I have went to a restaurant with a Japanese name of 'Cactus' before and the infamous item on their menu would be...

all sorts of deep fried cutlets.
(In fact, most of the items on their menu comes with a deep
fried cutlet or two. For example: 'Tonkatsu', a.k.a deep
fried pork cutlet, cutlet sandwich, cutlet curry, etc...)

When my stomach is growling like crazy, my favourite choice
of food would be 'Tonkatsu'. However, today isn't a 'Tonkichi
Day' at 'Tonkichi', therefore I decided to try 'Tonkatsu' set
at a different restaurant. The above shows the table setting
of the restaurant. On each and every table, there's Citrus
sauce and salad dressing for the Cabbage and the typical
'Tonkatsu' sauce.

Why do I choose 'Tonkatsu' set meal over all the other delicacies when I'm hungry? This is because not just in Japan, local restaurants serving 'Tonkatsu' set meal also practice the same idea of providing unlimited free flow of Rice, Cabbage and Tea whenever you place an order for a 'Tonkatsu' set meal. (≧∇≦)b On top of the above, at 'Saboten', they have also provided unlimited free flow of Miso soup. (≧∇≦)b (I have to admit that I'm a glutton. In the past, when I'm super hungry, I tend to go for the 3rd serving of rice. :P)

Shown in the above, would be the main course of the day. 'Tonkatsu' set and Garoupa set. By the way, the Garoupa set also comes with deep fried prawn and crab croquette too. Regardless of the ingredients, all the cutlets are pretty crispy and delicious.(≧∇≦)b (Unknowingly, I'm already on my 3rd bowl of rice.＝＝””””””) Too bad, They don't have deep fried Oyster on their menu, which is one of my favourite item for deep fried food.

Each of the set meal that you have ordered at 'Saboten',
comes with a free Green Tea Ice Cream. Although the taste is
pretty normal and despite being free, I have tried to finish it.
(This is one of the principles in my life, not to waste food.)

The above shows the appearance of 'Saboten', which is
located on the 3rd floor of 'Parco Marina Bay'.

* Click here to find out more about Japan's 'Saboten' restaurant.(In Japanese)
^ Click here to find out more about 'Parco Marina Bay'.

The village of 'A'

Please do not mistaken this as a post for some sports products. It is just a coincidence that the name of this village starts with a 'A' and one of the most delicious bite here also happen to start with the letter 'A' too. And by giving it a name of 'A' village makes it easier for me to remember too.

So what is the delicacy that starts with a 'A'?

Answer: Avocado Juice
When I was walking through the stalls of this village, it seems that there
are more than 4 different stalls trying to promote flesh Avocado Juice.

So what's so great about Avocado?
According to an article on CNN health, Avocado are rich in monounsaturated fat,
which is the heart-healthy kind of fats. On top of the point in the above,
studies have also shown that Avocado can reduce the blood cholesterol levels,
which is good. Therefore, one should really consider adding Avocado into your
daily diet.

Okay back to the drink. This is one of the most concentrated Avocado juice
that I have come across with. It has this smooth, thick and creamy texture
that to some extent I was wondering am I drinking milk. Although this is
not a sweet fruit juice, but it's definitely something worth trying and
getting yourself addicted.

So where is 'A' Village.

'A' village is basically 'Alexandra village hawker centre' and the name of the
stall selling the Avocado Juice shown in this post would be 'King Avocado'.

Note:

• Operating Hours: 8am - 10pm (Closed on Wednesday)

* Click here for the map of 'Alexandra Village hawker centre'.
^ Click here for the article on CNN health on the benefits of Avocado.

This is what I call high standard 'Kway'

I was hanging around a hawker centre a few weekends ago hoping that I can get to try the infamous Claypot rice but I failed miserably... But since I'm walking through the hawker centre making my way back, I decided to have my lunch there. Option 1-Vegetarian Bee Hoon closed. Okay not so much of a big deal... O.O wait a minute not just one or two stalls are closed, more than half of the stalls are closed. =="" But luckily, I found the following...

A 'Kway Chap' set

Let's talk about the 'Kway' first. This is what I call high standard 'Kway'.
I was observing the stall owner making this simple looking bowl of 'Kway'.
After adding the 'Kway' to a bowl, he will add hot plain water to it.
Let the 'Kway' soak for a minute or so before draining the hot water away.
Lastly, he will add the brown colored soup to the bowl of 'Kway' and it's
ready to eat. If I'm not mistaken, this is the correct method of preparing
a good bowl of 'Kway'. I remembered that hawkers tend to follow the steps
listed in the above but as time goes by, more and more hawkers tend to
come up with their method of making 'Kway' in a faster manner. Although
it's much faster but their taste isn't as good as this.

Taste wise, the soup is fantastic. The taste of the soup reminds me of the
older days and my first encounter with 'Kway Chap'. As for the 'Kway', it's
pretty thin and smooth. Not to forget chewy. So what else can you ask for?

Like any other 'Kway Chap' stall, after a customer place an order for
'Kway Chap', the owners will start chopping all the ingredients into bite
size. But something indifferent would be the way they are handling the
ingredients. By looking at the photo shown in the above, you can easily
identify how clean the ingredients are and based on my observations,
this hawker doesn't throw all the ingredients into the braised sauce.
The hawkers would most likely be putting in and taking out the ingredients
from the braised sauce from time to time. Probably this is because they
don't want all the the ingredients to ended up tasting alike and they
are preventing the ingredients from becoming too salty.

The taste of the ingredients were pretty good, not to forget about the
bean curd that doesn't ended up to be too soft. Too bad they didn't give
preserved vegetables otherwise it will be perfect.

'Pig large Intestines'.
This is really much bigger than the normal intestines, and it's pretty
clean too. I was dipping each and every slice of it into the chilli
sauce that was provided by the stall. Umm Umm Hmm... Delicious.

Besides for large intestines, there also have pig trotter, pig skins,
the ending part of the large intestines, etc...
If you are sharing it with a large group of people, you can consider
getting all the ingredients and give it a try.

So where can you find this delicious 'Kway Chap' set?

The name of this stall would be 'Blanco Court'. It is located in located in
'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.

* Click here for the location for 'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.
^ Click here for the other delicacies that can be found at 'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.

'Clifford' Cake

I'm wondering is it me or age is catching up with me. Recently I tend to pay a visit to places that I haven't being to for a very long time else I tend to go back to eating places that I haven't been going for a very long time. The following would be one of my favourite eating places probably around 4~5 years ago...

Here comes

'Tampopo Deli'.
'Tampopo Deli' is currently located on basement 1 of 'Liang Court
shopping Centre' along River Valley Road.
I can still recall the types of pastry that I have bought here before,
I still miss those 1/2 priced delicious bento dinners and the number
of interesting memories that this place has given me...
(Although most of these memories are food related...:P)

'Cheese Chiffon Cake'
The above would be one of the speciality of this place.
Although these chiffon cake are more expensive that normal cakes,
no one can resist the soft, fluffy and delicious chiffon cakes. :D
Another interesting finding of the place would be the fact that
every now and then, they tend to come up with new ideas for the
chiffon cakes. Ex: Green tea flavoured, fruit chiffon cake, etc...
(Hmm.... I guess this would be the only Tampopo branch that I like...)

Note:

• All the inexpensive and good bento will start to appear after 8pm.
• The puddings and cream puffs are ultra addictive. Once you have tasted one, you will get hook on.

* Click here for the location of the 'Tampopo Deli' in Liang Court.
^ Click here for some other good bites that can be found in 'Liang Court'.
# Click here to find out more about 'Liang Court'.

Musashi

When it comes to the word 'Musashi', the first topic that would pop out from your mind would most like be the fight between both Japanese swordsmans 'Miyamoto Musashi' and 'Sasaki Kojiro' on the island of Funajima. However, I'm not going to blog about the swordsman 'Miyamoto Musashi' today, what I'm going to blog about will be the new Ramen restaurant in Singapore known as 'Menya Musashi'.

The following would be photos taken at 'Menya Musashi'.

'Red Kakuni Ramen' (Red Ramen with Pork Belly) According to the website of 'Menya Musashi', the style and the taste of each restaurant in Japan varies. However, as most of the Ramen in Singapore are mostly 'Char Siew Ramen', and 'Pork Belly Ramen' were pretty rare, I decided to give it a try. Regarding the Ramen. The taste of the soup, the ingredients and the noodles that chef are using were pretty normal. It doesn't have its own speciality, I think. Probably the speciality of 'Menya Musashi' was the 'Tsukemen', which is also known as dipping noodles.

After you have finish a bowl of Ramen, you get to
see a picture of the duel between both Japanese
swordsmans 'Miyamoto Musashi' and 'Sasaki Kojiro'
on the island of Funajima

The above shows the exterior of the new Ramen
restaurant 'Menya Musashi', which is located
on the 1st floor of Raffles City, Singapore.

* Click here to find out more about Japan's 'Menya Musashi'.(In Japanese)
^ Click here to find out more about 'Raffles CIty'.

The Past, The Present and The Future

In our life, we will be spending a lot of time looking into our past, thinking of our future and thinking of ways of enjoying our life to the fullest. As for myself, I think I'm spending too much time thinking about food and there are just some stalls that I have been consistently returning to...

Here comes...

This is a simple 'Kway Chap' set. I still can remember the days where I
used to have this for breakfast during the weekends, before I went for my
weekend classes. I enjoyed having this 'Kway Chap' set for lunch every
Wednesday with a bowl of yam rice back then when my previous workplace
was located near this place. When I went back to this stall recently, I
was informed by the stall owners that they have slightly changed the way
they work. Rather than providing yam rice on Wednesday only, they have
been preparing yam rice on a daily basis over the past few months. Too bad
my current workplace isn't located near this place any more.

So what are the ingredients that you are getting at this stall?
There are ingredients like braised hard boiled egg, preserved vegetables,
bean curd and various parts of a pig. Ex: pig intestines, pig skin,
pig meat... etc. As for taste wise, I wouldn't say that this is something
that is super delicious but it's still considerably good. Besides for the
large variety of ingredients that you are getting, the chilli that this
stall has prepared was pretty good too.

So where can you find this stall?

This would be the appearance of the stall. It is located in Tiong Bahru Market.
Besides for 'Kway Chap', this stall also serve duck rice, duck noodles and
duck porridge too. If I'm not mistaken, I think I have tried everything that
they have on their menu and my favourite item would be the duck rice that comes
with yam rice. That is a taste that I would never forget. :D

Note:

• Besides for option of getting either a bowl of 'Kway' or a bowl of yam rice, you can also get a bowl of noodles to get with the 'Kway Chap' set too.
• You can also try asking for the Belachan chilli that they have. It blends with the ingredients and the yam rice very well.
• Operating Hours: 7am - 10pm daily

* Click here for some other good bites located in Tiong Bahru Market.

Just another Soya Bean stall

I was writing about the Organic Soya Bean Curd stall located in ABC Brickworks Market/Food Centre a few weeks ago. I realise that within the same place there was not just one but two different stalls that's selling similar food items.

Bandung Cold Soya Bean Curd
Although both places are selling and making Bean Curds but both
stalls have differences too. As for the biggest difference, I guess
that it would be the flavours of Bean Curd that they are offering.
Although there are some flavours that both stalls are offering but
there are also flavours that only one of the stalls will be offering.
For example, the flavour that I have shown here. 'Bandung' was one
of the flavours that only one of the stall is offering.
So if you are a fan of Cold Soya Bean Curd, you can probably try
visiting both stalls looking for the flavour that suits you the best.
Taste wise, I just can't resist all these sweet and ice cold dessert,
which is also a healthy substitute for 'Mango Puddding'.
By the way, 'Bandung' is a mixture of both rose syrup and milk.
it was a speciality of Malaysia.

This is how the stall looks like. Similar to what I have mentioned
earlier, this stall is located inside ABC Brickworks Market/Food Centre.

* Click here for the map of ABC Brickworks Market/Food Centre.
^ Click here to find out what other delicacy can be found in the ABC Brickworks
  Market/Food Centre.

Chicken + Pork Claypot Rice

I got to admit that I'm a glutton. Once I start.... I will just keep on going on and on. Till I drop. I still can remember the days where I can finish a large pizza by myself. (Hmm... I don't do that nowadays. I wonder why? Speaking of pizza that reminds me of something. :D)

Either ways time to move back to the title of this post, 'Claypot Rice'.

Although there are places that are offering 'Claypot rice' for an individual,
I personally felt that it just doesn't feels right. Therefore I have been
keeping a lookout for big mega 'Claypot Rice' for at least 2 or more. :D

Here's a closer look of the 'Claypot Rice'. Unlike the other 'Claypot Rice'
stalls, that will pour all the oil and the dark soy sauce beforehand, this
stall will simply provide you a mug of oil and a mug of dark soy sauce.
And you get to enjoy the luxury of pouring as much oil and dark soy sauce
as you want.
(This would be an ideal step for people who prefer more oil or less dark soy sauce.:)
Anyway, I was busily eating and enjoying the 'Claypot Rice' that I have
completely forgotten to take a photo of the 'Claypot Rice' (with all the
oil and soy sauce and all the stirring).

This stall is pretty generous when it comes to the ingredients
that was given. Besides for Chicken chunks, there's salted fish, and 2
different kinds of sausages. Taste wise, after adding 3 spoonful of
soy sauce and a spoonful of oil, plus a bit of stirring, that taste
is fantastic. It's neither too sweet nor too plain. In fact, if your
appetite isn't as big as mine, I think that the 'Claypot Rice' for
2 should be big enough to fill the stomachs of 3 normal individuals.
(Reason behind it, I was filling up four bowls of rice.... :D)

By the way, this place allows you to make special request for different
variations of 'Claypot Rice'. You can either go for 1 kind of ingredient
or opt one of the ingredients out. (Hmm.... I wonder who would it taste
like if I go for the Chicken Chunks only...?)

Location Wise...

The name of this stall would be 'New Lucky Claypot Rice'.It is located in 'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.

Operating hours:

• 11am–1.30pm
• 5pm–8.30pm

* Click here for the location for 'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.
^ Click here for the other delicacies that can be found at 'Holland Drive Market and Food Centre'.

TMNT: Time for some Turtle Power...

Woo hoo... I miss the old days watching TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) cartoons. :P Especially with all the interesting news about the upcoming TMNT movie in 2013, I decided to go for some Turtle soup.. slurp... Turtle Power?

Here comes a bowl of Turtle soup and a bowl of rice...

So what's so special about this Turtle soup?

First of all, you are getting genuine turtle meat. Besides for turtle meat,
you are also getting the tendon, the jelly like turtle meat, too. Secondly,
the texture of the turtle meat is as soft as the normal chicken meat and at
the same time comes with a chewy touch like a roast pork. :P Third but not
least, the turtle soup has this thin herbal taste that will just keeps you
on and on.
(By the way, I ended up finishing the whole bowl of Turtle Soup. :P Not sure
if I can around asking for an extra bowl of turtle soup but it will be great
if I can go for another round. :D)
(Note: the chilli goes pretty well with the turtle meat too. :D It's a must try.)

The above shows the benefits of having a Turtle soup.

Here's a copy of the menu of this place. Besides for Turtle soup,
they also have Black chicken herbal soup and some other side dishes too.

Location wise:

The name of this place would be 'Tai Seng Turtle Soup'. It used to be
located along Upper Paya Lebar Road. And it seems that they have moved
to 'Hougang Ave 1'. (I found this on the internet and haven't really
confirmed it myself.)

Notes:

• Operating hours: 11am - 10pm

* Click here for the location of 'Tai Seng Turtle Soup'.

Time to turn on the heat...

It was a raining day. Luckily, I had my umbrella with me but where should I go for dinner? Since its a raining day, a hot or spicy food would be nice...

Therefore the first option that come popping through my mind would be...

Mutton Soup.

Besides for the strong mutton taste, there's also a very nice
Chinese herbs aroma too. At that was the same aroma that attracts
me to this stall. What I love most about this mutton soup would be
the fact that they are adding a substantial amount of herbals and
that have completely remove the strong odour of mutton meat.
But, once you started taking a spoonful of mutton soup, you will be
addicted to the soup and once you start you can only stop after
finishing the whole bowl of mutton soup.

Okay, although what I was given were mutton meat with bones, but
it isn't a very difficult task in finishing/ripping all the flesh
off the meat. :D

Unlike some other stalls that will charge you additional S$1 or
S$2 for adding another bowl of soup, over here you can ask for
another bowl of mutton soup for free..
(Note: Each bowl of mutton soup is entitled to a free top up only.
I'm not sure if you can top up for the second or third time and how
much each top up will cost you.)

So where is this store located?

The name of this stall would be 'Kong Kee Mutton Soup' and it
is located near Mustafa Shopping centre.

Note:

• Stall is closed on Sundays.
• Operating hours: 11 am - 10pm

* Click here to take a look at the location of this stall on Google Maps.