Braised Soup...?

Are you getting bored by the different types of soup that you are getting out there? How about giving a bowl of braised ingredients in a pool of braised gravy a good try??? Har???

'Braised bowl of soup + Ingredients' Unlike the typical bowl of Chinese soup that comes with a clear-less bowl of soup, this actually comes with a brownish color soup base. And the texture of the soup isn't thick and milky too. And it's best served with a bowl of rice.

So let's take a closer look at the ingredients that are swimming in the bowl of soup. Over here, you can either choose to go with the assorted serving or choose the ingredients yourself. I decided to go with the assorted serving the other day. It comes with ingredients like 'Water Spinach', 'Fried Bean Curd', 'Cuttlefish', 'Pork Skin', 'Pork Meat', 'Pork Belly', 'etc'... They also have ingredients like 'Chicken Wing', 'Mushrooms', etc... swimming in a big pot of braised gravy positioned behind the counter. Taste wise, unlike the usual dark braised sauce that gives you a super salty taste, this is very different. And it's pretty hard for me to describe the overall sensation. It's like 50% braised topped with some magic factor, which makes it pretty interesting and unique.

So where can you give it a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Loh Mei Specialist'(湿卤味专家). It's located inside "People's Park Complex Food Centre".

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  12:00 - 21:00 Daily

* Click here for the location of "People's Park Complex Food Centre" on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find & get in
  'People's Park Complex Food Centre'.

Not really like a bowl of Yong Tau Fu...

Though the idea resembles a normal bowl of 'Yong Tau Fu' but if you take a look at it from a different angle, it might look alike but at the same time it's pretty different too.

The other day, my friend has mentioned about the uprising of such stalls that are preparing and selling such a dish. I have seen quite a few near my workplace but I have not given it a try. Hence that acts as the main push for me to give it a try. And that uprising dish would be... 'Mala Hot Pot'(麻辣香鍋) You can go for the dish only or you get top up a bit more for an extra bowl of rice to go with it.

So what's so special about the this dish? Over here in Singapore, you will be choosing the ingredients that you want to have first. The selections that you can choose include the different types of vegetables, seafood and meat. As you hand the ingredients over to the helpers of the stall, they will calculate the exact price of the dish and at the same time, they will ask you for your desired level of spiciness. Since this is my first attempt at this dish, I decided to go for the 3rd level. (The maximum they have over here is level 5.) The above shows the end product of my selection. This eventually has changed into a bowl of stir fried ingredients topped with extra ingredients like peanuts, sesame, sliced chillies, etc... topped with their special blend of spicy sauce. This is pretty new to me. The ingredients are slightly a bit wet, but the chef has prepared it properly. None of the ingredients still has the raw and cold touch, which is a (+). And since I have chosen a variety of ingredients with a different texture, hence in every bite I'm getting a sweet, spicy, crunchy, chewy sensation, which can be pretty appealing to me. Not only the dish is pretty tasty, this bowl of ingredients is big enough to be shared by 2 individuals. On top of that, since these are ingredients that I have chosen, therefore these are stuff that I like. :D Anyway I think that I can go for the level 4 or 5 of spiciness since the level 3 itself isn't fiery enough. :P

The above shows their charges for the individual plate of ingredients over here. For the convenience of those that couldn't read Chinese, I will break it down for you. Basically, vegetables are going for S$1 per plate, meat are mostly going for S$2 per plate, premium meat and seafood are going for S$3 per plate. A bowl of rice over here would be charge at S$0.50 each.

So where can you give this dish a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Ri Ri Hong Mala Hot Pot'(日日紅麻辣香鍋). It's located inside "People's Park Complex Food Centre".

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:00 - 21:00 Daily
• Their business was so good that they have 2 outlets in the same food centre to satisfy the big crowd.
• Take note, most of the 'Mala Hot Pot'(麻辣香鍋) are doing things differently. I have seen stalls that allows you to pick and choose your own ingredients, which is chargeable by the weight, which can end up to be pretty costly. So do keep that in mind. :)

* Click here for the location of "People's Park Complex Food Centre" on Google Maps.

Expanding Dim Sum...

I knew about the existence of this place since more than a decade ago. If I'm not mistaken, me and my school mates had dined at this restaurant once in a while back then. More than a decade has passed and I think that it's time to visit the place again. :)

This place is pretty crowded, especially when the weekend approaches. The group of us had finished the plate of peanuts within minutes, while waiting for our orders to appear

They have quite a spread for fried Dim Sum items over here. Though we only ended up placing an order for a few of them only. 'Prawn in Beancurd Skin'(鮮蝦腐皮卷) Not too oily, and yet it still has this crunchy touch, which makes this a pretty good Dim Sum. And most importantly not to forget about the tasty prawns. :) Alright, that's it. Time to move on to the steamed Dim Sum...

Left: 'Rice Roll with Char Siew'(叉燒腸粉) Right: 'Rice Roll with Prawn'(鮮蝦腸粉) The smooth texture would be a (+). Topped with a generous portion of ingredients make this a pretty decent plate of 'Rice Roll'.

Time for the Dumpling look alike Dim Sum. Left: 'Beancurd Skin Roll in Oyster Sauce'(耗油鮮竹卷) Right: 'Prawn & Mushroom Dumpling'(翅餃) Served warm, these succulent small bites can be delicious and dangerous at the same time. The soup within these small bites can burn your tongue easily.

Couldn't leave a Dim Sum place without giving the Buns a good try. Top: 'Char Siew Bun'(叉燒包) Bottom: 'Creamy Custard Bun'(流沙包) Loved the 'Creamy Custard Bun'. Though it's not the best but wrapped around the thick savory sweet lava would be the fluffy Pandan skin, which makes it a pretty good combination.

'Fragrant Rice with Chicken'(糯米雞) If you really want to save a bit, you can always go for 1 or 2 of the rice or congee dishes that they have listed on the menu. And this would be one of the better options. :)

'Yam Cake'(芋頭糕) Frankly speaking, I think that this would be the best item that was listed on their menu. Covered with a great amount of shrimps and spring onions, this is a pretty good deal. Faced it, I'm madly in love with this dish. As far as I know, this would be one of the best 'Yam Cake' in my area. As I took a bite off the 'Yam Cake', there's an immediate outburst of the fragrance of 'Yam' inside my mouth. On top of that, the chewy sensation would be another (+).

The above would give you a better idea of the dishes that they are offering over here.

The name of this restaurant would be 'Tak Po'(德宝). It's located along 'Smith Street', which is also located opposite 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Opening Hours:

• 07:00 - 22:30 Daily

* Click here for the location of 'Tak Po'(德宝) on Google Maps.

Unexpected find....

Well, the world is full of surprises. As I wander around a shopping mall, looking at the meals that the restaurants are offering over here, I was pretty surprised that I can actually get these dishes at an amazingly low price... Introducing my dinner the other day...

The above would be my dinner the other day. A main dish and a vegetables dish. :D

'Minced Chicken Beancurd'(肉碎豆腐) If you are getting this dish at any other Chinese restaurants out there, most likely you will be getting a big cube of 'Pan Fried Beancurd' covered with lots of yummy sauce and lots of minced meat. Over here, they are replacing all the minced meat with chicken minced meat. Frankly speaking, there's isn't a very big difference in the overall taste of this dish as compared to the traditional dish. Although this dish comes in 1 size only, but it's big enough to be shared among a group of people. In fact, just this 1 plate of smooth 'Beancurd', all the chewy bits and the sweet gluey sauce, I can easily gobble down 2 or 3 bowls of rice effortlessly. :P

'Curry Fish Head'(咖喱魚頭) Pretty much similar to the previous dish, the chef over here are very generous with the amount of ingredients that was added into this dish. Besides for the red snapper fish head, vegetables like 'Lady's Finger', 'Brinjal', 'Fried Beancurd', etc... have been added into that small little pot of 'Curry'. In fact, just by taking a look at the pot from the side, you can easily spot some ingredients popping out of the pot of curry. Pretty much similar to the previous dish, the gravy of the 'Fish Head Curry' is pretty thick, milky and on top of that it was not very spicy. Too bad, I have decided to cut down on the amount of rice otherwise just by drenching a bowl of rice with lots of gravy can really encourage/boast my appetite to a whole new level. :D

So where can you give these dishes a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚). It's a restaurant selling Halal Thai Chinese Cuisine. In fact 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚) alongside with 'West Co'z Cafe' and 'A-Poh Kitchen' are all under the same group. I have tried 2 out of 3 of the restaurants and I'm pretty impressed with it. Anyway this restaurant is located on basement 2 of the newly renovated 'Chinatown Point'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:30 - 21:30 Daily
• Anyway, every now and then, they would have these exciting good promotions going on. Do keep a lookout for their promotions, especially those that allows you to get a good pot of 'Curry Fish Head' at half the price. :P

* Click here to find out more about 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚).
^ Click here for the 'Facebook' page of 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚).
~ Click here to find out more about 'Chinatown Point'.
# Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Point' on 'Google Maps'.
** Click here for list of delicacies that you can find and get around 'Chinatown'.

Pretty much similar to their neighbour...

In fact, that same section of the hawker centre is flooded with similar stalls specializing in similar dish. And that would be...

the mega 'fish head'. 'Preserved Beans Sauce Steamed Fish Head'(醬蒸魚頭) As compared to their nearest competitor located nearby, they are preparing more than 2 different types of 'Fish Head' dishes over here. Before moving on to the dish itself, I want to spend a bit of time talking about 'Fish Head' dishes in Singapore. Over here, a 'Fish Head' doesn't mean that you would be getting the 'Head' only. Usually it's a big 'Fish Head' that comes with lots of meat. If it's ain't big, look for places that offer the bigger ones. :P Anyway, as for the 'Song Fish Head' dish the other day, the gravy for a start looks kinda orangy and the taste of the gravy taste kinda funny. Though I'm getting the sweet taste of the 'Preserved Beans' but there's something else on top of the sweet taste. In fact, I happened to pop by the some time back, but rather than giving the same dish a try again, this time round, I ended up carrying a packet of 'Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish Head' home. Trust me, in terms of the texture and the taste of the gravy, the 'Hong Kong Style Fish Head' is far more superior. Meat wise, though the portion is great, but the taste of the 'Fish Head' isn't super fantastic. In fact, the taste is pretty normal and they are actually relying on the gravy to boast the overall taste of the meat to a higher level. However, price wise, this is pretty reasonable and attractive as the portion can easily satisfy the stomach of a group of 2, unless you are a big eater like me. :P

So where can you give the 'Fish Head' a go?

The name of this stall would be 'An Ji'(安記). It's located inside 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  10:00 - 22:00 Daily

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.

Hainanese Laksa O.o?

Being a big fan of spicy food and Noodles, how could I resist the infamous dish, 'Laksa'. Ever since, I was a kid, I have been eating all sorts of 'Laksa'. As I grew up, I started to differentiate the different types of 'Laksa'. But 'Hainanese Laksa'? That would be something that we would be exploring today. :)

'Hainanese Laksa'? The appearance looks pretty much similar to the infamous 'Katong Laksa'. The concept of eating a bowl of 'Laksa' using a spoon and all the ingredients have been prepared in the manner that you can simply scoop them using a spoon. Ingredients wise, on top of the thick rice Noodles, you will also be getting cockles, beansprouts, slices of fish cakes and a lump of Sambal Chilli. Well, frankly speaking, I'm not expecting a big variety of ingredients, since each bowl is merely S$2.50 each. Taste wise, pretty much similar to 'Nonya Laksa', the taste of the thick 'Laksa' gravy is relatively sweet. As you mix all the ingredients thoroughly and throw a scoop into your mouth, the nice odour of 'Laksa' is floating inside your mouth. The nice taste of the shrimps + coconut milk, just simply explains why this dish is simply irresistible in Singapore. (This is pretty much similar to the 'Nonya Laksa', which makes me wonder what's the difference between the 'Nonya' and the 'Hainanese Laksa'?)

So where can you give this relatively sinful but inexpensive delicacy a try?

The name of this stall would be 'Qing Qiao Hainanese Laksa'(青橋海南叻沙). It's located inside 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:00 - 18:00
  (Closed on Thursdays and Fridays)

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.

The volcano here won't erupt...

I have read/heard about this legendary Japanese stall since a few years back. Though it has moved out of the original market/food centre and rather than winding up the business, he has decided to move to a new location. Though it's a new location, it's merely 10~15 minutes walk away from the original location.

Before I start, I would like to do a short introduction about Japanese Food. Yes, I do agreed that most of the infamous Japanese dishes are mainly raw stuff. But they have ridiculously delicious cooked food too. For a start there's 'Ramen/Udon/Soba', 'Tonkatsu'(Deep-Fried Cutlet), 'Yakitori' (Skewered Chicken), 'Japanese Curry' and one of my personal favourite 'Unadon'(Grilled Eel on rice). Well, at the end of the day, one has to give Japanese Cuisine a try, to figure out the greatness of 'Washoku'(Japanese Food), which is also a world cultural heritage. O.OV As for the post today... 'Yuzu Chicken Set Meal' The set meal comes with a decent bowl of 'Miso Soup' and a nice looking box, which is splitted into 2.

1/3 of the box contains a decent of white rice topped with sesame and Japanese Curry. Well, if you are a big fan of Curry, you can ask the stall owner to topped your rice with a scoop of nice Japanese Sweet Curry. Though Japanese Curry isn't Spicy stuff but I love the taste of the Carrots and Potatoes that have absorbed the taste of the Curry. Though the colour looks kinda dull, but the texture of the Curry isn't too thick and the taste is good enough to help me to wipe out half the portion of rice.

The rest of the space would be occupied by the main dish. As for my case, it has been occupied by a generous portion of 'Yuzu Chicken'. Topped with a layer of 'Yuzu' sauce, which helps to enhance the original taste of the 'Chicken' with a sour taste. As for the 'Chicken', it's a combination of crispy texture, topped with the juicy and tender 'Chicken meat', which is pretty Yummy~~~~~ There's also a nice spread of salad/vegetables and not forgetting the nice indulging pickles.

As mentioned earlier, a decent bowl of 'Miso' soup will be given. It comes with a concentrated taste of 'Miso', which is relatively good.

This should give you a better idea of what are the set meals that they are offering over here. They have also throw in a few more "Today's Special" set meals on top of the normal set meals, which makes things much more interesting. The best part would be the part where all the set meals are selling at an affordable price of less than S$10, which is a super big (+). :D

THe name of this stall would be 'Kazan Japanese Cuisine'. It's located inside 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Weekdays: 11:30 - 20:30
  Sundays: 11:00 - 18:00
  (Closed on Saturdays)
• By the way, this stall used to be located inside 'Tanjong Pagar Market and Food Centre' and it has moved to 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' recently.
• In case you are wondering, the word 'Kazan' in Japanese means 'Volcano'.

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.

Not the whole head but this is more than enough...

From time to time, I would like to give something different a good try. Therefore, rather than giving the usual 'cze char' dishes a try, I ended up eating something much more funkier and bigger. Introducing...

'Steamed Song Fish Head in Hot Sauce'(驰名酱蒸松鱼头) Even though this is merely half a fish head, but it's much more bigger than those that you are getting from your neighbourhood food stall or a restaurant. On top of that, the price of the fish head over here is ridiculously cheap. They are selling it at a relatively low price of S$13. @.@"" For a start, the sauce is pretty interesting. The gluey texture and the nice mixture of salty and sweet taste(soy beans) makes it pretty delicious and unforgettable. Usually, the chef over here will topped it with crispy pork lard, but you can also have it without the pork lard just by asking. (In fact, if you like the taste of the bottled 'Soya Bean' sauce that you can get in the local supermarket, you should give this dish a good try.) Meat wise, it's pretty fresh but the taste isn't super fantastic. However, if you dipped it inside the sauce, the taste of the sauce will blend with the meat nicely. In fact, the fish head over here also comes with 1 of the eyeballs(=.=""), a reasonable amount of fish meat and also the slimy bits around the mouth. And if you have a gigantic appetite, this dish is big enough to help you to empty more than 2 bowls of white rice. :P As for the drawback, I guess that would be the bones. This isn't an atas fish head, where the waiter will help you to remove all the bones. But if you ask me, when I compare the amount of fish meat and the fish bones that I'm getting, I think that the fish bones are simply nothing at all. :D

So where can you give the fish head a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Cheng Ji Steamed Fish Head in Hot Sauce'(成记驰名酱蒸松鱼头). It's located inside 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  12:00 - 21:00 Daily
  (Closed on Sunday)

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.

My way of having a good appetite...?

So what is my favourite way of having a good appetite? I guess that would be feasting on a big variety of dishes at one go. :D And it can be kinda boring if you are feasting on the same type of food at one go(imagine feasting on 5 or 6 plates of barbecue meat at one go), therefore it must be a variety of different types of dishes. And on top of that, things would get better and better if it ended up to be a big selection of small dishes. Therefore, I couldn't resist...

'Dim Sum Buffet' I'm always keeping a lookout for good 'Dim Sum Buffet' to try. With a good pot of Tea and a big variety of dishes, I seriously wouldn't mind giving the 'Dim Sum Buffet' of different Chinese restaurants a try on every weekend. :D As mentioned on my blog over and over again, 'Dim Sum' are pretty much similar to 'Sushi'. These dishes are pretty small in portion and they could easily burn a hole in your wallet. Anyway let's move on to some of the dishes that they are offering over here.

'Poached Pork Wanton in Spicy & Chilli Oil'(紅油炒手) Although the 'Wanton' are pretty tasty and meaty, but the sauce isn't fantastic enough. Basically the sauce isn't spicy enough and it would taste much better if they prepare it differently. Without the correct sauce, these 'Wanton' can never reach the top.

'Pan Fried Dumpling'(鍋貼) Not too greasy and parts of the skin are nice and crispy. And all the 'Pan Fried Dumplings' over here are bite sized. Best of all, there's a good mix of vegetables and minced meat, which makes it pretty good.

How can we leave the table empty? Since it's a 'Dim Sum Buffet', we should continue to cover the table with 'Dim Sum' dishes.... Whahahaha~~~~

'Four Seasons Pork Dumpling'(四方餃) Not all the 'Dim Sum' restaurants have this. This is a normal dumpling with 4 openings on top and each of the opening will be populated with a different type of ingredient. The base is pretty much similar to those of a juicy 'Xiao Long Bao'. Therefore, for this 'Dumpling', there's a mix of crunchy & juicy ingredients, which makes this a (+).

Top Left: Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling(蝦籽燒賣) Middle: Steamed Shrimp Dumpling(水晶鮮蝦餃) Bottom Right: Salted Egg Custard Bun(流沙包) Hmm... The 'Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling' & the 'Steamed Shrimp Dumpling' are pretty normal, not something that is deliciously exciting. But the 'Salted Egg Custard Bun' is pretty good. The thick filling is a (+). Not only it tastes good, when you have it with the 'Pandan Bun', you ended up getting something that not only tastes good, it smells good too. However, do be careful, the fiery filling can burn your tongue easily..

'Sliced Chicken in Spicy Sauce'(口水雞) Besides for 'Dim Sum', they also have included sides dishes like these. The slices of chilling tender chicken are pretty nice. However, the supposed-to-be spicy sauce, isn't exciting enough for me. Would be perfect if they can spice it up a bit more.

'Deep Fried Pork Rib with Spicy Mango Sauce'(香芒排骨) We have placed 2 separate orders for this dish. The first plate ended up to be heavenly. But the second one turns out to be pretty bad. When it's good, not only it's coated with a layer of mango, while chewing on the pork ribs, the nice concentrate fragrance of mangoes are bursting inside my mouth which makes it an enjoyable dining experience. :)

Left: Chilled Durian & Fresh Cream in Pan Cake(榴蓮糕) Right: Warm Fuzhou Yam Pudding(香麻芋泥) We have given all the desserts over here a try too. And this is the best. The appearance of it reminds me of the super oldie 'Golden Pillow'... =.="" Either ways, each spoonful of this dessert comes with a strong aroma of 'Durian' and cream. And the chefs over here might have added too much filling into the pan cake, such that the filling were flowing out of the pan cake once you cut a small opening off it. This has pretty much explains why this is the first item that is strike off the menu for the day.

Here's a copy of the menu of this 'Dim Sum' menu. They have also listed down stuff like deep fried 'Dim Sum', 'Baked Dim Sum', 'Noodles', 'Congee', etc...

The name of this restaurant would be 'Ju Chun Yuan'(聚春園). It's located in a corner of 'Far East Square'.

Notes:

• Daily Opening Hours:
  Lunch: 11:30 - 15:30
  Dinner: 18:00 - 22:30
• Dim Sum Lunch Buffet: 11:30 - 15:30
• Do take note, depending on the demand, most of the popular items might be sold out before 1 or 2pm in the afternoon.
• Do try and make your reservations as early as possible, as the empty seats are getting filled up pretty early...

* Click here to find out more about 'Ju Chun Yuan'(聚春園).
^ Click here for the Facebook page of 'Ju Chun Yuan'(聚春園).

Good Yellow Tail Fish Balls...

In the older days, fish balls are made from 'Yellow Tail' fish. I have given several stalls that have been boosting about the 'Yellow Tail' fish balls that they were making and this is one of the better ones...

'Yong Tau Fu' For a start, unlike most of the 'Yong Tau Fu' soup out there, they are not using 'Yellow Bean' to prepare this soup. And based on what I have read, they are using 'Ikan Bilis' and 'Fish Bones' to prepare this soup. Although the taste isn't as strong as the usual soup that you are getting, but the soup has this nice sweet and savoury taste, which is a nice (+). As mentioned earlier, the fish balls over here are made from 'Yellow Tail' meat. Therefore, I find the texture of the fish balls to be pretty chewy, bouncy and it doesn't have the fishy smell. On top of that, most of the ingredients over here are handmade by the stall helpers. In fact, they are owning 2 side by side stalls over here and they are using one of the stalls as a mini fresh ingredients making factory. XD As for the bowl of noodles that I have ordered, the crispy ikan bilis that were sprinkled on top isn't too salty and it's adding a crunchy sensation to the bowl of noodles itself. The biggest drawback would be the fact that they only have chilli sauce over here, therefore if you are keeping a lookout for the sweet sauce, too bad... :P

The menu over here is pretty straight forward. For a start, you can either go for the standard bowl of 'Yong Tau Fu' that comes with 6 pieces of ingredients with Noodles/Rice Vermicelli. Alternatively, you can go bowl of 'Yong Tau Fu' with merely 8 pieces of ingredients. On top of that, you can request for a few other types of ingredients with an extra charge.

So where can you give the delicious fish balls and 'Yong Tau Fu' a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu'(秀記江魚仔釀豆腐). It's located in one of the hidden corners on level 2 of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  06:00 - 15:00 Daily

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.