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Chai Chee Noodle Village 菜市肉脞面 is famous for its bah chor mee (minced pork noodles) and has over 10 outlets around Singapore. The stall I patronised is located at Fu Chan Kopitiam (Blk 727 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6).
The dish consisted of mee pok (flat yellow noodle), bah chor (minced pork), sliced lean pork, sliced pig's liver, pork meatballs, lettuce, stewed shitake mushrooms and a bowl of soup with seaweed. Many people say that Chai Chee serves the best minced pork noodles. But personally I disagree, at least for this outlet. The vinegar fragrance was missing and there was not enough pork lard. Though the ingredients used were fresh and well-cooked, the overall taste was quite disappointing. Perhaps this outlet does not maintain the usual high standard.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience - • Service 6/10
This stall is located at Chinatown Food Centre #02-032. It should not be confused with the char kway teow stall of the same name at Bedok South (no relation). http://yummymatters.blogspot.com/2009/03/char-kway-teow-hill-street-char-kway.html
The dish was moist and savoury, but somehow lacked the right sweetness for char kway teow. The kway teow was too soggy for my liking and the cockles were not too fresh. The char kway teow at Bedok South is much better.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience - • Service 5.5/10
Ah Seng Braised Duck Rice 亚盛卤鸭饭 stall is located at Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre stall number 44. I ordered a one-person set meal, which consisted of a bowl of plain rice with dark sauce, sliced braised duck and a bowl of vegetable soup. I also added to my order a stewed egg, braised duck innards and braised pig's ears.
The plain rice was slightly soggy but the thin and savoury dark sauce made up for it. The sliced duck meat was tender, moist and aromatic. The combined taste of duck meat, rice and vinegar chilli was so yummy. The stewed egg and pig's ears were good, but the braised duck innards were too salty for me. The vegetable soup was flavourful. Overall it was a very enjoyable meal.
• Food & Beverage 7.5/10 • Ambience - • Service 5.5/10
Mei Heng 美兴酿豆腐 is located at kopitiam in Plaza By The Park. If I am around the vicinity, I will patronise this yong tau foo stall. Long queues during lunch and dinner hours. Many varieties of fresh raw and cooked ingredients to choose from.
I preferred the soup version. The soup had a strong soya bean aroma, with a tasty sweetness. I chose yellow noodles with ingredients such as beancurd stick, stuffed deep-fried tofu, fried dumplings, ngoh hiang, cuttlefish and kang kong. The sweet sauce and chilli sauce were good.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience - • Service 5.5/10
The annual event BeerFest Asia was here in Singapore again. It was held at the Singapore Flyer from 29th April to 3rd May 2009 (www.beefestasia.com). My friends and I wanted to check out what were the new beer stalls available this year and hoped to try some of our favourites.
Deli Moroccan restaurant is located at 30 Bussorah Street (near Arab Street, in front of the Sultan Mosque). My friend and I ordered 2 dishes – stew beef tagine and beef kofta tagine (with matlouh flatbread), plus Moroccan mint tea. The dishes were in generous amounts and very delicious. Good value for money as it costed us only $26.
The stew beef tagine included big chunks of beef, couscous (Moroccan granule), assorted vegetables (buttercup pumpkins, radish, cabbage, onions, eggplants, french beans and celery) and chickpeas. The chunks of beef were tender, juicy and slightly spicy. The couscous was well cooked and not soggy/sticky at all. The assorted vegetables and chickpeas were simmered in rich and flavourful gravy that used Moroccan herbs and spices. An excellent dish indeed.
The mint tea was served in a small metal pot with 2 glass cups filled with mint leaves. It was delightful and went well with the 2 main dishes.
• Food & Beverage 8/10 • Ambience 7/10 • Service 7/10
Hansang Korean Family Restaurant is located at Square 2 Shopping Mall #03-33. I ordered the beef short rib stew (galbijim) set meal at $25++, which included:
• Galbijim beef short rib stew in black hot pot
• Chapchae
• Heukmibap steamed rice
• 9 assorted side dishes
• Desserts - red bean stuffed rice cake &
cinnamon punch
• Insamju ginseng wine
The beef short rib stew was served steaming hot in a hotpot. I love this dish very much. The beef meat was tender, juicy and very aromatic. The meat could detach from the rib bone easily. The thick gravy was heavenly - spicy, sweet and flavourful. There were some gingko nuts and red dates added. It was so yummy eating the beef meat with gravy and the steamed rice.
The restaurant named the chapchae dish as "sweet potato noodle", which is actually the Korean glass vermicelli. It was delicious and colourful. The ingredients consisted of glass vermicelli, shredded carrots, sliced shitake mushrooms, chopped onions, minced garlic, sliced scallions, sliced seaweed, shredded egg yolk/white strips and sesame seeds.
The first 3 side dishes were served in a long ceramic plate. The dishes were red kidney beans, mashed potato and anchovies. My first reaction was "huh so little of each side dish?". The dishes tasted quite ordinary, nothing to shout about. The ginseng wine was good and had a strong ginseng flavour.
The steamed rice consisted of white sticky rice with barley and black rice. Very nice. The remaining 6 side dishes were (below pic from top, clockwise):
• Seasoned spicy fishcakes - below average
• Seasoned bean sprouts - slightly above average,
quite delicious
• Seasoned seaweed with sliced onions -
below average
• Seasoned spinach - above average, delicious
• Seasoned spicy brinjal - average
• Kimchi - slightly above average, fresh and
delicious
The desserts consisted of 2 pieces of red bean stuffed rice cakes and 1 cup of cinnamon punch. The rich cakes had the right sweetness but tasted below average. They were way too hard for my liking. I could not taste much of the cinnamon flavour in the punch. It was dominated by the sourish fruity taste. Quite disappointing.
• Food & Beverage 7.5/10 • Ambience 7.5/10 • Service 7/10
My secondary school classmate Clement Ng owns Eden Sanctuary (www.edensanctuary.com.sg), a restaurant serving fresh, original and delicious food creations. Clement is well-known for his experiments with flowers and herbs in his cooking and his creations have delighted the palates of his customers. The restaurant has a serene and cosy setting which enhances the overall dining experience.
Through Clement's recommendation, I ordered the ginger leek peanut butter fish as the main course. The dish was superbly delicious and non-spicy. The fish was well marinated and fried to perfection. The ginger and leek were the dominant flavours, and the peanut butter was mild. Clement suggested that the main course had to be matched with a good white wine and he recommended Morande Pionero Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from Chile. One of the best white wines I ever tasted and certainly went well with the fish dish. Last but not least, I was served with the dessert modena mousse cake. Heavenly!
Service was very warm and friendly. It was like having a nice meal at a good friend's house.
• Food & Beverage 8.5/10 • Ambience 8/10 • Service 8.5/10
