Zi Char @ Telok Blangah Crescent

The family just love to eat Zi Char. A nice place which we have been to a couple of times. Just below one of the HDB flats near the market.

Ice Chendol @ Ghim Moh Food Centre - Golden Swallow Dessert

What beats the hot weather than a bowl of Ice Chendol - was around Ghim Moh Food centrre and decided to pop by to beat the heat. Saw the queue at stall 53 - Golden Swallow Dessert - and decided to get a cold dessert to down the heat - BBF J always tell me that this stall seems to be closed almost every other day and it would be hard to find it open. I happened to visit this food centre a couple of times and well, this stall is forever packed with a queue. So, I wonder if she is telling me that this stall does not open in the late evening - that's the time for working adult's dinner. 

So for $1.30, I managed to get a bowl of ice chendol. With all the ingredients like red bean, grass jelly underneath the heap of ice shave, the stallholder poured over the condensed milk and Gula Melaka Syrup. Nice and sinful dessert!

Chendol

Golden Swallow Dessert

Ghim Moh Food Centre
Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road
#01-53

Jing Hua Fried Fish Soup @ Maxwell Road Food Centre

Maxwell Food centre is really a food heaven with many choices. I love to head to Maxwell whenever I am around the area. 

This time round, I headed to Jing Hua Fish Soup stall. There is always a queue at this stall and today, I decided to queue as well. It was a wait of 20 minutes before I reached the front of the stall - ordered the Fried Fish Soup with rice. 

This is simply the most delicious fish soup - the milky fish soup topped with the fried fish slices, the tofu, the vegetables, the seaweed and the fried shallots is marvelous. The broth was very tasty and great and the sesame oil further enhanced it.

Do drop by to eat it if you are nearby! Besides fish soup, they also serve Fish porridge, bee hoon fish soup....

Fish Soup

Stall 77 

Maxwell Road Food Centre
1 Kadayanallur Street #01-97

Songfa Bak Kut Teh

Back to Songfa Bak Kut Teh for lunch. This time round, we ordered the Pig Kidney Soup, Pig Stomach Soup and a plate of Kai Lan. As usual, the lunch crowd was there. My advice, to avoid the crowd between 12pm and 2pm or go in a small group. In this way, you will be able to get a table in the shortest time.

Food was served relatively fast and you got to pay when the food is served. I had the Pig Stomach Soup for today. Nice and chewy went the pig stomach - great taste. Did I mention before, they will top up the soup when you (almost) finished it. Either they notice it or you can just signal them to top up - do not feel shy about it. The kai lan was well cooked with the oyster sauce, topped with the fried shallot.

This place is definitely not a place for a lunch date during weekdays. The shop was very busy and noisy and the service crews are always walking up and down - bringing customers to their seats, or taking orders or serving the food. They do not even have time to help brew the tea (using teapots) for customers. That was what I overheard them telling the table next to ours. So if you like to have brewed tea to go with your food, it would be best to go when there is less crowd. 

Total damage for lunch was S$21.30 with two bowls of rice and wet tissue.

1. Pig Kidney Soup
2. Pig Stomach Soup
3. Kai Lan

Hairy Crab meal at Mouth Restaurant（地茂馆）

Sister's treat to Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆) for the Hairy Crab set meal. Initially she had a date with her friend but her friend was busy with work. Thus, I got a free meal from Sister as she had craving for Hairy Crab since long. 

If I remembered correctly, this is a November promotion and for $30++, you get to eat - 

1) Double Herbal Boiled Conch meat with Black Chicken Soup

2) Steamed Hairy Crab Meat Dumpling

3) Steamed Hairy Crab

4) Crispy Noodle with Chicken & Egg 

5) Ginger Tea with glutinous rice ball 

Not a bad combination but to a dim sum restaurant, it is quite a must to order Liu Sha Bun (流沙包). It is actually salted egg custard filling. Nice way to start the dinner as it took quite a while to serve the dishes though we had made reservations. Nonetheless, the bun was great. The first bite and the salted egg filling was oozing out. Yummy is the word to describe it despite the fact that I had 2 ulcers sitting at the top and bottom of the left side of the mouth.

Liu Sha Bun (流沙包）

The dishes did not arrive in order. We had the Steamed Hairy Crab Meat Dumpling served first. It tasted like normal xiao long bao (小笼包) and I did not taste any crab meat. Could it be the mixture of the meat that stole away the crab meat taste? I was not sure about it and seriously, before I looked carefully at the menu, I really thought I was eating the normal dumpling. What a waste that was!

Steamed Hairy Crab Meat Dumpling

Next up was the Double Herbal Boiled Conch meat with Black Chicken Soup - served pipping hot. I liked this soup. The chicken meat was tender and the soup was tasty. Get a chance and try the herbal soup in the restaurant, I think it is worth the price!

Double Herbal Boiled Counch meat with Black Chicken Soup

Next up is the highlight of the meal - Steamed Hairy Crab. The service crew helped to de-shell the crab first and removed the innards. Initially we thought that she will help to de-shell and gave us the meat. But fat hope. We needed to put in effort in order to enjoy the crab.

I took nearly half hour to forty-five minutes to finish the whole crab. As small as it was, it really needed time and patience to eat crab. I guess the smaller it was, the harder to do it. As the crab was steamed, we could taste the freshness of the crab - Nice. Best food is one that we can taste the original taste - No sauce, no nothing, just the meat.

Steamed Hairy Crab

Sis was complaining that the crab was small and she was not full. She was still suggesting to head to Chinatown for second round. But next dish up was the crispy noodle. The order of food was like that of a wedding banquet where the staple food was served well before the desserts. They did not take note that I was still enjoying my crab and served the noodle. Thus, by the time I get to the noodle, it was no longer crispy and had become soggy. Nonetheless, the noodle finally gave sis and me the full feeling.

Crispy Noodle with Chicken & Egg

Last dish of the meal was the Ginger Tea with glutinous rice ball. Oh crap, personally I do not like Ginger Tea. The glutinous rice ball was sesame and it tasted quite good for dessert. I really could not complete the tea, not that I was really full, but the taste was too strong for me. Ginger tea is good for health or whatever purpose, thanks but no thanks. Maybe the restaurant could give some options to desserts. That would be fantastic!

Ginger Tea with glutinous rice ball

A nice meal with a nice ambiance. The meal I took more than one hour to complete. Not fine dining but savouring on crabs really needs time and patience. The restaurant was not crowded and their service crew were very attentive to us - making it a point to refill our teacup, clearing the plates the soonest we finished the dish. A bit stressful for me as it seemed that someone was staring at you while you ate. Quite a nice place to have dinner. They have a branch at China Square and another at Plaza Singapura. Go for the outlet at China Square as it is less crowded. 

22 Cross St,
Singapore 048421

Hainanese Curry Rice @ Beo Crescent

After watching Eric Khoo's new film about Dementia and Hainanese Curry Ric - Recipe (回味) on Sunday night, I had a craving for Hainanese Curry Rice. I always hear people raved about the curry rice that is situated in the neighbourhood of Beo Crescent. It is relative near to my place but with no direct bus, I seldom travel near there.

But with the craving and that the place is near, I decided to 'walk out of my comfort zone' to visit the place. For about 20 minutes walk or so, I finally reached Beo Crescent and trust me, you can easily spot the curry rice shop by looking out for a long queue forming outside a coffee shop. The old school stall has no sign board and everyone calls it the Beo Crescent Curry rice. It is a really small coffee shop with tables and chairs outside the shop. Strangely, I guess due to its own structure, there is no seat inside the coffee shop. 

I queued for almost 30 minutes before I placed my order. I might be stupid to be queuing with the lunch crowd. As I was alone and I could not see any available table, I decided to takeaway the food. (better than looking lost with the plate of food and searching for a table)

Their famous pork chops are on the must-try item and the person in front of me ordered S$5 for eat in and another S$5 for takeaway. Anyway, I ordered their pork chop, with the cabbage and a fried egg. I reckoned that being alone, we can never try many dishes. I better gathered my family again for good food soon. 

I thought with me packing my food, the Pork Chop will lose the crispiness as it will be dipped in the curry gravy curry for long. But to my surprise, the thin sliced pork chops were still crispy when I had them. It was like eating Keropok. The curry gravy was nice and complemented the Pork Chop very well. Love it! Here's a picture of my food, I'm sorry that this picture did not bring justice to the good food. 

Crispy Pork Chop

No Name Hainanese Curry Rice
Blk 40 Beo Crescent

Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow @ Marine Parade Food Centre

A trip to the east for a healthy evening - cycling trip at East Coast Park for a prelude with my Bali-trip-mates. After the hour of cycling, we decided to walk to Marine Parade Food Centre for dinner. 

The food centre is pretty crowded and most of the stalls are still open. So many choices and guess what, I ended up choosing a sinful dish - Fried Kway Teow. Had been thinking of eating it since a lunch date and finally I got to eat it. 

The only Fried Kway Teow stall that I noticed and there was only one person in the queue. Got in the queue behind her and within minutes, order was taken and the dish was presented to me. Self Service like all other stalls, I obediently took the plate and walked to my table.  

A very basic dish with the very traditional ingredients like cockles, bean sprouts and sausage. The kway teow was not too dry like those I ate before - it is more 'watery' but great. Unlike some stalls, there was no fishcake. Though greasy, you will not grew tired of it. Definitely worth the indulgence in this "high-calorie'' local delight, especially after the cycling exercise. 

Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow

Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-174

Prata Wala

Prata -  a local delight that is one of my favourite breakfast choice and normally, I will just go for plain prata with just curry. 

Was at Tiong bahru Plaza today for lunch and decided to pop by Prata Wala as I have cravings for Prata. Ordered the Curry Chicken Prata Set that comes with a bowl of curry chicken and 2 pieces of prata. 

We need to order our food from the counter and was given a buzzer. When the buzzer buzz, we need to collect our orders from the counter again -  Fully self-service. 

The pratas was crispy and hot. No wonder the name of the shop is Prata Wala. The prata really tastes good and I realised that they only prepare the prata when an order is placed. The curry is not like the normal curry sauce that I normally had at coffee shop. The curry is thick and not that spicy. Totally match the prata. However, I am a bit disappointed with the chicken. The meat was tough and not tender at all. I guess that could be chicken is not their specialty? 

Curry Chicken Prata Set

I guess if I was to revisit the place, I will probably opt for mutton set instead.

Tiong Bahru Plaza,
302 Tiong Bahru Road
#01-12

Hin Fried Hor Fun @ Ghim Moh Food Centre

Back to Ghim Moh Food Centre for lunch as I was around Bouna Vista area and did not want to eat at Star Vista. As it was during the lunch hour, I decided to follow the crowd as I did not have any cravings. Definitely not a soup dish as it was a hot day after all. Indeed, I saw this queue in front of Hin Fried Hor Fun stall. 

The queue

I joined the queue and decided to order the Fish Fried Hor Fun as I do not take beef. Basically this is a stall that is run by two men, one cooking and the other taking orders. The Hor Fun, the ingredients and the sauce are prepared separately. The Hor Fun was fried over a heated work. I waited a while for them to cook the fish. However, the sauce is precooked before hand and was kept warm at the side. It is spooned over the hor fun and fish when I ordered it. 

The stall owner was quite generous in their quantity. The Hor Fun was infused with the ''wok hei'' smell. The fish was tender and fresh. The combination of the sauce, hor fun and fish was great. It would be great if they would give more vegetables. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this Hor Fun.

Fish fried Hor Fun

Ghim Moh Food Centre
Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road
#01-44

Claypot Laksa and Avocado @ Alexandra Village Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa

Alexandra Village Food Centre is considered a great place with many good food. Situated in a neighbourhood, it is also near to Queensway Shopping Centre, Ikea and Anchor Point. 

Happened to be nearby during lunchh time and thus, decided to head there to look for good food. Queues always attracts me to take a second look at the stall and this time round, it is the stall with a bright yellow signboard. "Claypot Laksa" is what the stall is selling. I have my fair share of laksa but this is the first time I saw Laksa served in a Clapot. Laksa, one of the local hawker delights in Singapore. This high-calories but indulging bowl of noodle dish has captivated the tastebuds of many Singaporeans. I made my decision then, and joined the queue. While waiting, I saw that this stall has many newspaper cuttings and photos with celebrities.

Zhen Shan Mei Claypot

I have to say, the laksa gravy is thick and nice. The tau pok absorbed the gravy and made it very nice to eat. Besides tau pok, there are also cockles, fishcakes and shreds of chicken. You can decide how spicy you want the gravy to taste by adding the additional chilli. The combination of taste is really good. I guess with the claypot, it kept the dish hot throughout. 

Claypot Laksa

Had Avocado shake for desserts. Reasonably priced at S$2.50, this thick avocado is really great.

Avocado Shake

Alexandra Village, Singapore 150119
Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa (Bukit Merah Lane)
Stall #01-75
Exotic Juice
Stall #01-19

Songfa Bak Kut Teh

Songfa Bak Kut Teh is often a lunch meet up place with my friend. She loves Bak Kut Teh and always has cravings for it. The lunch crowd at Songfa is always huge and at times, we might need to queue up to 10 minutes just to get a seat. 

Yesterday was a lucky day. Though they have implemented a 'Please QUEUE here" system, I was ushered to a table within seconds. Seriously, it is a more brilliant choice to keep lunch group to minimal so that we do not need to spend time looking for seats. Anyway, the weather was hot but it did not stop people from patronizing this soupy place.   

Menu

For the two of us, we ordered the Pork Ribs Soup, the Braised Pig's Trotter, Dough Fritters (You Tiao) and Salted Vegetables together with 2 bowl of plain rice. The soup is tasty and not that peppery, with garlic and star anise flavouring. Dip the You Tiao into the soup and let it soak up the soup. Great way to enjoy the You Tiao as it is a bit dry to eat it on its own. No fuss eating the Pork Ribs as we can easily tear the meat off the bone. The meat is not tough and it went well with the chilli and black sauce. The soup was refillable and the service crew are observant enough to top up the bowl. Great service on their side. 

As for the pig's trotter, it is totally soft and tender. Though a third of it was fats and skin, we do not feel sinful eating it at all. The fatty part was nicely braised to give it the softness that would melt in the mouth. It did not taste oily at all. By the way, you can ask for a bowl of the bak kut teh soup even if you only order the pig's trotters. This is how great their service are. 

1. Pork Ribs Soup
2. Braised Pig's trotters
3. Salted Vegetables
4. You Tiao (Dough Fritter)

The Environment is nostalgic and the service was good. Do drop by if you are around Clarke Quay are. By the way, they are closed on Mondays and they have another shop just a few units down the street that is air-conditioned. Avoid the lunch crowd though!

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh
11 New Bridge Road #01-01
Singapore 059383
7.00am - 10.00pm
Closed on Monday