is koi the new face of bubble tea?

after hearing stories of special detours to the koi cafe and countless tweets from friends on how good the bubble tea is, this girl finally bused down to marine parade, niece and nephew in tow, for our sunday bus and bubble tea adventure!

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paradise?

okay...to be really honest, the paradise inn folder has been filed under the 'maybe' category on my trusty macbook, with no real plans to actually post something up, especially given the growing number of folders under my 'to write' category! but it's gotten a humongous bump up because of a recent paradise inn review by chubby hubby...and i thought i'd (shamelessly) jump on the paradise inn bandwagon and share my experience.

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ah yat!

it's been a crazy couple of weeks and this girl's finally got some time (and inspiration!) to sit down and quickly punch out one of the many posts that i owe mojitos. discovered literally as a result of scaling the 30m vertical wall in orchard central, ah yat tian xia turned out to a nice little surprise, serving up some good quality chinese classics with a hint of flair.

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the true teochew treasure!

 

this girl is happy to finally put together this much delayed and long awaited post on lee kui. situated in the heart of chinatown, this is another one of those places that i grew up dining at. to be honest, i did not have very good memories of lee kui as i associated it with the then dark and dingy lanes of chinatown....with little furry creatures and flying insects hiding in the dark corners surrounding the then coffeeshop. thank goodness for urbanization and modernization, those dark lanes are now a thing of the past! lee kui has grown into a  full fledged chinese restaurant and is easily the main stay along bustling mosque street!

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pu tien - pu dong?

having passed by the pu tien outlet at tampines a number of times, i have to admit that i never did feel the urge to dine there... maybe it was because it was hidden in a corner of the basement and maybe it was because it never seemed to be as bustling as the all familiar crystal jades, so it kind of left me with the impression that it was well, another one of those crystal jade outlet wannabes and that the food was not all that good. at that point, i really did not know the reputation of pu tien (yes...i just found out that pu tien was listed as one of singapore's top fifty restaurants last year! so much for me as a foodie *blush*!) and so i was really quite impressed with pu tien's cuisine after lunching there last week. 

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birthday celebration in jb!

yes...you read right! just in case you did a double take and wondered if your eyes were playing tricks on ya! my birthday was celebrated slightly differently this year....usually it is a nice dinner at one of the recommended joints in singapore with g and family but this year, having realised that g and myself were the only two people in the family who have yet to have had a meal at the much raved about kong inn in jb, pak law decided to pack us all into two car loads for my birthday lunch over the causeway.

its been yonks since i remember last entering malaysia via the woodlands checkpoint. thank god kong inn was not too far into jb as we were stuck in extremely slow moving traffic (which pak law swears usually isn't the case!), making lunch a whole hour late. but it was all good as we arrived hungry and ready to be wowed.

first up, roasted suckling pig. i honestly haven't been a huge fan of suckling pig...i know it is yummy with the crispy skin topping equal layers of jelly-ish fat and meat and all but i personally find it a little bit too much. so i typically will either not have any or just have a tiny slice. at kong inn? i polished off two slices, with no scrapping off of the jelly fat as well! think crisp yet melt in your mouth textures...it was so good that you would hardly even pause to think that this was a piglet only a few days old!

the rest of the dishes were equally outstanding. The deep fried tofu-fish paste ball was one of my favorites, especially with the serving of an egg white crab meat dollop by the side. the fish, which was incidentally the most expensive dish of the whole meal, was another favorite. extremely fresh and creatively served in two styles - steamed and fried, sitting in a puddle of yummy sweet salty sauce, the soon hock was cooked to perfection. the veggie dish was interesting as well...made up of everything bean, long beans, pa-tai and brinjal stir fried together in a black bean sauce. not overly oily and with just the right hint of black beans, the bean combination resulted in some outstanding flavor! and just by looking at the piccies, you can tell by the size of the prawns in the har lock dish...i've never had such ginormous prawns before and as they were amazingly fresh, they were not only easy to peel, they definitely added more prawny sweetness to the classic chinese dish. i didn't manage to get a shot of the birthday noodle dish, but think hokkien noodles but with black sauce, loaded with lots of pork lard and garlic. i do confess that i was busy chowing the noddles down (afterall, it does signify long life!) that i forgot to take a piccie but i'm sure you guys can imagine both how it looks and probably tastes!

so there...this girl has finally been initiated to kong inn. highly recommended and worth the drive in...just to enjoy some classic chinese fine cuisine.

ps: the chef apparently used to work at lei garden singapore so its no wonder the food does kick some serious butt!

kong inn seafood restaurant (4.5 scoopies! sorry can't get the pic up)

157, 157a jalan sutera

taman sentosa 80150

johor bahru

(07) 334 3232

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a heartland teochew treasure!

when anyone asks for a recommendation for a good teochew restaurant, i will, without a doubt, recommend lee kui at mosque street. i know i haven't blogged about the place just yet, purely because this girl wants to keep pak law's favorite restaurant a secret a little while longer! so while i keep you guys all in suspense of the must trys at lee kui (*grin*), i am happy to announce that i've just returned from a pretty good meal at chin lee and definitely think that it serves up some classic teochew dishes that can rival that at lee kui.

it was a full 8 course bon voyage dinner treat for b from uncle d and family, and as uncle d used to be neighbors with the owners of the restaurant, we pretty much had, i think, all the signature dishes of the establishment. the winners in my book include the hearty fish maw soup, generously stuffed and freshly fried ngoh hiangs, the fragrant crispy shredded duck and the teochew classic chives and prawns stir fried with salted fish.

the misses unfortunately were the oyster omelette and the veggies. nothing to outstanding but uncle d did explain that their omelette was usually a lot better...and i guess veggies wise, i'd recommend just tucking into a serving of the chives.

no teochew meal would be complete without a serving of orh nee so no prizes for guessing what we had! i am not a fan of the dessert but this one somehow didn't look that sweet, oily and more importantly not yamy, so i actually had a couple of spoonfuls (be proud of me g!). washed down with a miniature cupful of strongly brewed chinese tea...the creamy orh nee (choc a block full of gingko nuts by the way) provided a nice ending to the teochew dinner.

thanks again uncle d and aunty c!

chin lee restaurant
block 115 bedok north road
#01-285
(65)6449 5454
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classic chinois

one really knows that you can't go quite wrong with a restaurant under the tung lok group. reputed to serve refine yet classic chinese cuisine, be it seafood, yum cha, cantonese or shanghainese, the group has most definitely been associated with distinctive chinese cuisine. so when tung lok classics open right at our door step (well almost at our door step!), it was almost a given that the family had to check the new joint out!

situated in the spanking new club house extension of one of singapore's key swimming establishments, the restaurant was not only outfitted in classic chinois decor but served up equally classic chinois cuisine. from the simple appetizers of crispy white bait, bite sized spiced tofu cubes, cold cucumbers wrapped with seared pork slices and blanched pak choy topped with peanut sauce to the good old classics of stewed pork belly, claypot rice and crispy duck, tung lok classics really lived up to its name. every dish was made with ingredients of fantastic quality and cooked with such great care so as to maintain the perfect balance of classic chinese cooking with that of the all important edgy modern twist.

enjoy getting back to your chinese roots!

tung lok classics

21 amber road

#03-00 chinese swimming club

(65) 6345 0111

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man han chuan xi!

with both mom's and sis' birthday just a week apart, pak law and i were tossing out ideas as to which new makan joint we should head to in celebration. plans were made to try to get a spot at buko nero but i think the owners might have taken an early christmas holiday as they were closed. pak law thought of broth and i tossed ou le papillon but it was finally decided that we head to spring court instead...for some good old traditional chinese fare.

dinner was truly a full feast fit for a king (in this case queens!), with orders of buddha jumps over the wall, suckling pig, peking duck and hokkien popiah. this girl has only had the full works of buddha jump over the wall once earlier this year when my cousin was in town and trust me, the whole family definitely had fond memories of the awesome dish. it is actually three courses rolled into one huge pot of broth...cooked and simmered for days, the broth was truly the anchor of the entire dish. thick and creamy, yet rich and earthy at the same time, one sip of the broth will make you realize the true definition of superior chicken stock! infused with the rich flavours of fresh abalone, generous bits of sharks fin and dried scallops (course one), huge chinese mushrooms and pork cartilage (course two), tender sea cucumber and chicken breast (course three), the entire three courses can actually be a full meal on its own! this girl does admit, the chinese really do know how to make one good broth. definitely worth the advance order and price tag and truly an outstanding dish!

the pig and duck were extremely well done too, with perfectly roasted pork crackling and tender yet crispy duck skin. as for the popiah, this girl was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the hokkien roll..almost as good as glory's peranakan version, just minus the chilli spice, load of garlic and egg skin. huge rolls of fresh veggies with crispy garlic and lots of peanuts, and just the right amount of sweet sauce. yum! i am sure we were all quite stuffed but dinner would not have been complete without dessert. so keeping with the traditional roots, we had the herbal jelly, glutinous rice balls in red bean paste and orh ni. spring court really didn't disappoint, keeping in true tradition since 1929, from the fantastic buddha jumps over the wall to the sweet desserts, this is one place we will definitely head back for more chinese feasting!

spring court
52-56 upper cross street
(65) 6449 5030
www.springcourt.com.sg

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cha chan teng

the hong kong cafe is probably one of the first cha chan tengs to open shop in singapore and is arguably still the best. having tried the xin wang chain after my sister and cousin claimed that they have really good peanut toast, i sincerely beg to differ and really honestly rate xin wang 0.5 out of 5 scoopies. a total waste of calories! if you really want good hong kong fare, the hong kong cafe at east coast road would make those calories worth it. my sis was really excited when we suggested heading over for dinner on monday. having always wanted to try the food but never having the chance too (they only open for dinner till late), she was really keen to see if her sister was any good in her reviews.

the menu always seems to be growing every time we head over to eat. orders ranged from the good old tried and tested favourites of thick peanut toast, borsch soup, stewed beef brisket noodles and baked pork chop and spaghetti to new orders of pork chop hong kong rice with shanghai sauce and deep fried sotong in salt and pepper. the toast, in my book, still remains the ultimate treat. thick soft bread, smothered with homemade peanut butter (think the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth!) with drizzles of condensed milk. it was so good that my nephew, who already had his dinner, managed to polish half of the toast all by himself!

g's baked spaghetti continued to hit the spot whilst the borsch soup, well could have been slightly thicker. still good though if you ask me. the pork chop rice wasn't bad...only let down was in the choice of sauce but the staff were nice enough to provide a bowl of tomato sauce on request which pretty much made the dish quite complete. my sister's friend highly recommended the sotong and we were all in total agreement the moment we all had one. we were almost instantly reaching out for more! well done sotong coated in yummy batter seasoned with salt, pepper and lots and lots of garlic. yum!

we left satisfied (proof from the satisfied look on my nephew's face!) with take away orders of curry pork chop rice, durian pudding (very good according to my dad the durian guru!) and a refreshing mango and pomelo drink.

ho geng ah! we will be back!



hong kong cafe
378/380 east coast road
(65) 6440 3808
www.hkcafe.com.sg

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