Thursday 26 January 2012

A sister of Laksa

Today, I'm going to introduce you to a sister of a Singapore delicacy 'Laksa'. Although, they might look alike but the ingredients used in both dishes and the taste of both dish were slightly different.

Let us proceed on to the step of photo viewing... :P
Introducing 'Curry Chicken Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli)'.
Let me start off introducing the ingredients first.
A bowl of 'Curry Chicken Bee Hoon' includes slices of chicken,
potatoes, bean curd, bean sprouts and also Thick Bee Hoon.
Basically just by taking a look at the ingredients used in both
'Laksa' and 'Curry Chicken Bee Hoon', you can easily spot the
similarities between both dishes. The biggest difference in both
dishes would be the soup base. As potatoes were added to the soup
base to a bowl of 'Curry Chicken Bee Hoon', it have also reduce
the spicy taste of the dish. Hence it was less spicy than the 'Laksa'.
But basically the taste of the soup base was pretty much similar
to the soup base of a bowl of 'Laksa' especially when the ingredients
used to make the soup base of both dishes were similar and the only
difference would be the proportion of the ingredients used to prepare
the soup base. So for those who cannot stand spicy food, 'Curry
Chicken Bee Hoon' would be a good alternative for the delicacy 'Laksa'.

So what is the name of the store that prepares the delicacy shown in this post?
The name of the stall would be 'Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (亚王咖喱鸡米粉麺)'. It is located at one of the corners on the second floor of 'Hong Lim Market & Food Centre'.

Some information on 'Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee':
  • Don't forget to add the chilli to the dish if you are a fan of spicy food.
  • They were opened on late afternoons of Sundays so it shouldn't be that difficult for you to give this dish a good try.

Some information on 'Hong Lim Market & Food Centre':
  • Besides for the dish that I had introduced in this post, some other delicacies that can be found in 'Hong Lim & Market Food Centre' includes the Duck Rice, Crayfish Ipoh Hor Fun, Fired Kway Teow, Fish Ball Noodles, etc...
  • Most of the stores will only be opened during lunch hours and probably Mondays to Saturdays only. And some of stalls had a limited number of dishes that they can prepare each day so don't be too surprise by the fact that some stalls had already closed for the day even when you reach there at around 12 noon. Try harder next time.
* Click here for the map of 'Hong Lim Market Food Centre'.

Sunday 22 January 2012

A good rival

What makes a good competitor good? Well, if you have seen the movie 'Chicken Rice War' before, you could easily identify a bad competitor. So what makes a good competitor good?

Before I move on to the step of explaining what makes a good competitor good, let us take a look at some photos of food first...
Chicken Chop Hor Fun.
So what's a 'Hor Fun'?
Basically, it's a plate of rice noodles that comes with a brownish soup.
Ingredients like sliced fish, pork meat, prawns, octopus and vegetables
were also included in it. I would highly recommend you to add some green
chilli's to eat to enhance the taste of a plate of 'Hor Fun' even further.

So what makes this plate of 'Chicken Chop Hor Fun' special?
Basically it is similar to a plate of 'Hor Fun' except for the fact that
you will be getting a big piece of crunchy chicken chop instead of all the
fanciful ingredients like sliced fish, pork meat, prawns and octopus.

So back to our main subject, what makes a good competitor good?

The name of the stall would be 'Rong Ji'(榮記).
Basically the answer to my question got something to do with the location
of this stall. This stall was located at Changi Village and it is located
beside...


'AMiGO'.
Basically, both stalls were selling similar food items and if I'm not
mistaken, both stalls have their own group of 'followers'. As for myself,
I think that both stalls were equally good though. As for the answer to
the question of a good competitor, basically the owners of both stalls
were busy chatting away rather than quarrelling and fighting away.
I will not be surprise if the owners were hanging out together also.

* Click here to find out what other delicacy can be found in the Changi Village Market.

Saturday 21 January 2012

The only restaurant in Singapore that serves 'Kakigori'

'Kakigori' would be a famous Japanese dessert that the Japanese have been eating during Summer. The shape of the 'Kakigori' was pretty similar to the shape of the 'Ice Kacang' that we can easily find in Singapore. However, the ingredients used in both desserts were completely different. A normal 'Kakigori' only contains shaved ice and syrup only. As for a &aposIce Kacang', ingredients like red beans, jelly, etc were included in a normal bowl of 'Ice Kacang'. Well Let us look at some images of food.

'Kakigori'
Uji Kintoki flavour
with Condensed Milk
added
'Kakigori'
Melon flavour with
Red Beans and
Condensed Milk added
A variety of 'Kakigori'
(Light Green) Uji Kintoki flavour
(Green) Melon flavour
(Pink) Strawberry flavour
(Yellow) Mango

Due to the hot weather that I have been experiencing in Singapore,
probably more than twice a week, I would have the urge to eat some
cold desserts in order to make me happy. :)

Besides for 'Kakigori', the restaurant also offers a spread of Japanese delicacies like
White Radish,Pan fried dumplings,
Deep Fried Chicken,Japanese cold noodles,
Basically, you can find all sorts of Japanese delicacies at this restaurant.
(However, I think that among all the food that they are offering, 'Kakigori'
tastes the best.)

As for the name of the restaurant, it will be 'Tamaya Dining'.

Note(The following was a rule of the restaurant):
  • If you would want to try the 'Kakigori' of the restaurant, you will at least need to place an order for Sake or food. Although the rule was a bit disturbing, but for the sake of the 'Kakigori', I think that it was pretty worth it.

* Click here to find out more about 'Tamaya Dining'.
^ Click here for the exact location of 'Tamaya Dining' that I have introduced in this post.

Thursday 19 January 2012

Some delicacies are difficult to find but worth searching...

Why do I say so? In Singapore, with the increase in the numbers of Hawker Centre or Food Courts, it isn't a difficult task in finding the food that you wanted to eat. But at the same time as we are moving towards a fast paced lifestyle, some individuals cannot afford to spend an hour's time having a good meal. Hence some of the delicious delicacies tend to wind up their business due to insufficient funds to continue their businesses.

As for today, I am going to introduce to you a delicacy that puts your patience to a test.
Introducing...

Claypot Rice.
This is a local delicacy that is dying out in large numbers due to the
fact that the time needed to wait for a delicious pot of Claypot
Rice is too long. Note: depending on the queue of the store, you
might ended up waiting for an hour or so just for a pot of Claypot Rice.


So what will you be getting in a pot of Claypot Rice?
You will be getting a pot of cooked rice, chicken chunks,
preserved sausages, vegetables and if I'm not mistaken salted
fish. All the ingredients stated in the above will be covered
with a layer of dark soya sauce and a bit of sesame oil(I think).
So that's probably the main reason why the waiting time is much
more longer than the other delicacies. Especially when most
of the Claypot Rice Stalls in Singapore will only cook
a pot of Claypot Rice after an order have been placed.
Well like what they say, 'No Pain, No Gain'. :P

Some important information:
  • Upon getting the Claypot Rice, mixed thoroughly for a few minutes otherwise the rice will stick onto the Claypot.
  • Some Claypot Rice in Singapore pour a lot of Dark Soya Sauce on top of the ingredients but this stall only pour probably half the amount of what you are getting any the other stores. Although that has also increase the difficulty of mixing the ingredients together, but the taste is still the same and it is more healthier. :D

So where can you find this delicacy?

The stall is located at 'ABC Brickworks Market/Food Centre'. Besides for this Claypot Rice stall, delicacies like 'Chao Zhou' fish balls, Fried Hokkien Prawn noodles, Satay Bee Hoon, desserts, etc can be found in the same market too.

Note:
  • This stall is closed on Wednesday.
  • Their operating hours starts from lunch time all the way to dinner time.
  • Take note they only have Claypot Rice for groups of 2 or more unless you are very confident that you can finish up a pot of Claypot Rice for 2 by yourself. (Which is something that I have been doing.)
* 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.

A DIY meal (Closed)

Ever had the problem of don't feel like eating parts of a meal and feel like eating parts of the same meal? For example: I have the urge of eating Fish Ball Noodles Soup but I want to have it with rice. Seems like mission impossible but that isn't such a difficult task at all. Here comes...


a bowl of 'Yong Tau Hu'.
This is a bowl of 'Yong Tau Foo' with Laksa Gravy.
So what's a 'Yong Tau Foo' anyway?
Basically, a 'Yong Tau Foo' stall will give you the option of
choosing and selecting the ingredients that you feel like eating.
After selecting the ingredients, you will be given a choice of having
it in a soupy or a dry manner and on top of that, you will also be
given the choice of having it with either a bowl of Rice or Noodles
or Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli) or even Yam Rice.
(I guess that should more or less explains the DIY title. :P)

The above would be a bowl of 'Yong Tau Foo' that comes
with a bowl of clear soup and a bowl of Rice.
On be the way before I move on, take note that there are some
special ingredients that you can only find at a 'Yong Tau Foo' stall.
For example: Green/Red chillies stuffed with Fish Cakes (this
is one of my favourites), Bean Curd stuffed with Fish Cakes,
bitter gourd, etc.

The above would be a bowl of 'Yong Tau Foo' that comes
with a bowl of clear soup and a bowl of Yam Rice.
I like it especially when I can have it with a small plate of Chilli.

So where is this stall located?

It's located Kim Tian Road. It used to be the eating place that
I frequent the most back then. I was passing by the place the other
day, hence I decided to give it a try again. Although the prices
have increase a bit but for the sake of the fresh ingredients and
a good meal, I don't mind paying a bit more.
Oh, by the way this is a 24/7 stall so you can pop by the place
at any part of the day of night, which sort of reminds me of the
late night gathering that I have been having at this place back then. XD

* Click here for the exact location of this "Yong Tau Foo" stall.

Monday 16 January 2012

A fishy meal for mee...

I love noodles and I hope that you will love it too. In fact, I was watching this documentary the other day and I was pretty amazed with the story of a local Noodle making factory. The owner of the factory has been making Noodles ever since he was young. Ever since he step into the Noodles making industry, the owner has been eating Noodles for a meal or two every single day for the last 30-40 years. That's pretty amazing. As for today, I am going to introduce you to one of the relative of a Noodle and that would be ....

Sliced Fish & Fried Fish Bee Hoon Soup.
Although I'm a big fan of Noodles but I don't really like to eat
'Bee Hoon'(Rice vermicelli) at all. But they are some exceptional case.
There are dishes that will taste much better when I eat it with 'Bee Hoon'.
Dishes like 'Laksa' and 'Sliced Fish soup' were good examples of these
exceptional case. These dishes will taste much more heavenly if the thick
kind of 'Bee Hoon' were prepared in it.

As for the dish that I had introduced in this post, the creamy and rich
fish soup was both delicious and worth queueing up for. On top of that,
the fresh pieces of 'Sliced Fish' and 'Fried Fish' that comes with the
soup didn't turn out to be too soggy at all. Take note of the following,
the 'Fishes' that comes with a bowl of soup were neither too hard nor too
soft, which is a pretty rare sight. Especially, when it comes to the
'Fried Fish', I have pretty bad encounters with soggy 'Fried Fish' soup before.
On by the way, if you are a fan of chilli's, you probably would want to
try out the chillis that the stall is offering. For some reason, the
taste of the chilli kinda blend with the soup pretty well.


This would be the menu of the stall.
You can either place an order for a bowl of 'Sliced Fish' or
'Fried Fish' or 'Fish Head' soup that either comes in the form
of a 'Bee Hoon' soup or porridge or just the soup only.


The name of the stall would be 'Kim Hwa(金華) Sliced Fish Bee Hoon'.
The stall is located in Maxwell market. This stall is pretty
easy to find. Just keep a lookout for all the stall with all the
amazingly long queues and you will eventually find it.

Note:
  • The operating hours of this stall would be from early morning all the way to the evening. (Subjective to the number of customers they have.) So if you really want to try the food of this stall, I would highly recommend you to either go there very early or after lunch hours. Otherwise they might be chances for you to queue for more than 20 to 30 minutes.

* Click here for the other delicacies that can be found in Maxwell Market.

Thursday 12 January 2012

Your friendly neighbourhood German Sausages... (Exact Location Updated)

Sausages. Probably one of the most irresistible fast food in this food. After you've eaten it once, you will probably just keep on going and going. But what's so great about German Sausages?


Well, basically I was comparing a normal Sausage with a German Sausage and it
seems that a German Sausage was much more bigger in size and much more ...
how do I put it... Aaaaah yesh... the word would be 'Solid'.
You meat lovers out there would definitely love this.

This stall have been selling German Sausages over the past few years.
For example: Cheese Sausages, Normal Sausages, Mini Sausages... XD
On top of that, they also sell Austrian Styled breads.

So where can you find this stall?
The name of the stall would be "Erich's Wuerstelstand".
It's located near Maxwell Market in the coffee shop along 'Banda Street'.

* Click here for the exact location of "Erich's Wuerstelstand".
^ Click here to find out more about "Erich's Wuerstelstand"

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Too Meat 2 be true....

As usual, raining days would be good opportunity to dine out. You have choices like steamboat, spicy food and also... BBQ (Barbeque) food. And here comes another place that have thrown in unlimited supply of meat at an amazingly low price.

Similar to the restaurant 'His.tori', which is less than 3 or 4 shops away,
this restaurant is providing buffet-style BBQ food.
On top of the meat variety you can
choose from, they also have Sausages.
Which is a (+) especially when you can pop a Sausages while
waiting for slices of meat to be ready.
Another good thing about this place would be
the service that they are providing.
The waiters and waitresses have been constantly refilling
the raw ingredients, changing the black-coloured aluminium foil
and also replacing the Water flask.

This would be the place serving this relatively budget friendly BBQ buffet. The name of the place would be '2D 1N Soju Bang'. It's located near 'His.tori', which is like 3 or 4 shops away.

Note/Suggestions:
  • Reservations cannot be made so if you want to go to this place, you better turn up early like 5:30pm?
  • As you are going to have BBQ food indoor, I would highly suggest you to be prepared that you will ended up with a very strong odour after your dinner.
  • Fruits like Watermelon tend to run out pretty fast so.... better grab some before its gone. :P

* Click here for the location of '2D 1N Soju Bang'.
* Click here for more delicacies near Tanjong Pagar.

Thursday 5 January 2012

I want to eat Japanese food, but...

when it comes to Japanese food, there are simply too many options for you to choose. You can easily find good Japanese Restaurant serving delicious delicacies like Ramen, Sushi, Sashimi, etc. It is so damn difficult to decide, therefore...


I decided to have my dinner at 'Kushi Dining Bar'.
As for the buffet dinner, you get to choose from
more than 120 items which includes...


Appetizer (the above shows Fresh Oysters),


Sashimi,


Kushi Yaki, food that comes in sticks,


Cooked food (the above shows Spicy Grilled Mussels), Shabu shabu, etc.


You will also be given a seasonal special dish of the day.
The above shows 'Goosefish Liver', which is the seasonal
special dish of that day.

Note: If you want to have dinner at the restaurant, I would highly recommend you
to make a reservation in advance.

* Click here to find out more about 'Kushi Dining Bar'.
^ Click here for the menu for the buffet dinner.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

What to eat on a freezing afternoon and you are lazy...

Have you ever encounter the situation where it's raining outside and you are just being lazy? Usually when it's freezing or pouring outside, I tend to keep a lookout for spicy meals. But being lazy... hmmm... introducing...


A steamboat pot that was divided into 3 segments.

Here's a video to give you a better look at what's cooking in the pot.
(Note: By the way, the pot was divided into 3 different soup base.
They are the Chicken stock, The Tom Yam and the Ma La soup base.)

As for the reason why this was a suitable place for a lazy person like me...
would be due to the fact that all the ingredients were would be placed on a conveyor belt.
On top of just merely raw ingredients, they also have
cooked food like fried dumplings, sweet and sour pork, fried chicken, etc.

Note:
  • If you went there alone, you only be given a pot that would be divided into 2 segments, hence I would highly recommend you to go as a group of 2 and above so that you can try a bigger variety of soup base.
  • Although I know that there are better steamboats out there, but this would probably be one of the best choices of steamboat if you don't want to move around too much.
* Click here for a slightly more detailed information about the restaurant.
This restaurant is located on the 4th level of The Central.