Tim Ho Wan 添好運

Widely touted as Hong Kong’s most famous dim sum, Tim Ho Wan has never failed to draw long crowds outside their 2 branches since the first outlet opening in March 2013 and its second outlet in September 2013. We are definitely attracted to the Michelin-backed good food, but with mixed reviews about the Singapore outlets not matching up to the Hong Kong’s standards, we stopped short of joining the horrendously long queues during the 1st couple of months of opening. And another way to escape the long queues is to visit the 2nd, off-town outlet outside of peak lunch and dinner times.

Tim Ho Wan

The menu isn’t very extensive and was presented simply on a single page. There aren’t many fanciful offerings, most of them were traditional dim sum fare.

Baked Bun with BBQ Pork 酥皮焗叉烧包

As we observed trays and trays of freshly baked BBQ pork buns being dished out from the ovens and almost every table having at least 1 serving of this, there was no doubt that the most popular dish was the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork 酥皮焗叉烧包 ($4.50 for 3). The buns were unique, and unlike any served in other dim sum restaurants. The crust was crumbly with a tinge of sweetness. The aroma of the freshly baked crumbly crust was irresistible. It wasn’t overly thick and doughy. The inner fillings of the BBQ pork wasn’t as likeable as the outer crust. The quantity of fillings wasn’t to our expectations. It was a bit too sweet as well. Texture wise, the proportion of meat seemed to be lacking, and there just wasn’t enough bite and meaty tenderness to it.

Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕

Another one of Tim Ho Wan’s Big 4 Heavenly Kings is the Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.50 for 3). The searing on the carrot cake was adequately done – just enough to give it that extra crisp and charred flavours, without being overly burnt. The carrot cake seemed pretty soft though, as it was on the verge of disintegrating just be the mere pick up using chopsticks. And there wasn’t any dried shrimps or Chinese sausages embedded in the carrot cake – that was pretty disappointing as it made the carrot cake seemed one-dimensional and boring.

Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver 黄沙猪润肠

One of the more unique items was the Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver 黄沙猪润肠 ($5.50), since in Singapore, pig’s liver is not typically found in vermicelli rolls. The vermicelli roll was thin, semi-translucent, smooth and when immersed in the sauce, it was very fragrant and savoury. The fillings of pig’s liver wasn’t really our favourite, mainly due to the fact that we aren’t fans of pig’s livers to start off with. It had a queer texture and the characteristic taste of pig’s liver just didn’t go well with us.

Steam Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp 鲜虾菠菜饺

The Steam Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp 鲜虾菠菜饺 ($3.80 for 3) was pretty mediocre. The proportion of spinach was overwhelming and completely masked out any taste of prawns. It was just too much spinach and every mouth was just spinach leaves and stalks, which was just not appetizing given that the spinach was under-flavoured and the prawns were just non-existent.

Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp 美味燜鲜竹卷

The Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp 美味燜鲜竹卷 ($4 for 3) was a simple and comforting dish. The sauce was very thick and savoury. There was a good balance of pork and shrimp, with neither outshining the other. Fresh crunchy prawns with the sweet minced pork, tied together with a thin layer of beancurd skin, and drenched in a viscous thick sauce – nicely done.

Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake 杞子桂花糕

The meal ended on a perfect note with a sweet and refreshing Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake 杞子桂花糕 ($3.50 for 3). The jelly wasn’t too soft, was still bouncy and chewy. The wolfberries were almost like raisins, they added burst of sweetness to the jelly. The osmanthus fragrance and flavour formed the backdrop of this jelly. This cold dessert drew a perfect closure to an otherwise porky dim sum feast.

Tim Ho Wan
#02-02, ERA Centre Toa Payoh
450 Toa Payoh Lorong 6

Singapore Seafood Republic

Located at the end of the Sentosa Boardwalk and overlooking the body of water between Vivo City and Sentosa is Singapore Seafood Republic – a collaboration between Tung Lok Seafood Restaurant, The Seafood International Market and Restaurant, Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant and JUMBO Seafood Restaurant.

Though Singapore Seafood Republic is touted to offer the Best Chili Crab in Singapore, we chose the less well-known, but gaining in popularity, Wok Fried Salted Egg Crab.

Wok Fried Salted Egg Yolk Crab

We had the 1.3kg Sri Lanka crab, priced at $58/kg. Compared to Mellben’s, the Wok Fried Salted Egg Yolk Crab was much more fleshy. The crab meat was succulent, juicy and moist. The crab was drenched in a thick, viscous and sandy salted egg yolk sauce. The sauce was rich with the characteristic fragrance and flavour of salted egg yolks. There was a mild lingering milky taste and smell as well. The sauce was strong and flavourful and we spared no qualms licking it off our fingers. On the whole, this was a decent rendition of the salted egg yolk crabs – a dish overwhelming in cholesterol, making you sinfully guilty after the meal.

Singapore Seafood Republic
#01-292, 26 Sentosa Gateaway
Waterfront Resorts World Sentosa

Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜菜馆

Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜菜馆

Off to Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜菜馆 for a Chinese New Year special set dinner – 心想事成宴 六人套餐 $398+.

(top) 西刀鱼鱼生盆, (bottom) 三文鱼鱼生盆

We had 2 servings of the 鱼生 as the waitress mixed up the orders and served us the 西刀鱼鱼生盆 instead of our order of 三文鱼鱼生盆. When we noticed the mistake, we had already consumed the entire plate. However, the staff decided to serve us another plate of 三文鱼鱼生盆 as an apology for their mistake. The 鱼生 was overwhelmed with carrots and it seemed like we were just eating carrots. The sliced raw fishes were rather skimpy and a slight disappointment.

海味网鲍盆菜

The 海味网鲍盆菜 was probably the highlight of the set course meal. A chicken broth filled with dried scallops, abalones, sea cucumber, mushrooms and cabbage. The broth exuded the sweetness of the chicken and dried seafood. There was more chicken and cabbage than dried seafood, which was slightly disappointing. Guess good things only come in small amounts.

人参焯活虾

The 人参焯活虾 actually looked quite pathetic. The ginseng broth tasted minimally of ginseng and was pretty bland. The prawns were mediocre. Fresh and crunchy, but tasted no different from plainly boiled or steamed prawns.

生炒糯米饭

The most disappointing dish of the meal was a toss between the 生炒糯米饭 and the dessert. The 生炒糯米饭 was almost like rice drenched in dark soya sauce. The rice was sorely lacking in fragrance and taste. There were bits of mushrooms, chestnuts and dried sausages in the rice, but like the lotus leaves, these did nothing to accentuate the flavour and aroma of the rice.

雪耳八宝汤

The 雪耳八宝汤 was almost a replica of the commonly found Cheng Tng. We struggled to find the Eight Treasures as basically, there wasn’t much ingredients in the dessert! The 雪耳八宝汤 was one-dimensionally sweet, nothing more than that.

Perhaps due to the festive crowd, the service at Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜菜馆 was disorganized and slipshod. There was only one thing on the waitresses’ mind – to make sure the 1st round of customers clear the tables before the 2nd round. The waitress were in a mad rush and made many mistakes. We felt very pressured throughout the entire meal. It wasn’t a leisurely and comfortable meal. The food was of sub-standard quality and seemingly akin to mass production. Somehow, we struggled to justify the amount we were paying.

Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜菜馆
Block 412, #01-152
Bedok North Avenue 2

Ma La Xiang Guo 麻辣香锅

麻辣香锅

Singapore has been swept by a sudden craze in 麻辣香锅 Ma La Xiang Guo. This China dish has generated quite a buzz in the food community as stalls and stalls of it start sprouting in numerous food courts.

For 麻辣香锅 Ma La Xiang Guo, one basically starts off by choosing the raw ingredients ranging from vegetables, poultry, seafood, carbohydrates etc. Different food items are priced differently according to weight. After choosing the ingredients, you move on to choosing the method of cooking. For those who can’t take spicy food, there’s always the oyster sauce version. But for chili lovers like us, we went straight for the 大辣, which is the highest level of spiciness. And the end product is a single big bowl of 麻辣香锅.

All the ingredients were stir fried with chili oil, dried chili and pepper seeds. The ingredients were thoroughly cooked and covered with the spices and chili oil. The 麻辣香锅 was true to its name – spicy, tongue numbing and fragrant. A simple single bowl – packed full of flavour and the ingredient selection customized to one’s own liking.

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant

Located below the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay and helmed by the same owner/chef of JING at One Fullerton, Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant is Chef Yong Bing Ngen’s latest venture into the culinary field of seafood. The entrance of Majestic Bay is aptly flagged by tanks of live seafood, including lobsters, crabs and fishes.

Seared, chili crab meat bun 辣椒蟹生煎包

Our meal kick started with the Seared, chili crab meat bun ($4.50 for 3 pieces). The searing gave the bun a little hardened crisp at the bottom, coupled with the white sesame adding the extra bit of fragrance. The fillings were supposedly chili crab meat. While we couldn’t exactly taste and bite into the actual crab meat, we did savour the taste of chili crab – the spicy and slightly sweet tanginess.

Baked BBQ pork bun 叉烧焗餐包

Though the Baked BBQ pork bun 叉烧焗餐包 ($4.20 for 3 pieces) looked pretty glossy and oily, the bun was quite soft and light. The char siew fillings were quite authentic, unlike those artificially sweet kinds. You could taste the charred and barbequed chunks of pork.

Steamed, shanghai dumpling, pork 上海小笼包

The Steamed, shanghai dumpling, pork 上海小笼包 ($4.20 for 3 pieces) was pretty decent. Nothing overly fantastic, but definitely meeting all the requirements for a decent 小笼包. A thin and not too floury skin + succulent and juicy meat filling without an overwhelming pork taste + sufficient soup/gravy for us to slurp up. If there was one thing we could fault, it would be that there wasn’t enough soup within the 小笼包.

Soup of the day 瓦煲老火汤

Remnants in the Soup of the day 瓦煲老火汤

The Soup of the Day ($18 for 2-4 pax; $27 for 5-8 pax) was very flavourful and rich. Just a single mouth and you could really appreciate the hours of brewing put into this pot of soup. The natural sweetness of the dried seafood and pork coupled with the angled luffa/loofah, this soup was just hours of natural goodness.

Steamed, live prawns, minced garlic 金银蒜蒸开边生虾

The Steamed, live prawns, minced garlic 金银蒜蒸开边生虾 (market price) arrived looking absolutely beautiful. Prawns, split right in the middle, swimming in a pool of light soya sauce and garlic gravy. We were however, slightly let down by the prawns. The prawns seemed pretty scrawny, lacking the succulence, juiciness and crunchiness that we liked. There wasn’t much flesh and parts of it were stubbornly clinging onto the shell. Steaming has got to be the best way to accentuate the freshness of seafood, but sadly, we were let down by the steamed prawns.

Live crabs, Bay’s signature “Kopi” sauce 冠华咖啡焗肉蟹

Flambé Live crabs, Bay’s signature “Kopi” sauce 冠华咖啡焗肉蟹

The highlight of the night has got to be Majestic Bay’s signature Live crabs, Bay’s signature “Kopi” sauce 冠华咖啡焗肉蟹 (market price). Chef Yong spent almost 3 months coming up with the perfect sauce made from 3 different kinds of coffee beans – Brazilian, Arabic and White. To add on to the extravaganza, the crabs were then drizzled with coffee liquer, before a table side flambé. By then, the entire restaurant was filled with the aroma of coffee, together with a mild charred fragrance.

The crabs were definitely worth a trip down to Majestic Bay. In fact, rather than tasting strongly of coffee, the crabs exuded a caramelized charred sweetness, almost reminiscent of caramel popcorn. The extra flambé really did seal in the flavours of the crab and on top of that, adding that extra caramelized sweetness to it. We were just licking every part of the shell and savouring the sweetness and stickiness of the crab meat. The crab meat itself was on the tougher, firmed and drier side, but the marination compensated for everything. Finger licking good – that sums it all up.

Sautéed, wild mushrooms, asparagus, minced garlic 蒜茸野菌炒芦笋

The richness of the seafood and strong flavours were neutralized with a simple dish of Sautéed, wild mushrooms, asparagus, minced garlic 蒜茸野菌炒芦笋 ($18 for 2-4 pax; $27 for 5-8 pax). The earthly flavours of mushrooms with the crunchy asparagus – simple yet soothing for the palate.

Baked rice, assorted seafood, chef’s recipe sauce 海鲜大烩焗饭

The Baked rice, assorted seafood, chef’s recipe sauce 海鲜大烩焗饭 ($68 for 4-6 pax; $88 for 7-12 pax) was another specialty of Majestic Bay. Inspired by the popular Macau Portuguese baked rice and localized for the Singaporean palate, this baked rice was an extravagant fried rice, topped with baby abalones, scallops, mussels and prawns. The rice and seafood were fused together in a spicy curry-like cream sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked to form a crusty goodness. Besides resembling the Macau Portuguese baked rice, this dish did also remind us of the Japanese curry rice. It wasn’t all that spicy and overwhelming, thus we could still savour the sweetness and freshness of the seafood. We were particularly intrigued by the mini baby abalones. Though these little miniature babies lacked the distinct abalone taste and texture, it was still somewhat interesting to appreciate and admire. This baked rice is a rare gem in seafood restaurants – another dish worth coming back for.

Sweet’s temptation 甜品诱惑 (from left to right: Bay’s Chinese Pancake; Steamed Custard Bun; Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Fresh Cream Stuffing; Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam Paste Stuffing)

(from left to right) Steamed Custard Bun, Salted Egg Yolk; Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam Paste Stuffing, Shredded Coconut

Our meal ended with the Sweet’s temptation 甜品诱惑 ($20 for 4 pax) – a platter of 4 desserts. There were 2 savoury desserts, including the Bay’s Chinese pancake with red bean paste and the Steamed custard bun with salted egg yolk. The Chinese pancake was slightly oily. The thin crisps encompassed a generous filling of red bean paste. Pretty decent, but a tad on the oily side.

It was quite uncommon to see the Steamed custard bun with salted egg yolk on a dessert platter, but nonetheless, it was a pleasant surprise. The bright orange resembled that of Crystal Jade Dining IN’s custard bun. The custard bun was pretty average. The saltiness was rather unbalanced, with some portions tasting a tad more salty than the other portions. The bun could also do with a bit more filling and gooeyness.

We preferred the sweet desserts. The Glutinous rice dumpling with yam paste stuffing and shredded coconut was a unique blend of yam and black glutinous rice. The centre yam filling was think, rich, sticky and gooey, surrounded by a thin layer of black glutinous. The chilled dumpling was refreshing and sweet. The outer topping of shredded coconut added an extra bite and texture to the soft dumpling.

The other Glutinous rice dumpling with fresh cream was more mochi-like. It was soft and upon contact with the warmth of our mouths, the outer skin melted and disintegrated to reveal a fresh cream centre. The creamy dumpling was relatively lighter on the palate compared to the yam paste and would definitely be a sinful hit with mochi lovers.

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant presents a menu decorated with unique and creative dishes, adding surprising twists to commonly found dishes.

*This is an invited food tasting session.

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant
Flower Dome, #01-10 Gardens by the Bay
18 Marina Gardens Drive

Taste Paradise

Taste Paradise – The Paradise Group’s answer to fine Chinese dining, serving traditional dishes with a twist of sophistication and creativity.

Roasted Peking Duck

Despite raving reviews on the Roasted Peking Duck, we found it mediocre and not exceptionally impressive.

Classic Superior Shark’s Fin in Supreme Broth accompanied with Crispy Spring Roll served in Japanese Stone Pot

Classic Superior Shark’s Fin in Supreme Broth accompanied with Crispy Spring Roll served in Japanese Stone Pot – There was no hint of starchiness in the broth, but one which was thick and strong in flavour, suggesting that it had been stewed for many hours, perhaps with pork bones. The shark’s fin came in big complete pieces which made this dish worthy of every cent paid. Strands of abalone were also found inside. The stone pot did a good job in conserving the heat, allowing the shark’s fin soup to stay piping hot till the very last drop. The crispy spring roll was good on its own or when dipped in the broth.

Salt and Pepper Duck

The remains of the peking duck were further processed by deep frying and mixing with salt and pepper. The fried duck was soft and tender. However, it was a pity that the spices used were not strong enough to accentuate the entire dish.

Bamboo Clam with Garlic

The Steamed Bamboo Clam was soft yet chewy. There was a slight fishiness when eaten on its own, but the fried garlic and gravy managed to mask the fishiness. The vermicelli which absorbed the essence of the gravy was tasty too.

Scallop with Asparagus

We requested for the asparagus and scallop to be stirred fried with chilli for a change, instead of the typical garlic version. The chilli sauce used seemed to be a sweeter version of sambal. This dish was well-executed, especially with the use of the fresh ingredients of succulent scallops and crunchy asparagus.

Roast Chicken

The Roast Chicken was a winner. The chicken was soft and tender with a slightly crispy but non-oily skin. We felt that the best part of the dish was the marination which made the roasted chicken totally appetizing and tasty. In fact, there was no need to dip the pieces of chicken in any of the accompanying sauce.

Wok-fried Ramen with Lobster in XO Sauce

Wok-fried Ee Mee with Lobster in XO Sauce – The lobster was fresh and juicy. Despite not being able to taste much of the XO, the sauce was a good complement to the noodles. Unlike other fried noodles, the gravy eliminated the oily element in the fried noodles. The only flaw of the dish was the overly cooked noodles which turned out to be rather soft.

The meal worked out to be around $120 per person. It was on the expensive side, but given the quality of some of its dishes and the location of the restaurant, the price is justified.

Taste Paradise
#04-07, ION Orchard
No. 2 Orchard Turn

Tung Lok Signatures

Tung Lok Signatures, as the name suggests, features the signatures from the various Tung Lok restaurants. Not just limited to typical Chinese and Cantonese cuisine, Tung Lok Signatures offers exquisite and unique dishes like, Deep-fried Kurobuta Soft Bone, Baked Prawn Steak with White Wine and Rosemary and Pan-fried Foie Gras.

Crispy Roast Pork Belly 冰烧三层肉

Crispy Roast Pork Belly 冰烧三层肉 ($10) – Nicely sliced into bite-sized cubes, the pork belly had a crispy fragrant skin which easily crackled in our mouths. Coupled with the melts in the mouth layer of fats and tender meat, the pork belly displayed a burst of textures. On its own, the pork belly was salty enough, but the accompaniment of mustard supplemented the extra spicy kick.

Deep Fried Beancurd Cubes with Salted Pepper 椒盐豆腐粒

Deep Fried Beancurd Cubes with Salted Pepper 椒盐豆腐粒 ($5) – Though the powdery condiments were clearly sprinkled atop the beancurd, the beancurd was rather bland and tasteless.

Deep Fried Cod Fillet coated with Salted Egg Yolk served with Organic Vegetables 金沙鳕鱼有机菜’

Deep Fried Cod Fillet coated with Salted Egg Yolk served with Organic Vegetables 金沙鳕鱼有机菜 ($32) – The deep fried coating was crispy, not overly oily and had a sandy-like texture due to the addition of the salted egg yolk. The salted egg yolk wasn’t too overpowering; instead, it contributed a lingering, mild fragrance in the background. The cod fish fillet was pretty fresh, but it seemed like the salted egg yolk batter was the star of the dish, and not the cod. When we bit into the cod fillet, the crispy batter was more prominent in terms of texture and taste.

Garlic Roasted Chicken 蒜香鸡

Garlic Roasted Chicken 蒜香鸡 ($20) – The roast chicken was pretty average, meeting the requirements of being tender, and having a crispy skin. One unique aspect was the deep fried minced garlic, which was crunchy and fragrant.

Pan-fried Japanese Kurobuta Pork 香煎鹿儿岛和豚

Pan-fried Japanese Kurobuta Pork 香煎鹿儿岛和豚 ($14.80 per piece) – The Kurobuta Pork was served in individual servings. Kurobuta pork is regarded as the highest quality pork in the world. The pork is lean yet heavily marbled, making each cut tender, succulent and juicy. Taste wise, it was richly flavoured. Even though there wasn’t any accompanying sauce, the pork itself was sealed with all the natural juices, making it extremely mouth watering.

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with Snow Fungus and Truffle Fungus Oil 松露菌油珍菌焖伊府面

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with Snow Fungus and Truffle Fungus Oil 松露菌油珍菌焖伊府面 ($20) – Ee-fu noodles are commonly served at wedding dinners, but the one unique thing about Tung Lok‘s version is the introduction of the truffle fungus oil. Truffle oil can be rather pungent, however for the ee-fu noodles, the truffle oil was more like background music, exuding a lingering aroma behind the richer braised noodles. A simple classic dish, brought to greater heights and flavours, just with the clever integration of truffle oil.

Glutinous Rice Dumplings coated with Ground Peanuts 擂沙汤圆; Mango Mousse Rolls sprinkled with Coconut Flakes 香芒玉枕

Chilled Mango Cream with Pomelo, Diced Mango and Sago 杨枝甘露

The more unique dessert was the Mango Mousse Rolls sprinkled with Coconut Flakes ($8). The mango mousse wasn’t overly sweet and was enveloped within a soft, sticky and mushy layer, resembling that of Nonya pastries. The Glutinous Rice Dumplings ($4) were filled with black sesame and coated with ground peanuts. Nothing too fantastic about it. Finally, the least appealing dish of the night was the Chilled Mango Cream with Pomelo, Diced Mango and Sago ($5). It had a consistency almost like water, and wasn’t thick and creamy as we liked.

On the whole, the dishes at Tung Lok Signatures were commendable. There were traditional fare, and those with a twist, hence appealing to both the old and the young.

Tung Lok Signatures
#01-26/27, Changi City Point
No.5 Changi Business Park Centre 1

Peony Jade Restaurant

Following our last visit to Peony Jade, we were eager for more dim sum and hence we went back for a 2nd round. But this time, we went for the Weekday A La Carte Dim Sum Buffet!

Marinated Sea Blubber and Octopus

Shark’s Fin Soup with Crabmeat

Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn

Amongst the spread of more than 30 items available for the ala carte buffet, there were 3 items which were limited to 1 serving per table – the Marinated Sea Blubber and Octopus, Shark’s Fin Soup with Crabmeat and the Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn.

The octopus was well-flavoured, fresh, with an adequate chewiness to eat. The sea blubber was slightly bland, and could do with a bit more sauce. The Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn was a crowd pleaser. The crunchy fresh prawns were thoroughly coated with the thick creamy gooey egg yolk sauce. It was rich in flavours without tasting overwhelmingly salty. The prawns were absolutely finger-licking good.

Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn and Japanese Seaweed

Steamed Phoenix Feet in Sichuan Chili Black Bean Sauce

Baked Flaky Cha Siew So

Prawn Rice Roll Cheong Fun

Barbequed Char Siew, Roast Duck, Baked Spareribs with Golden Garlic

Overall, the quality of dim sum at Peony Jade was excellent. Regardless of which dim sum item, the chefs did not stinge on the amount and quality of the ingredients. In particular, we were once again impressed by the Steamed Custard and Salted Yolk Bun, which we ordered many times. We were also won over by the Baked Flaky Cha Siew So. It wasn’t overly oily and the crust was baked to perfection. It was served piping hot, akin to freshly baked chicken pies! The skin was crispy and flaky, with a strong buttery fragrance. The char siew wasn’t too sweet nor overwhelming with the fermented bean curd taste. The char siew was tender and had a balanced proportion of fats and meat.

Besides the usual dim sum, there were also roast meat, seasonal greens and noodles/rice available for the buffet. However, the highlights of the buffet were still the fresh dim sum.

Chilled Sea Coconut, Hot Cream of Red Bean, Chilled Mango Sago

Lastly to end the meal, there were 5 different kinds of desserts up for selection – Chilled Sea Coconut, Hot Cream of Red Bean, Chilled Mango Sago, Hot Ginger Tea with Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Black Sesame) and Chilled Longan Tofu. Our favourite was the Hot Cream of Red Bean, which was thick and viscous, almost paste-like – a sweet ending to a great meal at Peony Jade Restaurant.

For $25++ per pax (minimum 4 persons), you could enjoy a widespread of dishes from the menu. Additional charges were incurred from the wet towels, tea and peanuts.

Peony Jade Restaurant
M Level, Keppel Club
Bukit Chermin Road

Peony Jade Restaurant

Peony Jade Dim Sum

Touted to offer one of the best custard buns in Singapore, how can we miss out on visiting Peony Jade as we continue our hunt for the best 奶皇流沙包!

Steamed Custard and Salted Yolk Bun

Steamed Custard and Salted Yolk Bun

Steamed Custard and Salted Yolk Bun 香软奶皇流沙包 ($4.20) – Unlike other custard buns, Peony Jade’s version makes use of a Pandan accentuated bun skin. The uniqueness of the faint Pandan taste and aroma was a plus point, but we were let down by the hard and tough bun skin texture. However, the best part remains to be the fillings and Peony Jade did indeed live up to its reputation. Breaking apart the bun and the fluid filling started to seep out. It wasn’t too oily and there was a good balance between the sweet custard and salty egg yolk, without tasting overly pungent. It was rich and flavourful and as you allowed the bun to cool, the fillings thickened into a viscous, molten-like texture, which was equally enjoyable.

Peony Jade Steamed Har Kau

Peony Jade Steamed Har Kau 水晶鲜虾铰 ($4.90) – The prawn dumplings exuded a distinct Cantonese dim sum taste and were packed with every goodness of the fresh crunchy prawns. The dumpling skin was thin and tightly encompassed the generous fillings of prawns. Within the fillings, there were also strips of bamboo shoots which added a tinge of sweetness and crunchiness to the dumplings.

Steamed Meat Dumplings with Fish Roe - Siew Mai

Steamed Meat Dumplings with Fish Roe – Siew Mai  鱼子蒸烧卖 ($4.80) – The plating and presentation of dim sum do play an important role in a customer’s first impression. Looking at each individual siew mai – the fillings were packed fully and literally bursting out of the little pockets of skin, this was indeed a pretty sight. The fillings were predominantly meat, but the addition of prawns elevated the texture to be less one dimensional. Not overly pungent with pork taste, coupled with the sweetness of prawns, the siew mai was also a well-liked dish.

Steamed Three Treasures Chicken Roll

Steamed Three Treasures Chicken Roll  三宝鸡扎 ($5.20) – The most expensive dim sum item of our meal turned out to be the most disappointing. Perhaps we were expecting too much, but the chicken roll turned out to be something akin to 腐皮卷 beancurd roll. The three treasures were chicken, mushrooms and crabstick. It was particularly disappointing to find that crabstick was one of the the three treasures. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t an awful dish. But for that price, this dish definitely fell short of expectations.

Peony Jade Restaurant
M Level, Keppel Club
Bukit Chermin Road

Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge

Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge

Newly opened this year and located at the intersection of Kg Eunos and Changi Road is Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge.

Teochew Porridge Side Dishes

Economical Rice Dishes

At first glance, we spotted the usual side dishes of Teochew Porridge including:

Teochew Braised Duck
Handmade Meat Ball
Steamed Sotong
Mei Cai (Preserved Radish Leaves)
Braised Peanuts
Braised Pig Intestines
Steamed Fish

Not displayed in the counter are also 2 of Seah Soon Teck’s specialties – Pig Trotter Jelly  猪脚冻 and Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻. Besides Teochew Porridge, Seah Soon Teck offers a huge spread of economical rice dishes as well, catering to both the Teochew Porridge fanatics and the general public.

Teochew Porridge

Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻

Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻

The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 is a labour-intensive traditional Teochew dish which requires hours of preparation. We were expecting a more chewy and harder gelatinous like texture, similar to the ones which we tried before at other Teochew restaurants. However, Seah Soon Teck’s version was vastly different. The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 essentially disintegrated and melted in our mouths within seconds. The meat was thinly sliced such that it lost the meat tenderness. We did not have to chew on the jelly and they melted in the mouth. The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 was accompanied by their homemade chili sauce which was sufficiently spicy.

Compared to the Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻, the Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻 is more rare and not commonly found in recent years. For those who have not tried shark meat before, the texture of shark meat is essentially intermediate between chicken and fish meat. While it was not as soft and silky as fish meat, it wasn’t as tough and chewy compared to chicken meat. Compared to the Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻, the Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻 had more bite and chew to it. For non-fish lovers with a sensitive palate, the shark meat, though slightly bland did exude a slight fishy taste. This could however, be covered up by the accompanying sesame and peanut plum sauce.

Handmade Meat Ball

Braised Duck

The handmade meatballs are made freshly daily, using pork, prawns and fish. The meatballs weren’t overly seasoned and retained the original flavours of the pork and fish. They weren’t too starchy, you could chew onto the bits of fish and pork meat. Another dish we enjoyed was the braised duck. The meat had adequately absorbed the essence of the sauce, yet not being too salty. We did feel that the duck meat could be a little more tender and less rubbery.

Steamed Pomfet

Some parts of the steamed pomfet, especially the area not in contact with the gravy, wasn’t all too soft and tender, probably due to the fish being presteamed and then reheated upon serving. However, for a better experience, one could request for a fresh uncooked pomfet to be steamed on the spot with a small additional fee. The gravy was a little on the salty side probably due to the sour plums and preserved vegetables. However, it was good that there was no fishiness to this dish.

(top) Cai Buey, Braised Peanuts, Tau Kee, Chai Poh (Salted Turnips) Omelette (bottom from left) Cabbage; Hae Bee Hiam

Other dishes we tried included the cai buey, tau kee, chai poh omelette. We particularly liked the braised peanuts and hae bee hiam. The braised peanuts were well flavoured and very fragrant. The hae been hiam was spicy but not overly salty. The crunchy dried shrimps added much flavour to the porridge.

*Note: This is an invited session by the generous owners.

Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge
283 Changi Road

The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot

The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot

There has been too many steamboat places popping up everywhere in Singapore, claiming to be from Chongqing, Sichuan etc. But for good quality affordable steamboat in a comfortable environment, do visit The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot!

Chicken Broth; Ma-la standard spicy

Food Selections

The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot offers a wide range of the typical steamboat ingredients. Each ingredient was very fresh and well-prepared. A few items to point out were the fish paste, carp fish fillet, fillet of pork and bai ling mushrooms. The thin layer of fish paste was very fresh, absolutely no tinge of fishiness. Similarly, the thinly sliced carp fish fillet was fresh and very tender. The bai ling mushrooms could easily pass off as sliced abalone.

Xiao Long Bao

Egg coated glutinous squares; Fried rolled buns; Water chestnut jelly

Eight treasure "black rice"

Each patron was also offered a standard serving of Meat and Chives Dumpling, Xiao Long Bao, Egg-coated Glutinous Squares, Fried Rolled Buns, Water Chestnut Jelly and Eight Treasure “Black Rice”. We particularly like the platter of desserts. The sweet treats were a good contrast to the salty steamboat.

Eight Treasure Tea

We were also recommended to order the signature Eight Treasure Tea. Supposedly containing 8 different ingredients (though we could only isolate 6), the Eight Treasure Tea was fragrant and was a very good thirst quencher.

For good quality steamboat with fresh ingredients at an affordable price, the Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot is your best choice.

The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
#04-06/07, Tanglin Shopping Centre
19 Tanglin Road

Singapore Food Trail

Singapore Food Trail

Singapore Food Trail 新加坡路边摊 is a 1960s themed food street located in the Singapore Flyer. It houses many of Singapore’s well-known hawker stalls including:

1) Boon Tat Street BBQ Seafood
2) Bugis Street Ah Huat Hainanese Chicken Rice
3) Katong Keah Kee Fried Oysters
4) High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles
5) Selera’s Adam Road Nasi Lemak
6) Old Airport Road Satay Beehoon and Satay Celup
7) Sin Ming Road Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh
8) Newton Lim Kee Hokkien Noodles
9) Top 73+1 Handmade Fishball Noodles
10) Whampoa Ngoh Hiang Prawn Cracker
11) Hong Kong Zhai House of Dim Sum
12) Lagoon Kampong Rojak / Cuttlefish Kangkong
13) Alhambra Satay Club Satay
14) Chinatown Ann Chin Popiah
15) Changi Village Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang
16) Alhambra Satay Club  BBQ Chicken Wings

Singapore Food Trail

(clockwise from top left) Katong Keah Kee Fried Oysters; Changi Village Mei Xiang Fried Carrot Cake; Alhambra Satay; Alhambra Chicken Wings; Changi Village Char Kway Teow

In general, the prices of the hawker dishes at the Singapore Food Trail were relatively more expensive than other hawker centers. Even though most, if not all, of the stalls were backed with a long standing history of good reputation, the dishes were pretty average and not particularly outstanding. The venue is rather out of the way and if not for the Singapore Flyer, we believe there are better hawker alternatives at more convenient locations.

Singapore Food Trail
Singapore Flyer, #01-09/12
30 Raffles Avenue

Crystal Jade Bakery

Black Sesame Bun

We’ve tried the Black Sesame Bun from Bao Today and Swatow Seafood, and just recently we realized that the long-standing Crystal Jade group offers our favourite Black Sesame Bun as well! Each bun is competitively priced at $1 and is sold at the Crystal Jade Kitchen. The bun when broken apart, brought some dismay as the black sesame fillings did not ooze out immediately, unlike that of Bao Today and Swatow. The fillings were much thicker and less fluid-like.  However, our dismay turned to joy when we bit into the bun and savoured the sandy-like texture of the black sesame fillings. The texture was similar to sesame fillings in sesame glutinous rice balls. We particularly like the the coarse texture and rich flavours as it made us relished in the fact that we were enjoying paste made from freshly grounded black sesame, and less of those instant starchy concoction. The exterior of the bun had quite a strong black sesame taste as well. Texture wise, it was rather dense, heavy, and less fluffy.

We also tried the Custard Bun 奶黄包, priced at $1 each as well. The Custard Bun was different from the flowy version 流沙包. The custard fillings were thicker and less fluid like, similar to the Black Sesame Bun. What we did not like was that the fillings tasted more like corn fillings in a sweet corn bun.

Crystal Jade Kitchen
B1-17, Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road

Wuhan Steamboat City

The deepest impression people would have about Wuhan Steamboat City would be its advertisement by Aunty Lucy. However, this seemingly did not improve its business and on a Saturday afternoon, Wuhan Steamboat City was pretty deserted.

Wuhan Steamboat City

Wuhan Steamboat City

Wuhan Steamboat City offers both cooked and raw food. Cooked food included glutinous rice dumplings, pickled cucumbers, braised items like duck wings, duck necks and tofu, deep fried items like chicken wings, samosa, spring rolls, dumplings. For the raw items, there were the usual seafood offerings like prawns, squids, cuttlefish, fish. Others include chicken, sliced pork and beef, oyster mushrooms, golden mushrooms, Shitake mushrooms, dumplings, yam, potatoes, lotus roots, various vegetables etc. There weren’t any exotic or unique choices.

Soup wise, the flavours offered were Chicken, Seafood, Tom Yam, Spicy and Tomato. We tried the Chicken, Seafood and Tom Yam flavours. The Tom Yam flavoured broth was the tastiest, providing a satisfying level of spiciness and sourness. It was a good alternative to the Spicy flavour which tended to be too oily. However, the Tom Yam flavour also felt like the one loaded with the most MSG and we moved on to the more bland chicken and seafood flavours after a while.

On the whole, we felt that there was nothing too special about this Wuhan Steamboat City. It felt like a typical local steamboat affair with no element of Wuhan injected into its concept. The cooked dishes were unimpressive and the variety of food seemingly limited. The only draw was the fact that we did not have to walk around to take our ingredients. Service staff weren’t exactly friendly and helpful too.

The lunch buffet on a Saturday costs $19.90 per pax. There’s an additional charge of $1 per pax for free flow of drinks.

Wuhan Steamboat City
#04-85, The Central @ Clarke Quay
6 Eu Tong Sen Street

Bosses Restaurant 黑社會

The allure of a 30% discount for all dim sum items from 2.30 to 5.30pm on weekdays was too attractive for us to walk past Bosses without going in.

Deep Fried Fish Skin

Rather than the typical steamed ground nuts or salty peanuts, the starter at Bosses was a dish of fried fish skin. To our surprise, the deep fried skin wasn’t too oily, and was rather crispy and fragrant.

Dim Sum

Signature Flowy Custard Bun 招牌流沙包

Signature Flowy Custard Bun 招牌流沙包

Signature Flowy Custard Bun 招牌流沙包 (3 for $5.50) – Perhaps partly due to the bright orange skin, the custard buns exterior looked and tasted different from typical buns, rather more like Steamed Cakes (鸡蛋糕). Once we bit into the buns, the fluid-like custard started oozing out. There was a generous amount of custard in the bun which kept oozing out from different parts of the bun. The custard wasn’t a creamy milky custard but one which was sweet but yet rich in the salted egg flavour. We particularly liked the seemingly unsieved, sandy texture of the fluid-like custard.  We didn’t quite like the bun exterior, but the interior custard was a winner!

Prawn Dumpling 笋尖鲜虾饺

Prawn Dumpling 笋尖鲜虾饺 (4 for $5.50) – The prawn dumplings were rather huge and from its translucent skin, we could see the generous chunks of prawns packed tightly within the dumpling. The prawns were crunchy, succulent and very fresh.  On closer examination, we realized that the fillings were not made solely of prawns but mixed with some equally succulent pork meat.The skin was also not too thick nor starchy.

Black Fungus Turnip Dumpling 葛丝木耳冬菇饺

Black Fungus Turnip Dumpling 葛丝木耳冬菇饺 (3 for $6.00) – With its fanciful name, we couldn’t quite relate it to the conventional soon kueh until we tasted it. The turnip strips were crunchy. The dumpling fillings were fragrant and not too oily. It was still a reasonably good soon kueh.

On the whole, we were quite impressed with the standard of dim sum at Bosses and would definitely return for more, in particular the Signature Flowy Custard Bun!

Bosses Restaurant
#02-156/157, Vivocity
1 Harbourfront Walk