北京美食之旅 – 海底捞火锅

In December 2012, 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot opened its first overseas outlet – right here in Singapore. It created a big hoo-ha as 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot was extremely popular in China with long waiting times of a few hours at every single outlet. The food was not only great, it was the thoughtful service and clean environment which attracted the China crowd every night.

We have not visited the local outlet in Singapore. What was even better was that we had the chance to visit one of the older 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot outlet in Beijing!

海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot

As we had reached just past the lunch hour, there wasn’t much crowd and we skipped the queuing process. As this was an older outlet, food was still ordered using a paper menu, rather than iPads at some newer branches. The waitresses were particularly attentive. For customers who wore glasses, spectacle cleaning cloths would be provided. For those with un-tied long hair, hair rubber bands would be offered. And for those who can’t part with their phones, they provided transparent ziplock bags to contain the phones. A large cloth would also be used to cover our bags. And finally, an apron to prevent any splashes n spills onto our clothes. All these done in a bid for the customers to enjoy a hassle free, clean and comfortable meal.

海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot

海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot provides a long table of various condiments for customers to concoct their very own dipping sauce – and this was always an excitement for us. We chose the hot pot duo, which came with a non-spicy soup base and a 麻辣 spicy soup base. The 麻辣 soup base was really authentically 麻辣 – it was filled with red hot spicy sichuan peppers which gave the soup a very strong spicy kick with a rich fragrance. Definitely not for drinking though, solely meant to flavour the ingredients.

The ingredients at 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot spanned across a wide variety and were very fresh. In particular, we enjoyed the Handmade mashed shrimp, which was essentially fresh shrimp paste contained in a tight transparent bag. Upon request, the waiter would squeeze out the shrimp paste from the bag and into the hot pot. The cooked shrimp paste was somewhat like a prawn ball. It was succulent, juicy and very fresh.

As the China palate leans to beef and mutton, there weren’t really many chicken or pork offerings. Hence, we stuck to ingredients such as assorted mushrooms (golden mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, abalone mushrooms), frozen tofu, sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, Chinese yam and potato slices.

And at 4 RMB per pax, we could enjoy a free flow of 3 kinds of drinks – black soya bean milk, lemonade or herbal tea. The black soya bean milk was a spiciness quencher. It could most effectively bring down the spiciness caused by the 麻辣 soup.

Our first visit was just after lunch time on a weekday. We were so impressed, we made a 2nd trip to another branch for an early dinner on a weekend. And around 7pm, this was the scene that greeted us as we left the restaurant:

海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot

This was just a fraction of the crowd who was waiting to enter 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot. In every outlet, tables were placed outside the restaurant where free flow of snacks and drinks were available to the waiting customers. There were also free manicure (weekdays) and hand massage (weekends) for the ladies and free shoe polish services for the men. At this particular outlet, there was even a host gathering customers to participate in mini games.

With great thoughtful service + many free services and snacks + great fresh food + flavourful soup bases + a clean dining environment, it is no wonder 海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot remains the top hot pot restaurant in Beijing.

海底捞火锅 Hai Di Lao Hot Pot
牡丹园店
海淀区花园东路2号
北京,中国

Sakae Sushi

Sakae Sushi

Sakae Sushi has got to be one of Singapore’s longest standing Japanese sushi franchises. Our strongest memory of Sakae Sushi was its high tea sushi buffet where we devoured plates and plates (excluding the red ones) of sushi and other Japanese finger food from the conveyor belt. But the influx of other popular sushi chains like Itacho and Sushi Express has caused a reduction in market share for Sakae Sushi. Thus, explaining the need for a launch of the new menu!

And the biggest beneficiary for such healthy competition?

Us! The food lovers!

Ika Okura

Asari Miso

Honey Sakura Ebi

For those who love the characteristic stickiness and gooeyness of lady’s fingers, along with the slimy strands of sap, do give the Ika Okura a try. The Ika Okura was a rather unique and refreshing appetizer of sliced lady’s fingers with small chunks of squid. However, the presence of the squid seemed to be overshadowed by the sliminess of the lady’s fingers. Taste wise, it was very light and not too strongly flavoured. It was more of a healthy cold dish to cleanse your taste buds.

On the other hand, the other 2 appetizers were much stronger in flavour. The Asari Miso, or seasoned clams, reminded us of Chuka Hotate. The taste was largely similar to Chuka Hotate. Only that the scallop was replaced by clams. The Honey Sakura Ebi was also somewhat similar to the local favourite hae bee hiam, aka spicy dried shrimp sambal, just that the former was less spicy and slightly sweeter. Both appetizers were pretty addictive – small little packets of strong flavours.

Kohada

Katsuo

Nama Kaki

The Kohada (Gizzard Shad) was something we had not tried before. We had initially though that the silver leather-lookalike skin would be tough and rubbery, but it turned out otherwise. The skin was indiscernible. There was slight similarity to the taste of the mackerel (saba), with a slightly outlandish fishy taste.

The Katsuo (Skipjack Tuna) was very different from the typical tuna sashimi. It had a strong smoky fragrance and taste, almost being able to pass off as some kind of smoked meat.

The Nama Kaki (Oyster) was very fresh – that’s the least one can ask for. The minced garlic atop, coupled with Tabasco sauce, added the extra kick to the already outlandish oyster sashimi.

Mentai Kamo Sushi

Katsuo Aburi Sushi

Incorporating duck into sushi seems to be rather popular in many sushi outlets in the recent years – a sign of the growing influence of the French style into Japanese cuisine. And if done well, this would definitely be a hit amongst customers. Sakae Sushi’s Mentai Kamo Sushi was probably one of the more popular dishes of the meal. The smoked duck was tender, without being overly rubbery. The subtle smoky fragrance and taste lingered in the background, with the grilled creamy codfish roe exuding a strong savouriness. We particularly enjoyed the Mentai Kamo Sushi.

The Aburi Nama Hotate Sushi was also another winner! The scallops were fresh, large and juicy. The scallops were lightly seared, giving it a half-cooked, half-raw texture. The touch of the salmon roe gave that last sea saltiness kick.

The Katsuo Aburi Sushi was similar to the Katsuo sashimi – where we could also detect that subtle smokiness from the skipjack tuna. The tuna slices however, were thinner in the sushi version. Coupled with the presence of the vinaigrette rice, the fishy taste of the skipjack tuna was slightly toned down.

Ooba Tempura

The presentation of the Ooba Tempura seemed a little too Chinese restaurant-like, didn’t quite look like a Japanese dish. The tempura consisted of a lightly battered white fish wrapped in ooba leaf. When we bit into it, we felt that the fish seemed to have been minced and then wrapped within the ooba leaf, in contrast to our initial expectations of a fish fillet. The batter was crispy, and not overly oily. On a whole, it was a decent tempura.

Seafood Kimchi Ramena

Chicken Kimchi Ramena

The Seafood Kimchi Ramen fell short of the strong spicy tanginess of Kimchi in the soup base. We could detect the subtle taste of kimchi, but we were looking for something with more punch and kick. The noodles were decently done. But the biggest shortcoming of the ramen was the eggs. We had expected a Ramen runny yolk egg, not an almost fully cooked egg.

Mango and Pear Pudding

A refreshing dessert to finish off the meal was the Mango and Pear Pudding. Both puddings were very strong in their respective flavors and would be suitable for those with really sweet tooth.

Note: This is an invited food review.

Sakae Sushi
#02-207, Marina Square
6 Raffles Boulevard

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

Mellben Seafood

Mellben Seafood

Talk about crabs and one of the 1st few places that come to mind has got to be Mellben Seafood. Even on a random weekday evening, Mellben Seafood was packed to the brim.

Claypot Crab Beehoon

Mellben Seafood’s signature Claypot Crab Beehoon was a soup based thick beehoon. The soup was rather creamy and milky. To top it off, it was very overwhelmingly rich in the taste of crab. You could literally just taste the sea in this soup. For those who can’t take the slightest fishy taste, this is definitely not the crab to go for. Noodles aside, the crab was fresh and succulent. In fact, the crab itself wasn’t even as fishy as the soup.

Salted Egg Yolk and Cheese Crab

The Salted Egg Yolk and Cheese Crab was more flavourful and savoury. There wasn’t much of a cheese flavour, more of the saltiness from the salted egg. We enjoyed licking the sauce off the crab pieces. On the down side, this version of crab meat was rather dry and not as juicy as the claypot crab.

Cereal Prawns

The Cereal Prawns weren’t too impressive. They were rather bland and not fragrant enough. It seems like the prawns weren’t thoroughly and adequately fried and infused with the cereal bits. The prawns were huge, but the meat tended towards the drier and less succulent side.

Claypot Tofu

Claypot Tofu has got to be one of the more popular dishes for patrons of tze char stalls. Mellben Seafood’s version was pretty decent, with a slight tinge of spiciness. In fact, the prawns in the Claypot Tofu seems crunchier and juicier than the Cereal Prawns.

Mellben Seafood
#01-11 to #01-15, Blk 211
Toa Payoh Lorong 8

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

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

Chin Huat 镇发 Live Seafood Restaurant

To us, Chin Huat 镇发 was one of the pioneering steamboat/barbeque buffet places in Marina South. The redevelopment of the Marina South area saw the closure of the steamboat/barbeque buffet community and we had not been to Chin Huat … … until now, but it was no longer about steamboat, it’s about the seafood.

Chili Crab (辣椒螃蟹)

We chose the Sri Lankan crab, priced at $43.80 per kg. The crabs were undoubtedly fresh, with juicy and succulent flesh. The chili gravy was very thick and viscous, much to our delight! It wasn’t too sweet; the spiciness was present, though not sufficiently spicy enough to satisfy us.

Black Pepper Crab (糊椒螃蟹)

There was visibly more crab roe in the Black Pepper Crab and these  have very much absorbed the essence of the black pepper gravy. The black pepper gravy was on the dry side. It was tasty and of the adequate level of black pepper taste. 

Silken Beancurd with Seafood in Claypot (海鲜豆腐煲)

Silken Beancurd with Seafood in Claypot 海鲜豆腐煲 ($18) – The claypot contained beancurd, fish slices, prawns, squids, mushrooms and a huge proportion of onions. The seafood was generally rather fresh, where the prawns were crunchy and the fish slices were tender. The beancurd was soft and silky. The dish was nothing extraordinary, but still a crowd pleaser.

Cereal Prawns (麦香虾)

Cereal Prawns 麦香虾 ($18, 0.5kg) – The best thing about Chin Huat was that the seafood was very fresh. The prawns were big, crunchy and juicy. They were sweet on their own, but with the addition of the cereal bits, they were fragrant and salty.

Prawns Steamed with Beer (啤酒蒸虾)

Prawns Steamed with Beer 啤酒蒸虾 ($24, 0.5kg) – Surrounding the prawns was a rather strong aroma of beer and the egg white gravy contained a significant percentage of beer as well. However, we felt that the beer did not really complement the steamed prawns well. Steaming rather than deep frying enabled the prawns to retain more of its juiciness. We would give the garlic steamed prawns a try next time. 

Spicy Fried Chicken with Salt and Pepper (椒盐鸡)

Spicy Fried Chicken with Salt and Pepper 椒盐鸡 ($18) – This has got to be the worst dish of the night. There was barely any taste of salt and pepper. The chicken chunks were not thoroughly marinated nor flavoured. Interestingly, we felt that this was like an uncompleted dish of sweet and sour chicken, and all it lacked was just another quick stir fry with the sweet and sour gravy.

Chin Huat 镇发 Live Seafood Restaurant
#01-30, Blk 105
Clementi Street 12, Sunset Way

Out of the Pan

Strategically located beside the water fountain at the Raffles City Shopping Centre is Out of the Pan. Riding on the 1 for 1 savoury crepe special, we ordered 4 crepes to share and try. We had a choice of plain, whole wheat and sun-dried tomato flour crepe.

Norwegian Salmon (whole wheat flour crepe)

Norwegian Salmon – Smoked salmon with creamy pistachio cheese and plantation chutney. The most savoury of the four, it was on the salty side as smoked salmon was used. The accompanying chutnney made of pineapples, apples amongst other fruits was refreshing. Its sourness was a good complement to the crepe, which would otherwise be overly salty.

(from top to bottom) Yum Yum Mushroom; Smoked Ham

Yum Yum Mushroom – Sautéed shiitake, straw and oyster mushrooms with herbs, tomato sauce, ricotta and gruyère cheese. This crepe is indeed yummy and healthy. The fillings seemed to have been stewed for a long period such that even the sauce tasted strongly of mushroom. The ricotta and gruyère cheese were barely detectable though. The accompaniment salsa sauce was thick with large generous tomato chunks, which made the dish seemingly even healthier.

Smoked Ham – With grilled portobello mushrooms, gruyère cheese, tomato sauce and thyme. The portion of ham was generous, but it could get a bit overwhelming if one is not a meat lover. In our opinion, the ham tasted more like average picnic ham, definitely lacking in the smoky taste and fragrance.

Seafood Jungle (with sundried tomato flour crepe)

Seafood Jungle – The prawns were fresh and succulent. There were a few scallops packed inside the crepe as well. Sadly, the scallops didn’t really stand out and allowed the prawns to be the main lead. The gravy was also not to our liking and somehow not quite compatible with the entire seafood crepe.

Out of the Pan
#B1-45, Raffles Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

Peperoni Pizzeria

Peperoni Pizzeria

Peperoni Pizzeria on a Friday evening! It is always good to make reservations at Peperoni as this place is totally packed on evenings.

4 Formaggi and Prosciutto & Funghi - Family Pizza/XXL 21 inches

4 Formaggi (Mozza, taleggio, scamorza and gorgonzola) and Prosciutto (ham) & Funghi (mushrooms) in the largest pizza size! 21 inches! Double Extra Large!! The previous time saw 3 younger versions of us struggling to finish the 21 inches pizza. This time round, we had a party of 6 to share the pizza (and hence more room to try other main courses and appetizers!). The family sized pizza looked majestic, impressive and very appetizing. The base crust was thin, with the edges being very crispy. Taste wise, the 4 Formaggi was more savoury, cheesy and less dry. The Prosciutto & Funghi was not too bad as well, but as we are avid cheese lovers, we tended to enjoy the 4 Formaggi more.

Oven-baked Eggplant

Oven-baked Eggplant – with tomato and mozzarella, parmigiana style. The Oven-baked Eggplant was rather soft and mushy. It wasn’t flavourful enough. The eggplant itself was pretty tasteless, the accompanying tomato sauces wasn’t strong as well, the dish could also do with a larger proportion of cheese.

Portobello Mushroom

Portobello Mushroom – Fried portobello with chicken and red wine. We believed that the inner portion of the portobello mushrooms were coated with mashed potatoes and then deep fried. With its crispy texture and soft inner core, the savoury  Portobello Mushroom was a crowd favourite! The chicken piece however, were rather tasteless and there was an obvious lacking in red wine.

Mixed Seafood Risotto

Mixed Seafood Risotto – Mixed seafood cooked in rich prawn stock. It was indeed rich prawn stock as the risotto had a very strong seafood taste. In fact, just take a whiff at the dish and you’ll feel like you’re just by the sea. But no worries, the risotto wasn’t overly fishy. In fact, the savoury cheese and tomato based sauce complemented the seafood well. There were pieces of squid, prawns and scallops inside. The scallops were rather mushy though. Each grain of rice was firm but not hard, and had thoroughly soaked up the flavours of the seafood, tomatoes and cheese. This is one of the better risottos we have tried.

Chicken wings 8pcs

Chicken wings (8pcs) was a last minute order. The chicken drumlets/wings were on the spicy side. The batter was slightly different from elsewhere in that it had been mixed with some chopped leaves and spices to give it additional fragrance. The skin was crispy, with tender chicken meat beneath. Nevertheless, nothing too fantastic about it. One thing they could improve was the accompanying mayo dip. The chicken wings were on the oily side,  mayonnaise is typically oily too, hence it felt overly oily. Perhaps a sour refreshing dip would be more appropriate.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu – Savoiyard biscuits, coffee and mascarpone. Sadly, the Tiramisu failed to impress us. The liqueur taste was sorely missing and hence compared to Italiannies, the Tiramisu, which was rather mild in flavour, paled in comparison. There was also barely any mascapone cheese taste, instead it tasted very rich in cream.

Though Peperoni Pizzeria was packed to the brim on a Friday night, the waiting staff were still rather attentive to us. They readily topped up our ice waters and cleared our plates. They were friendly, always with their bright smiles and made the entire meal an enjoyable one.

Peperoni Pizzeria
6 Greenwood Avenue, Hillcrest Park

Penang Food Trail – Teluk Kumbar Seafood and Satay

Teluk Kumbar Good Friend Seafood Restaurant

Seafood by the sea – not a bad way to conclude our 2D1N Penang trip right? Off we went to Teluk Kumbar Seafood, located just between Bayan Lepas and Balik Pulau. Teluk Kumbar is a small fishing village, which houses the Teluk Kumbar Good Friend Seafood restaurant. The restaurant was just metres away from the sea, and our table was just situated on the sandy beach. Just beside the restaurant was a small makeshift satay stall, with fantastic reviews. Dinner that night was Satay and Seafood!

Makeshift satay stall

Satay

The satay was fantastic! The huge chunks of meat were topped with a spicy and flavourful sauce. It wasn’t like Singapore’s satay, rather it was more like grilled/barbecued chicken skewers. There was hardly any fats in the meat, just tender chunks of well-marinated chicken. Every piece was juicy and succulent.

(clockwise from top left) Lettuce; Deep Fried Calamari; Oyster Egg; Kailan; Fried Tofu

Clams

Chili Crabs

We ordered 7 other dishes, including 2 plates of vegetables, deep fried calamari, oyster egg, tofu, clams and chili crabs.

In general, the food is pretty average, similar to the standard of tze char stalls in Singapore. The lightly crisp batter went well with the calamari. The clams were fresh and went well with the slightly spicy sauce. The sauce of chili crab was lacking spiciness though, it was more towards the sweet side. The crabs were very fresh but rather scrawny; Singapore’s Sri Lanka crabs are still a winner. The tofu was soft, silky and not oily though it was deep fried. Perhaps we had ordered the wrong dishes, but we felt that the variety of seafood is rather limited for a restaurant specializing in seafood. The highlight of this meal was the fact that we sat barely a few metres away from the sea, enjoying the sea breeze and our sumptuous seafood dinner.