Peach Garden Restaurant @ Thomson Plaza

May's monthly foodies and twitter friends gathering was at Peach Garden Thomson Plaza for the Dim Sum buffet from 3pm to 5pm. It was also a birthday celebration for Maureen aka Miss Tam Chiak. It was a surprise for Maureen and she was supposed to be attending some food tasting session.

Before 3pm, a large crowd already gathered outside the restaurant. Everyone was only allowed to be seated exactly at 3pm. This was my first time having dim sum buffet and I didn't know it was so competitive! Luckily we had a big group and distributed ourselves to queue and grab any dim sum that was available.

Overall the dim sum were pretty good but limited in varieties for the buffet. If you want to try other stuff such as custard bun, you need to order from the ala carte menu

Egg Tart

Carrot Cake

Braised Beancurd

Vinegar Pig Trotter

BBQ Pork Rib

Fried Fish

Deep Fried Sesame Balls & Mochi

Fried Shrimp Dumpling

Pork Ribs

Dumpling

Something different and not expected at dim sum buffet, ICE CREAM! Listen out to the bell ringing and ice cream will be served.

The group also bought Maureen's favourite durian cake from Goodwood Park Hotel. Look how happy our birthday girl was.

To get here, take MRT to Marymount station and go to exit A. From exit A, walk about 100 metres to Upper Thomson Road. You will see a SPC petrol kiosk. Cross the road and take bus number 52, 132, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 855 or 980 from the bus stop. Alight 2 bus stops later and walk to Thomson Plaza.


Peach Garden Restaurant
Thomson Plaza
301 Upper Thomson Road
#01-88
Singapore 574408
Nearest MRT: Marymount (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11am - 230pm, 6pm - 10pm
Sat-Sun: 10am - 230pm, 6pm - 10pm

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Flavvors The Oriental Cafe (丰味) @ Orangetee Building Toa Payoh

Flavvors The Oriental Cafe is one of the 3 restaurants owned by the Febulous Group. All the 3 restaurants are housed under the same roof at the Orangetee Building at Toa Payoh Hub. Flavvors serves a combination of Peranakan and Chinese cuisines.

The first thing I wanted to try was the Deep Fried Century Egg on the menu. The breaded crust was crispy and nice. Unfortunately, the deep fried probably dried up  the century egg and became rubbery, losing that distinct century egg taste.

Deep Fried Century Egg 3/5

I liked the crab meat and egg white gravy that was drenched onto the broccoli. It was light and flavourful. It also helped to enhance the taste, texture and appearance. For people that do not like their greens, this probably will help to change their opinion.

Broccoli with Crab Meat & Egg White 4/5

I ordered the Deep Fried Chicken with Marmite Spicy Sauce to round off my dinner with a protein. The Marmite flavour was distinct and rich. I was delighted as usually it turned out quite mild in flavour.

Deep Fried Chicken with Marmite Spicy Sauce 4/5

Flavvors The Oriental Cafe (丰味)
Orangetee Building
430 Toa Payoh Lorong 6
#01-01
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 1030pm
Sat-Sun: 8am - 1030pm

Phuket Trip Part 2

After settling down in the resort, we took the resort shuttle to Central Festival. Central Festival is another mega shopping mall in Phuket. After roaming around the mall for a while, we went to Yum Saap for lunch.

The morning glory was spicy and crunchy. Although it was mostly stems but it was an enjoyment biting into the crunchiness.

Morning Glory 4.2/5

The Papaya Salad which is also known as Som Tam in Thai is full of flavours. Sour, spicy and sweet all came together in a simple dish of shredded unripened papaya. It also came with salted egg which was quite unique.

Papaya Salad with Salted Egg 4.2/5

The authentic Green Curry Chicken was really good. The green curry gravy was thick and creamy exactly the the way I like.

Green Curry Chicken 4.2/5

The hot and sour taste from the Mixed Seafood Tom Yam simply spice up my day. It was full of yummy and fresh seafood.

Mixed Seafood Tom Yam 4.2/5

Phuket Trip Part 1

I went for a 3D2N short trip in Phuket after grabbing a cheap accommodation deal from WOTIF at Evason Phuket & Bon Island Resort for USD$57 per night, which was about SGD$66 per night. The resort is located at the Southern end of Phuket at Rawai beach area. The resort itself also has a private island which you can visit via their free ferry shuttle.

A peaceful and scenic view welcomes you when stepping into the resort.

The resort has 4 pavilions built above the pond serving as reception area.

A towel,  welcome drink and tibits upon checking in.

The scenic view every morning for breakfast.

Interesting "Do not disturb" door sign.

The resort also has its own vegetable farm too.

Yi Shi Jia Wanton Mee @ Kovan Food Centre

If you live in Hougang you probably know about this popular Wanton Mee stall. Long queues were always spotted at the stall especially in the morning. After the renovation, all the food stalls were relocated to the same level and Yi Shi Jia Wanton Mee still retains the same unit number.

Yi Shi Jia Wanton Mee offers 4 versions of Wanton Mee catering to the different taste buds. They have spicy, ketchup, soy sauce and soup versions. I had the spicy Wanton Mee which came with a decent amount of char siew and greens. The wanton which was not captured in the photo had tasty minced pork fillings and silky wanton skin. Overall it was a good old school plate of Wanton Mee that brought back childhood memories.

Wanton Mee 4.2/5

Yi Shi Jia Wanton Mee
Kovan Food Centre
Blk 209 Hougang Street 21
#01-57
Nearest MRT: Kovan (NE Line)

Katong Da Fei Kun (加东大肥坤) @ Fengshan Market & Food Centre

Katong Da Fei Kun is located just beside the two popular Bak Chor Mee stalls at Fengshan Market & Food Centre. It is worth checking out the fried oyster at Katong Da Fei Kun while waiting for your bowl of Bak Chor Mee.

Fried Oyster are usually fried into small pieces of crispy flour mixture but the fried oyster here was fried and served in big crisp flour mixture. Surprisingly it gave the fried oyster a new dimension of texture which I found it unique and nice. It also came with fresh big oysters too.

Fried Oyster 4/5

To get here, take bus number 222 from Bedok MRT station and alight 5 stops later. Walk to Fengshan Market and Food Centre which is 190m away.


Katong Da Fei Kun (加东大肥坤)
Fengshan Market and Food Centre
Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4
#01-06
Nearest MRT: Bedok (EW Line)

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Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian (兴记肉脞面) @ Fengshan Market & Food Centre

The two Bak Chor Mee stalls at Block 85 Bedok North are very popular and well known but I have never tried it. I was at the Worker Party's rally at Bedok Stadium for the East Coast GRC and decided to check out the stalls for supper since I was nearby.

It took me quite a while to decide which Bak Chor Mee stall to patron. Both stalls are side by side and had long queues. I decided on Xing Ju Rou Cuo Mian because of the 3 letters "老字號".

I have to wait 45 minutes for my bowl of Bak Chor Mee Soup! The stall only sells the soup version which came with minced meat, meat balls and cut red chilli. The noodles were Q and springy. The meatballs were firm and nice. The soup was slurping good too. The disappointment was the minced meat. I find it too fine and could not taste them in the bowl of soup.

I enjoyed having the cut red chilli with the noodles and asked for more. Initially I was worried that the stall owner will not be happy that I asked for more than what was given. However the lady I approached at the stall was very nice and asked me to help myself to them.

Bak Chor Mee Soup 4/5

To get here, take bus number 222 from Bedok MRT station and alight 5 stops later. Walk to Fengshan Market and Food Centre which is 190m away.


Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian (兴记肉脞面)
Fengshan Market and Food Centre
Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4
#01-07
Nearest MRT: Bedok (EW Line)

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Pin Si (品食) Restaurant @ Yishun SAFRA Country Club

This year my family went to Pin Si Restaurant at Yishun SAFRA Country Club to celebrate my mum's birthday cum Mother's Day celebration. Besides the restaurant at Yishun SAFRA Country Club, Pin Si Kitchen has another restaurant at Ang Mo Kio Hub. They are also into catering business and they are one of the pioneers to have a fleet of mobile kitchen.

The restaurant located at level 2 of the Yishun SAFRA Country Club is quite spacious and has a relaxing atmosphere. The waiters/waitresses were very attentive too.

The Deep Fried Beancurd with Pork Floss was our favourite among the dishes we ordered. It was shaped into a huge oval shape and deep fried. Crispy on the outside and smooth in the inside.

Deep Fried Beancurd with Pork Floss 4.5/5

The Peking Duck Skin with Crepe was only so so. The duck skin lacked the fragrant and crisp. The duck skin also lost its texture in the thick crepe. The remaining duck meat was used to fry noodles and it was pretty good.

Peking Duck Skin with Crepe 3.5/5

Noodle with Duck Meat 4/5

The Salted Egg Prawn was fresh and nice. It had a coating of salted egg which was nicely cooked, neither too dry or moist. The Steam Grouper Fish was fresh and firm. The vegetable was also nicely cooked and done.

Salted Egg Prawn 4.2/5

Steamed Red Grouper Fish 4.2/5

Vegetable with 3 Eggs 4/5

To get here, take bus number 858 from Khatib MRT station and alight 2 bus stops later. Walk about 400m to Yishun SAFRA Country Club.


Pin Si (品食) Restaurant
Yishun SAFRA Country Club
60 Yishun Ave 4
#02-V1
Nearest MRT: Khatib (NS Line)

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Coffee Stars by Dao @ Wisma Atria

It was our monthly "kaki" meeting and one of my friends recommended Coffee Stars by Dao at Wisma Atria. Coffee Stars by Dao is a new star in town that serves Thai and International cuisine. Coffee Stars by Dao is from Bangkok, Thailand which has several branches in Bangkok known as Coffee Beans by Dao.

There were 9 of us and we ordered quite a number of dishes to share. We started with Soft Shell Crab Salad and Som Tum Guava with Shrimp Salad. The Soft Shell Crab Salad was fresh and refreshing. The Som Tum Guava with Shrimp Salad was very good. My friend tried it before and specially recommended it. An authentic Thai Salad full of sour lime, hot chilli and fish sauce tastes.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab Salad 4/5

Som Tum Guava with Dry Shrimp Salad 4.2/5

The Black Olive Fried Rice was fragant and nice. It came with cucumber, lime, cashew nuts and chopped chilli.

Black Olive & Pork Fried Rice 4.2/5

The Chicken wrapped in Panda Leaf was nothing special. The chicken had a nice panda fragant and not oily.

Chicken wrapped in Panda Leaf 3.5/5

The Chicken Basil came with rice and an a fried egg. It was a simple and yummy dish for one.

Fried Chicken Basil 4/5

The Sesame Shrimp Toast was something unique with shrimp batter over bread toast. It was deep fried and sprinkled with sesame. It was not oily and had a nice crisp texture.

Sesame Shrimp Toasts 4/5

The Pad Thai Shrimp and Rice Noodle was another authentic Thai dish that came with fresh middle sized shrimp.

Pad Thai Shrimp & Rice Noodle 4.2/5

The Crispy Skin Grilled Chicken came with glutinous rice.  It was a bit disappointing. The chicken was cold but tasty.

Crispy Skin Grilled Chicken 3.5/5

The Lad Na Pork was the favourite among us and it was very special. Bascially it was "Hor Fun", wide rice noodle served with some stir fried vegetables and pork. The wide rice noodle was pan fried on both the outer sides giving it a crispy texture and leaving a smooth silky texture in between.

Lad Na Pork 4.5/5

Coffee Stars by Dao not only serves Thai and International cusine. It also has a wide selection of cakes. One of their signature is the Coconut Cake. It was soft, moist and had fresh coconut meat. The rest of their cake selections were pretty good too. Coffee Stars by Dao is a nice place to go for high tea and snacks beside lunch/dinner.

Coconut Cake 4.2/5

Coffee Stars by Dao
Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road
#01-37/41
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)