Showing posts with label Others: Gathering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Others: Gathering. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2015

SgKingCroc Food Adventure March 2015 at Iskina Cebu

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The monthly SgKingCroc Food Adventure for March 2015 organised by Tony Tee brought us to Iskina Cebu at Paya Lebar. Every month, Tony will collaborate with a restaurant to feature their signature dishes as well as having a crocodile meat dish on the menu.

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Iskina Cebu which sells the popular Lechon is opened by owner Chris. Words soon get around the island and long queues are formed each day at his stall to taste the delicious Lechon (roasting the whole pig over charcoal fire) which painstaking takes about 5 hours to cook.

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For the month of March, history is created in Singapore. Tony has worked with Chris, bringing Lechon Buwaya or Farm Crocodile Lechon to Singapore which is created by businessman and owner of the Davao Crocodile Park, Mr Philip Dizon in October 2011. Due to the uneven weight and the thickness of the crocodile meat, it needed more time and preparation to roast the crocodile. The picture above is the crocodile with the head and tail removed.

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The national dish of Philippines has been roasted to a nice golden brown colour.

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Chris the owner constantly check the temperature and ensure the meats are evenly cooked.

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Besides the Lechon and Lechon Buwaya, we also have the Lechon Manok which is stuffed with lemongrass, spring onions, ginger, garlic and roasted over charcoal fire.

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Lechon Manok

The result is a plate of delicious roasted chicken or Lechon Manok. The chicken has a nice charred smoky skin while the flesh was tender and moist.

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Cebu Pochero Bulalo

The dinner also showcases a couple Philippine dishes that Singaporeans have little knowledge of. It is a culinary education for me besides the great taste. The Cebu Pochero Bulalo is slow cooked until the tendons and meats almost fall off the bone. For the event, Tony and Chris has replaced the beef shanks with pig shanks to respect the beliefs of some of the guests. Bamboo shoots and sweet corns in cobs are added to enhance the flavours. This also distinguish the cebuano pochero from the tagalog bulalo version.

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Lechon

One of the highlight of the diner is the Lechon. This is my first time having it. I was very impressed how the roasting can achieve such a thin layer of paper thin crispy skin. The meat itself was not gamey at all. In fact the texture was so tender that it felt as if I was eating chicken.

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Bulalo on Hot Plate

I was told that Bulalo on Hot Plate is one the relatively new dish in Cebu gaining popularity. Instead of soup, the marrowy part of the beef shanks is tenderized and placed on a sizzling metal plate and then generously topped with buttered cream of mushroom gravy. For the event, Tony and Chris has replaced the beef shanks with pig shanks to respect the beliefs of some of the guests.

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Lechon Buwaya

Crocodile meat is one of the healthiest meat containing little fat and high in protein. After a day of marination, stuffed with the same ingredients as the Lechon Baboy, the crocodile meat is roasted over the charcoal fire for around 6 hours, slightly longer due to the thickness of the meat. I have to say the team did a good job in tenderizing the Lechon Buwaya. The result somewhat felt like eating sio bak with the different layers of textures and the hint of saltiness from the seawater crocodile. However I thought the garlicky seasoning was a bit too overpowering.

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Halo Halo

For fans for Iskina Cebu, here is a good news. Chris will be offering Philippine desserts with a new partner. We were lucky to have a glimpse of some of the yummy desserts.  My favourite is the Halo Halo, somewhat like a combination of our local ice kachang and bo bo cha cha.

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Lastly I leave you with a shot of the dinner which sees the largest crowd ever with 100 pax. This is the reason why I like food blogging and kept me going for all these years as food bonds people together.


Iskina Cebu
Blk 1016 Geylang East Ave 3
Singapore 389731
Tel: +65 67280765
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Iskina-Cebu-Singapore/1374400862814975
Website: http://iskinacebu.com.sg/
Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar (CC Line, EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sat: 12pm - 930pm
Sun: 12pm - 730pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Paya Lebar MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Monday, September 1, 2014

Withlocals - Eat with Locals

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Photo credit Withlocals

Recently I came across this website called the Withlocals which I thought it was really cool. Under the website you can choose to Eat Withlocals, Tour Withlocals and Activities Withlocals. You can either register to be a host or a guest. I thought this is really an interesting concept whereby you get to experience the local culture with a local family. So example, if you are on a trip to Thailand, you can choose to eat, tour or involve in an activity with your local host.

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Vegetable Fritters

To understand and experience this innovative concept, I gathered my foodie friends, Ian and Si Han to Eat Withlocals in Singapore. I decided to visit Beena who has registered to be a host in Singapore. Being a foodie and blogger, I thought it would be interesting to experience and learn about Indian cuisine which is not my forte.

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Vegetable Fritters

The build up to the actual day is actually quite mixed. We do not know what to expect but at the same timing looking forward to meet the host and try her cooking. As I am visiting someone's home, I bought a box of chocolate for the host. We started with brief introduction of ourselves and what we do for a living to get to know one another better. Things started to warm up a bit more with the wines and when the Vegetable Fritters were served.

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Puri

Soon dinner was served and Beena cooked us a feast. Beena is an excellent cook and she is one that cooks from scratch. Besides rice, Beena also prepared Indian Puri. She made her own dough and then deep fried them. The puri bread was so good that Si Han asked for the recipe.

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Potato

I have been cutting down on my carbo intake but the Potato made by Beena was so good that I could not help going back for more. Ian even made the comment that how he wishes all curry puff is stuffed with this beautiful potato fillings.

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Dal

A staple Indian dish is the Dal which can be eaten with either rice or roti. A lot of Indians are vegetarian and this provides the main source of proteins. To be frank, I think I can just eat the whole bowl by itself without the rice or roti. Dal is similar to baked beans in my own context.

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Chicken

Beena also prepared a Chicken and Prawn dish to complete the dinner experience. I think Beena was afraid that we cannot handle spicy so she has toned down the spiciness. Nevertheless, the dishes were just as beautiful with the play of different spices lingering on the palate.

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Prawn

Wrapping up the wonderful night is a warm dessert prepared by Beena's hubby. Pardon me for my bad memory but if I am not wrong the dessert is called Sooji Ka Halwa, made with ghee, semolina and cashews. Usually Indian dessert are very sweet and I was glad that this was done less sweet which is perfect for me. The textures of the dessert tasted like having couscous coated with honey sweetness.

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All the three of us left Beena's place with a smile on our face and a satisfied tummy. We really appreciate Beena opening her place for us and cooked us such a wonderful feast. More so that she cooks from her heart and prepared everything from scratch. How I wish she would be my neighbour and I could go over to her place to have my meal everyday. Thank you Beena, you have been a great host.

To find out more out Withlocals, check out their website at https://www.withlocals.com

Monday, March 10, 2014

One Day Johor Bahru Food Trail December 2013

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After the last One Day Johor Bahru Food Trail in March 2013 together with Tony and Maureen, the three of us finally has time to organise another trip across the causeway to check out the food scene in our neighbouring country. It was another full day trip filled with delicious food and great company.

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Our first stop brought us to Taman Tasek Guo Tian Zi (南滨园粿条仔). In our previous trip, Tony has shared with us that Kway Teow Kia is staple dish of Johor Bahru where you can't really find it elsewhere in Malaysia. Kway Teow Kia is actually quite similar to our Kway Chap in Singapore except that the kway is thinner and firmer.

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Kway Teow Kia 4.2/5

The problem with eating innards is that it has a gamy smell if it is not cleaned probably which I did not get from Taman Tasek Guo Tian Zi (南滨园粿条仔). It shows the hard work behind the dishes. Unlike the kway teow kia I have tried in the previous trip, the braising is lighter allowing the natural flavour of the ingredients to shine. The meal cost $18 ringgit.

Taman Tasek Guo Tian Zi (南滨园粿条仔)
Address: Taman Tasek, Johor Bahru (near the Maybank branch) [Map]

Opening hour:
Daily: 7am - 2pm

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Next stop Tony brought us to this popular braised duck stall, Da Jia Fa Duck (八里半大家发鸭肉) which is interestingly located under a big tree. There are many photos of the owner with celebrities and politicians hanging around the restaurants as well as all the media coverage. Accordingly to one of the article in the framed newspaper interview, he used quite a number of herbs to braise the duck and he only uses duck that is more than 3kg.

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Duck Neck 4.2/5

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Duck Meat 3.5/5

I enjoyed the duck neck which is very tender and flavourful. For the duck meat, I found it a bit too dry for my liking.

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Pig's Blood 4/5

According to Tony, in Johor Bahru there were some changes to food regulation and hence you can't get duck blood now. My disappointment is substituted with this delectable bowl of pig's blood which we can't get it in Singapore anymore. Te meal came to about $34.50 ringgit.

Da Jia Fa Duck (八里半大家发鸭肉)
Address: Jalan Kilang Nenas (Jalan Skudai Batu near Lee Pineapple Factory and SJK Kuo Kuang school). [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 830am - 4pm

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After 2 heavy meals kickstarting our Johor Bahru Food Trail, we slowed things down a bit to reserve our stomach for more good food. Hence we went to Restoran You Kee XO Enterprise (友记XO烧腊之家) for some herbal soup.

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Herbal Soup 4/5

The herbal soup here is brewed in the 2 giant size earthen urns outside the shop by slow burning charcoal at the bottom. Upon order, the staff will retrieve the smaller pot of soup from the urn and serve. We had the Don Chong Cao Herbal Soup which cost $28 ringgit.

Restoran You Kee XO Enterprise
Address: 93 Jalan Pendekar 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Sukdai, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 10pm
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In our previous trip, we wanted to try the chee cheong fan in Johor Bahru but I think we were too full to do so. I am glad that Tony brought us to Restoran G.Cheong Fun (金宝手工猪肠粉) and I got to try the different style of chee cheong fun compared to Singapore.

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Chee Cheong Fan 4.2/5

The Chee Cheong Fan here is thinner and thicker with a nice bite. Instead of sweet sauce, it is drenched with a curry gravy. More interesting is people here eats chee cheong fan with side dishes. We ordered the pig skins with long beans and cockles to go with the chee cheong fan.

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Three Colour Milk Tea 4/5

Another new for me is this drink called Three Colour Milk Tea (三色奶茶) which is tea with evaporated milk and gula melaka. It is a very sweet drink but super shiok. We paid $17 ringgit for the meal.

Restoran G.Cheong Fun (金宝手工猪肠粉)
Address: 176 Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 630am - 1pm (Closed on Tue)

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Next stop was Restoran Chin Chin (晶晶云吞面) for the wanton mee. It is understand that they handmade their own noodles. Looking at the crowd, it seems like their wanton mee is pretty well received.

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Wanton Mee 3.8/5

Can't say much about the char siew but their egg noodles were really springy. The bowl of char siew wanton mee costs $4.50 ringgit.

Restoran Chin Chin (晶晶云吞面)
Junction of Jalan Lawang and Jalan Kaloi, Skudai (next to MPJBT). [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 730am - 4pm (Closed on Thur)

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After wanton mee, we made a quick stop at 士乃糕点 to pick up some kueh to bring back to Singapore. The stall is located at Kim Wah kopitiam next to the overhead pedestrian bridge. I was pretty fascinated by the different selections of kueh they are selling.

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士乃糕点 (at Kim Wah Kopitiam next to overhead pedestrian bridge)
Address: Jalan Senai 10, Kampung Baru, Senai, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1030am to 3pm (Closed on Wed)

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What brought us to Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock (兴福肉骨茶) is not the bak kut teh but the poached fish. The bak kut teh is quite popular with the local but I did not like the style that is served here.

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Poached Fish with Fried Garlic 4.2/5

Using fresh fish from Pontian, the fish is dipped into boiling water and served in a bed of golden brown fried garlic, spring onions and a savory soy sauce. This is really very good with each mouthful filled with the freshness of the fish and aroma of the fried garlic.

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Sweet Potato Leaves 4/5

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Tofu 4.2/5

The eatery also served other cooked dishes such as the sweet potato leaves and tofu. All are very delectable dishes that came with very yummy sauce.

Kedai Bak Kut Teh Hin Hock (兴福肉骨茶)
Address: 74 Jalan Dato Toh Ah Boon, 81200 Tampoi, Johor [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 830am - 430pm (Closed on Mon)

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I am glad that we have Tony as our guide as we get to visit Restoran Sam Kong (三江饭店) which is one of the oldest laksa in Johor Bahru since 1930s. Now in the 3rd generation, the restaurant is run by Mr Yong. The soul of the laksa, the broth is prepared daily using the same recipe handed down by his grandfather such as garlic, lemon grass, shallots and other ingredients.

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Laksa 4.5/5

The bowl of Laksa comes with generous ingredients such as fishball, fish maw, cockles and tofu stuffed with fish paste. The smooth and springy beehoon was partially cooked and air dried, upon servicing it is then blanched with the laksa broth. Lots of thoughts and efforts into a single bowl of laksa. No matter it is so popular and famous.

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Fishball 4.5/5

The last time I have fishball in Johor Baru, I did not enjoyed it because I felt that there were too much flour and not bouncy. The handmade fishball at Sam Kong is quite different. It is packed with fresh fish paste where the ratio of fish is more than flour. May not be as bouncy but had a nice chewy bite that is quite similar to eating sotong ball. No wonder Tony ordered a separate bowl of fishballs for us to try. We spent $14 ringgit here.

Restoran Sam Kong (三江饭店)
8-H, Jalan Ungku Mohsin, Kampung Ungku Mohsin, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 11pm (Closed on Mon)

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After conquering 8 places in a single day, we need to take a break and recharge so Tony broough us Cafe Niniq to have cakes and coffee. The cafe is really nice and it shows that the food and beverage scene in Johor Bahru has also evolving with more western influence. Unfortunately I forgot to take picture of the cakes and pastries we had. You can find out more from Tony or Maureen's blog. We spent $48.80 ringgit here.

Niniq Bistro & Bakery
52, Jalan Setia Tropika 1/24, Taman Setia Tropika, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm (Closed on Sun)

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We were already having a bit of food coma after all the food in a single day. Since we still have dinner to go, we decided to go for some desserts first. Moshi Moshi is known for the handmade ice cream. It seems like the place is opened up by 4 good friends with themselves as the ambassadors of the cafe.

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Can't really remember what exactly is this called but the bowl of grass jelly, red beans and tapioca balls topped with a scoop of black sesame ice cream is quite similar to those Taiwanese dessert.

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Moshi Waffle 4.5/5

What caught my attention is their waffle. It comes with a chewy texture like mochi and yet still has that buttery flavour. We were asking ourselves why no one in Singapore is serving this?

Moshi Moshi
19 Jalan Mutiara Emas 10/19, Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bahru. [Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 1130pm

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Boneless Chicken Wing 4.2/5

For dinner, we went to the stretch of restaurants at Taman Sentosa to have zichar. Food was not fantastic so I will not recommend it. However, there is something that is rather interesting along the stretch of restaurants selling these Boneless Chicken Wing. The way they skewered the chicken wing made it quite easy to eat. The chicken wing was also very fragrant with all the seasoning and spices grilled over charcoal fire.

For those that is interested in Johor food, you can check out Tony's blog. I like to take the opportunity to thank Tony for the time showing us the great food in Johor Bahru again. Am already looking forward to the next one.