Tian Tian Fisherman's Pier Seafood Restaurant @ Boat Quay - Brings The Sweetest Catch Of The Sea To The Table

I have walked past Tian Tian Fisherman's Pier Seafood Restaurant at Boat Quay numerous time. Still, I have never thought of dining at the restaurant that spots rows of fish tanks with live seafood such as lobster, fish, prawns, oysters and more. I have the perception that it is a tourist trap until my recent visit, changing my narrow-minded view. The restaurant even won a Michelin Plate, which is a recognition for its good quality food.

On top of Tian Tian Fisherman's Pier Seafood Restaurant's live seafood, not known to many, is their rare fresh catch like Wild Patin Fish. It is my first time to sight both the wild-caught white and black patin fish. It is huge! To my knowledge, the wild black patin fish is even rarer than the white patin fish.

Braised Wild Patin Fish with Golden Soup in Claypot 4.8/5

For diners to appreciate the fatty and collagen-packed wild-caught patin fish, the restaurant creates the Braised Wild Patin Fish with Golden Soup in Claypot ($68++). It is an original creation whereby the white patin fish from the Rajang River in East Malaysia is cooked in an umami golden soup made from a concoction of dried scallops, chicken and over ten different spices. Accompanying the beautiful dish are enoki mushrooms, shredded onions, beancurd and fresh shrimp balls.

Flying Noodles with Chilli Crab 3.5/5

Nowadays, food not only needs to taste good, but it needs to look good or instagrammable too. The Flying Noodles with Chilli Crab ($88++) is such a dish that will make diners take out the phone to snap a couple of photos before eating. The fresh crab blanketed in a thick chilli crab sauce is paired with crispy Hong Kong noodles. However, I find the chilli crab sauce is lacking the spiciness.

Fried Spicy Crab in Authentic Bi Fen Tang Style 4.2/5

You can get a taste of Hong Kong from the Fried Spicy Crab in authentic Bi Fen Tang Style ($88++). The juicy and succulent Sri Lankan crab fried to golden is sprinkled generously with a fragrant mixture of minced garlic, minced ginger, chilli padi, green onions, dried salted radish, dried red chilli powder and more.

Pan-fried Guo Ba with Glutinous Rice 4.2/5

The Pan-fried Guo Ba with Glutinous Rice ($38++) will satisfy diners with its crunchy and crispy texture, fragrant with Chinese sausage, diced mushroom and chicken.

Steamlicious Steampot Set Menu 4/5

A highlight at the restaurant is their Steamlicious Steampot Sets. It comes in 3 sets ranging from $29.80++ to $68++. Currently, it is having a 50% off for their sets. Diners can also round up the steampot with the Boston Lobster Poached Rice. The lobster, cooked rice and crispy rice sit at the bottom of the steampot, absorbing the flavourful juices from the seafood as they get cooked.

Diners get to savour the natural freshness of US oysters, wild prawn, clams, fan scallops, handmade prawn balls, and HK fish balls cook with the 2800-watt high temperate steampot retaining the nutrition, original texture and flavours of the seafood. A selection of sauces or diners can also mix and match their own rendition to perk up the enjoyment. 

Not forgetting the lobster poached rich sitting at the bottom of the steampot absorbs all the flavourful juices from the cooked seafood. Each mouthful of the poached rice has a decadent contrast of crispy and fluffy rice completed with springy bites of lobster.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Tian Tian Fisherman's Pier Seafood Restaurant
42-44 or 73-75 Boat Quay
Singapore 049861
Tel: +65 65341771
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (EW Line, NS Line), Clarke Quay (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 12midnight

Direction: 
1) Alight at Clarke Quay MRT station. Take Exit E. Cross the road walk to Upper Circular Road. Walk down Upper Circular Road to North Bridge Road. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Raffles Place MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk to the riverfront. Turn left and walk down Boat Quay. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

One More (来一客) Steamboat & Teppanyaki Buffet @ HillV2 - Healthy, Delicious & Convenient Taiwanese Steamboat

I love steamboat and have tried numerous steamboat restaurants but Taiwanese steamboat is a new to me. Together with two other Westies friends, we visited One More (来一客) Steamboat & Teppanyaki Buffet at HillV2 for dinner. The steamboat restaurant offers over 100 different steamboat ingredients, cooked food, desserts and drink for the steamboat buffet. Besides the steamboat, it also offers bento set and Taiwan La Mian.

There are a total of seven different soup bases for the steamboat. We find some of them quite interesting such as the German Sauerkraut Soup and Indian Curry Soup. The other soup bases available on the menu are the Superior Soup, Korean Kimchi Soup, Italian Tomato Soup, Taiwan Mala Soup and Thai Tom Yum Soup.

In the end, we decided to try the Superior Soup, Italian Tomato Soup, Indian Curry Soup and Taiwan Mala Soup. We thought that Taiwan Mala Soup lacked the spicy fragrant but the other three soups are really good. You may wonder how the Indian Curry soup tastes like? It is like your fish head curry which we surprisingly enjoyed it a lot.

For the meat lovers, there is a good variety of different beef cuts, pork, lamb and chicken. Among the spread, you can also find an eclectic selections of vegetables, mushrooms and different type of balls. The dumpling which is plump and juicy is not to be missed. If you are a seafood person, you will be slightly disappointed as the menu focuses more on meat and vegetables.

What is Taiwanese cuisine without the staple Lu Rou Fan or braised pork belly rice right? This is definitely a bonus at One More Steamboat where you can have free flow lu rou fan with the steamboat.

Another unique steamboat ingredient we discovered is the Black Sesame Mochi and Cheese Mochi. The owner has specially imported this from Taiwan. The mochi is supposed to be cooked and eaten in the steamboat.

After feasting to your content, do not forget to save some space for the desserts. Among the dessert spreads, there are cream puff, cheese tarts, fruits, different variety of mochi and ice creams.

Overall we have enjoyed our dining experience at One More Steamboat. Besides the wide selection of ingredients, I thought the have some unique and delicious soup bases. I will definitely return for their superior, tomato and curry soup bases.

Price
Lunch
Mon-Fri: $25.80 adult / $15.80 child
Sat-Sun: $27.80 adult / $17.80 child
Hi-Tea
Mon-Fri: $19.80 adult / $11.80 child
Sat-Sun: $21.80 adult / $13.80 child
Dinner
Mon-Fri: $30.80 adult / $18.80 child
Sat-Sun: $32.80 adult / $20.80 child

Note: This is an invited tasting.


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One More (来一客) Steamboat & Teppanyaki Buffet
HillV2
4 Hillview Rise
#01-14/15
Singapore 667979
Tel: +65 6710 7478
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Hillview (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 3pm, 530pm - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Hillview MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn right onto Hillview Road. Continue on Hillview Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

K-Tower @ Amoy Street - 9-Tier Of Fresh Seafood Straight From The Tank

K-Tower is a new seafood tower restaurant has opened at Amoy Street offering 3, 5, 7 and 9 tier tower using fresh seafood directly from the tank. While the restaurant's name may seems familiar to another similar concept at Prinsep Street, there is no association between the two restaurants.

9-Tier Seafood Tower 4.2/5

We tried the 9-Tier Seafood Tower ($298) which consists of Prawn, Scallop, Oyster, Shellfish, Fish, Sea Cucumber, Crab, Lobster, Abalone (addition of $90) with kimchi soup base (addition of $10). Other soup base available are seafood, army stew and ginseng chicken. Among the different tiers of seafood, I like the prawn, crab, clam, abalone and sea cucumber.

After finishing all 9 tier of seafood, you can choose to add on a la carte ingredients to enjoy the pot of gold at the bottom of the seafood tower which has collected all the seafood essences that have dripped down from above. For ease, we opted for the K-Tower Platter ($9.90).

The K-Tower Platter consists of Sea Urchin Ball, Fish Tofu with Cheese, Salmon Ball with Cheese, Squid Ink Ball, Fish Ball with Roe, Beancurd Skin, Golden Mushrooms, Maggie Mee. After all the seafood, it is a good chance for something spicy, soupy and comforting.

K-Tower Fried Chicken Wings 4/5

Besides the seafood tower, K-Tower has an eclectic menu offering popular Korean dishes. While waiting for the seafood tower to be served why not ordered the K-Tower Fried Chicken Wings ($7.90) to start with to layer the stomach first. The crispy chicken wings with the coat of sweet and spicy sauce is pretty enjoyable.

Seafood Pancake 3/5

Good for sharing is the Seafood Pancake ($14.90). I personally do not like the version at K-Tower. It is not the authentic type which has too much flour for my liking. It reminded me of the texture of prawn fritter or oyster fritter.

Ginseng Chicken Soup 3/5

Not into the seafood tower or you just want to grab simple meal, there is the Ginseng Chicken Soup ($17.90). While I could taste the bittersweet flavour of the ginseng in the soup, it was unfortunately on the salty side. The chicken was perfect cooked to a moist texture but I was disappointed that it was not stuffed with glutinous rice.

Shake Shake Rice Box 4/5

Served in a rectangular tin is the Shake Shake Rice Box ($9.90) which is a twist to the Korean bibimbap. Give the nostalgic childhood lunch box in South Korea a good shake to mix all the ingredients up for consumption. I thought the sauce was a bit on the sweet side but this is really enjoyable. The only let down for me is its missing the crispy burnt rice, unlike bibimbap served in hot stone.

Trilogy Rice Cake with Honey 4.2/5

For a sweet ending, a must try is the Trilogy Rice Cake with Honey ($5.90 per stick). The different colours are cheese, pumpkin and sweet potato. The chewy texture with a slight coat of crispiness on the exterior, glazed with honey for a sweet finishing.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


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K-Tower
74 Amoy Street
Singapore 069893
Tel: +65 62219928
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line), Telok Ayer (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 230pm, 530pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit G. Follow the covered walkway to the junction of Mccallum Street, Telok Ayer and Amoy Street. Turn left at the junction onto Amoy Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Telok Ayer MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk down Cross Street towards Amoy Street. Turn left onto Amoy Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

Steam Box @ Serangoon Garden - Steam Pot, A New Steamboat Concept Using Steam Cooking

A new steam pot place, Steam Box has recently opened at Serangoon Garden. I first experience the new way of enjoying steamboat at Rong Fu Ji at The Grandstand. Hence the concept is not exactly new to me. The so called high speed steaming technology or more commonly known as steam pot is first brought to fame in Hong Kong by Alan Tam. Similar to steamboat experience, all the ingredients are brought to the table raw. Instead of boiling, the raw ingredients is steamed in the pot around two to six minutes subject to the ingredients. This allows the natural juices and nutrients of the ingredients to be sealed in.

First of all, diners need to chose between the Century Egg and Pork Ribs Congee ($15) or Clam and Dried Scallop Congee ($18). We choose the later in which rice grains, clams, dried scallop, ginger slices and chicken stock is added into the pot before the lid is placed over it. As the raw ingredients are being cooked, the essences will dripped down from the holes in the lid into the congee that is being cooked below. A noticeable different compared to Rong Fu Ji is that Steamed Box charges 3 times more for the congee and added chicken stock for flavouring.

Once the lid is placed over the steam pot, you can start placing your ingredients on to the lid to cook the food. The steaming time of the different ingredients are determined by the colour of the plates. I find this operationally smarter than Rong Fu Ji. This will relief the staff from explaining to each customers how long to cook each ingredients as it is self-explanatory.

We tried a variety of ingredients on the menu such as the Baramundi ($15), Bamboo Clam ($18), Clams ($13), Cray Fish, Scallops ($18), Sweet Potato ($6), Pumpkin ($5), Assorted Mushroom ($8.50), Dou Miao ($5) and Wawa ($6).

After trying both Steam Box and Rong Fu Ji, I still find that steam pot is best for seafood to appreciate the natural sweetness of them. For those that have a palate for heavy and rich flavours, you will find that the vegetables and mushrooms when steamed is rather bland in taste. This is more for those healthy eater without all the seasonings. Root vegetables fare better because of the natural sweetness.

Singaporean likes varieties. So like Rong Fu Ji, Steam Box also offers meat on their menu such as Premium Prime Short Rib ($11.50/$23), Marinated Ginger Chicken Thigh with Wolfberry ($4.50/$9) and Marinated Minced Pork with Premium Salted Fish ($4.50/$9). I would highly recommend to go for the marinated minced pork with premium salted fish.

Another different between Steam Box and Rong Fu Ji is the value for money meat selection at Steam Box. While Rong Fu Ji uses more premium quality cuts and without marination, once again emphasizes on the appreciation of the natural flavour, Steam Box targets the mass local palate that likes rich and heavy flavours.

This is the part where I think Steam Box has an edge over Rong Fu Ji. Steam Box introduces Steamed Dim Sum in the menu. Once again on the two points. Variety and rich in flavoured food. In fact there is a three factor, the fun element.. Diners get to cook their own dim sum. You don't get to experience it elsewhere.

Last but no least, after you have finished cooking and eating all the raw ingredients. Turn off the heat and lifted the lid to unveil a pot of congee underneath. You can top it with some spring onions and fried shallots to wrap up the meal with a bowl of comforting steamed congee.

After having tried both steam pot concept, the feeling I have is that Steam Box is more for the masses with their choices of variety. It also tweaked the concept to include marinated and seasoned ingredients to suit the local palate. Rong Fu Ji is still more authentic in the sense that they still insist on the appreciation of the natural flavour, healthy eating with the use of premium ingredients. While the business concept and target customer base is slightly different, I think Steam Box has an edge over Rong Fu Ju at the moment.


Steam Box
Serangoon Garden
68 Serangoon Garden Way
Singapore 555964
Tel: +65 6281 6939
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Serangoon (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Lorong Chuan MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at New Tech Park (Stop ID 66021). Take Bus 73. Alight 4 stops later. Walk to Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre. Journey time about 15 mins. [Map]

2) Alight at Serangoon MRT station. Take Exit B or E. Walk to bus stop at Serangoon Central (Stop ID 66351). Take Bus 315. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre. Journey time about 15 mins. [Map]