Xu Jun Sheng Long Ji (许俊盛隆记) @ Joo Chiat Road

A great thank you to Charles and Charlene for organising August monthly makam gathering. We visited Xu Jun Sheng at Joo Jiat Road for its traditional Teochew cuisine and porridge. This place has 60 years of history and has moved from its previous location from 50 Joo Chiat Road to 121 Joo Chiat Road.

Unlike most Teochew Porridge places whereby you ordered from the row of cooked food, you are given a pencil to indicate on the menu what you want to order.

The Prawn Rolls were probably one of the best I have ever eaten. I googled and read that they used pork mesentary to wrap the fillings. Maybe that is the secret of the crispy outer layer. The Prawn Rolls were also sliced thinner but bigger in diameter which is different from other places. I am not a great fan for Prawn Rolls but I enjoyed this a lot.

Prawn Roll 4.2/5

The Stir Fried Sambal Kang Kong was nice, crunchy and not too spicy.

Stir Fried Kang Kong with Sambal 4/5

We noticed a lot people eating this particular steamed fish which had its stomach split out into half. We were very curious and asked the server to order for us. The Steamed Mullet prepared without any seasoning was surprisingly very fresh and tasty. It doesn't have the fishy smell.

Steamed Mullet 4/5

Teochew cuisine is known for its braised stuff so how can we not try it. We ordered both the Braised Platter and Pig Trotters. The Braised Platter had both big and small pig intestines, beancurds and fried beancurd skins. The innards, beancurds and fried beancurd skins were well braised soaking up the soy sauce.

Braised Platter 4/5

The Pig Trotters was very tender and melts in the mouth. I was a bit disappointed that most of it was lean meat. I think I took the one and only fatty piece. While writing this post, I realized the menu allows us to indicate either tendon or thigh for the Pig Trotters which we left it out. Maybe that was the reason they have given us mostly lean meat.

Pig Trotters 4/5

The Teochew style Prawns with Beancurd has to be everyone's favourite. The prawns were big and fresh. The beancurds were smooth and silky. The gravy was the highlight that made this dish so tasty. It was so good that I couldn't resist taking a few spoonful of it even though we have finished the prawns and beancurds.

Teochew Style Prawns with Beancurd 4.5/5

The Preserved Radish Omelette had a nice balance of flavours and was not too salty. The preserved radish also gave the omelette a crunchy texture.

Preserved Radish Omelette 4.2/5

To get here,

1) From Eunos MRT station, walk to the bus interchange and take bus 154. Align 2 bus stops later and walk to Xu Jun Sheng about 500 metres away.

or

2) From Paya Lebar MRT station, walk to Xu Jun Sheng by cutting across Sim Ave and Geylang Road which takes about 13 minutes.



To read more of our gathering, you can visit the following blogs:

1. Celes: http://celestialdelish.blogspot.com/

2. Charlene: http://missuschewy.com/

3. Shi Ting: http://lobsterpaints.blogspot.com/

4. Ong Meng Ching: http://www.jessiefoodtrip.blogspot.com/


[CLOSED]
Xu Jun Sheng Long Ji (许俊盛 隆记)
121 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427410
Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar, Eunos (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11am - 330pm, 530pm - 9pm
Sun: 1030am - 330pm
(Closed on Wed)

Direction:
1) Alight at Paya Lebar MRT station. Head south towards Geylang Serai Malay Village. Cross Geylang/Changi Road and continue onto Joo Chiat Road. Turn left into Joo Chiat Place. Journey time about17mins.

2) Alight at Dakota MRT station. Walk to Bus Stop at Blk 99 (Stop ID 81181). Take Bus 33 towards Bedok Bus Interchange. Alight 5 stops later at. Journey time about 12mins

Melbourne Trip July 2011

I travel to Melbourne once every 4 to 6 weeks for work, spending about a week at Melbourne office. As the office is at the CBD area, my food experience was limited to the vicinity. Melbourne like Singapore has a rich variety of cuisines from different countries. During this trip, I got to eat Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines.

My Aussie colleauge brought me to Flora Indian Restaurant on 238 Flinders Street. The restaurant was quite crowded during lunch time. I ordered Garlic Naan and Butter Chicken. I was impressed to find good authentic Indian cuisine in Melbourne.

Garlic Naan

Butter Chicken & Garlic Naan

I was looking for dinner along Swanton Street after work and walked into Rice Paper, a Vietnamese Restaurant on 245 Swanston Street. I had the Spicy Beef Combo Noodle. It tasted good but I was puzzled by the "combo" whereby it came with slices of pork.

Spicy Beef Combo

Pacific BBQ Cafe on 213 Lonsdale Street served nice roast pork. It was highly recommended by my colleagues, so I went to check it out. The roast pork was big and juicy with crispy skin. I enjoyed the generous serving which I do not get in Singapore.

Roast Pork with Rice

Wheat Baumkuchen @ Toa Payoh Central

The inconspicuous cafe at Toa Payoh Central is located at the back alley where KOI is located, opposite the HDB hub. Wheat Baumkuchen is known for their daily baked Baumkuchen. What is Baumkuchen? It is a layered cake made up of 15-20 layers of batter which when sliced reveals the tree rings effect. The Baumkuchen also comes in a variety of toppings and flavours.

In this post, I am not going to talk about their Baumkuchen. You can read more about their products on their website at http://www.wheatbaumkuchen.com/products_baumkuchen_01.htm

Today I am going to introduce you to their new menu, COOL NOODLE. This is probably the first in Singapore. A new concept of eating noodles in a healthy and cool refreshing way.There are 5 types of Cool Noodle available on the menu at $4.80 per plate and they are named as Dolphin, Polar Bear, Penguin, Seal and Reindeer.

The Seal Cool Noodle comes with white noodles in roasted sesame sauce with sauteed pork, tofu, carrot and cucumber. Initially I was quite sceptical how by simply putting some salad and cold noodle together can make a tasty noodle dish. After tasting it, I have to applaud the concept and the roasted sesame sauce really brought the dish together.

"Seal" Cool Noodle 4.2/5

"Seal" Cool Noodle 4.2/5

The Penguin Cool Noodle was the other I tried which comes with green soba noodles in roasted sesame sauce with shredded chicken, fried eggs, carrot and cucumber. It tasted as good as the "Seal".

"Penguin" Cool Noodle 4.2/5

"Penguin" Cool Noodle 4.2/5

I think the Cool Noodle concept will be received very well by the public especially the ladies. It is something new, refreshing and healthy. Most importantly, cheap and nice :)


Wheat Baumkuchen
Blk 190 Toa Payoh Lorong 6
#01-530
Website: http://www.wheatbaumkuchen.com
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 9pm

Pizzeria L'Operetta @ ICON Village

Pizzeria L'Operatta proud themselves for baking authentic mouthwatering Italian pizza in the imported legendary Vera wood-fired oven.

I have the Diavola Pizza which is one of the Chef's recommendation. It has tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami, chilli, basil and parmesan.  The fresh tomato sauce was the star for me. The crust was also soft and chewy.

Pizza Diavola 4/5

The Chicken Wings were well seasoned and tasty soaking up the marination perfectly.

Pollo Fritto (Fried Chicken Wings) 4/5

Pizzeria L'Operetta
ICON Village
12 Gopeng Street
#01-78/81
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 3pm (Lunch)
Mon-Sat: 6pm - 11pm (Dinner)
(Closed on Sun & PH)

Thien Kee Steamboat Restaurant @ Golden Mile Tower

The show Timeless Treats (老字号) had brought to my attention this traditional steamboat place hidden at the basement of Golden Mile Tower. It was quite challenging locating the place. I went to Golden Mile Complex initially and couldn't find the place. I have to seek a shopkeeper's help in direction and she directed me to the restaurant. Actually Thien Kee Steamboat is located at Golden Mile Tower another building beside Golden Mile Complex and they are linked by a basement walkway which you need to walk pass some discotheque.

The restaurant was already crowded with people when I reached there around 6pm. Ordering is pretty simple as the steamboat set is standard. Basically you just need to provide 3 details to the waiter/waitress, number of people, whether you eat beef and you want boiled white chicken.

The ingredients for the steamboat were fresh but portion a bit small.

The beef was fresh and tender but not of the best quality.

For people who are used to flavored soup based may find the traditional steamboat soup base a bit too bland for their liking.

Steamboat 4/5

Look at the amount of sauces on the table!

I also tried their boiled white chicken. I personally find it average only.

Boiled White Chicken 3.8/5

Thien Kee Steamboat Restaurant
Golden Mile Tower
6001 Beach Road
#B1-20
Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily 11am - 10pm

View Larger Map

Marble Slab Creamery @ Kallang Leisure Park

Marble Slab Creamery originated from Houston, Texas in 1983. Although it does not offer exotic local ice cream flavours such as D24 durian, Mao Shan Wang durian, Kaya Toast and etc, their ice cream is still rich and creamy freshly made daily in small batches in their central creamery.

What makes Marble Slab Creamery different from the other ice cream shops is their Mixins or Mix-in. Basically they are toppings but aren't toppings because they get mixed into the ice cream. After selecting your toppings, the staff will flatten the ice cream on the cold table top and mix them into the ice cream. From what I read, the technique is called the "Frozen Slab"

Each Mixin cost a dollar. I chose Reese Peanut Butter Cup Mixin for my Chocolate Swiss flavour ice cream.

Marble Slab Creamery
Kallang Leisure Park
5 Stadium Walk
#01-09A
Singapore 397693
Website: http://www.marbleslab.com.sg
Nearest MRT: Stadium (CC Line)

Seoul Trip July 2011 Part 2

Second day in Seoul was more BBQ again. Look at the beautiful pieces of pork, how can I resist it?

BBQ Pork

The beef was also marinated beautifully and it was very delicious.

BBQ Beef

The pancake was filled with fresh vegetables and was very nice. Not to forget all the different side dishes.

Dinner in Korea, alcohol is the best dessert :) to wrap up a wonderful dinner.

Seoul Trip July 2011 Part 1

I was in Seoul for a couple of days for work. My first meal in Seoul was Korean BBQ. Stepping into the restaurant I was amazed by the extendable chimney.

Look at the beautiful layers of pork from the Jeju Black Pig. It was so good! It did not taste fatty at all.

Eating BBQ pork the Korean way. You can put the BBQ pork and kimchi onto a piece of vegetable, wrapped them up together and eat it.

After all the BBQ stuff, this bowl of iced cold seaweed soup was very refreshing.

In Korea, how can a meal go without alcohol? I tried the Korean rice wine or known as Makgeolli. It tasted like beer but sweeter and not as gassy.

Pu Tien Restaurant (莆田菜馆) @ Food Republic Vivocity

I was at Vivocity Food Republic for dinner and the place was crowded with diners. To avoid the crowd, I ended up at Pu Tien for dinner. I went for the easy all day set menu for 2 at $48++. The set menu came with  Bamboo Herbal Prawn Soup, Deep Fried Tenggiri Fish, Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees, Stir Fried Kailan with Beancurd Skin, Choice of one main and a complimentary dessert.

For the main, I chose my favourite Pu Tien Lor Mee. I like to call it White Lor Mee as it is different from those Lor Mee we get from food centres which is black in colour. I also like to eat it with some vinegar.

Putien Lor Mee 4.2/5

The Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees is the other signature dish at Pu Tien. Although Sweet & Sour Pork is a common dish, not many restaurant can do it well. Personally I find Pu Tien is up to the mark for this dish.

Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees 4.2/5

Since it is a set menu, I can't be expecting more of their signature dishes. The other 2 dishes were simple home cooked dish which were good too.

Stir Fried Kailan with Beancurd Skin 4/5

Deep Fried Tenggiri Fish 3.8/5

Pu Tien Restaurant (莆田菜馆)
Food Republic Vivocity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#03-01B
Nearest MRT: Harbour Front (NE Line and CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily 1130am - 930pm

Wang Lao Wu (王老五) Chicken Rice @ Leisure Park Kallang

Wang Lao Wu Chicken Rice is a new name in the food scene selling chicken rice. Within 3 months, the group has already opened 5 outlets around Singapore. They even give out 150 free packets of chicken rice to the needy senior citizen in Singapore on every 1st and 15th of the month.

I have to admit that the catchy name Wang Lao Wu (王老五) caught my attention and not the food initially. After studying the posters placed around the outlet, it kinda of convinced me to give it a try. The pricing at Wang Lao Wu Chicken Rice is quite reasonable. $4.90 for a chicken set meal and $3.80 for a bowl of soup.

Although the boiled white chicken was moist and tender, I felt that it still came short to more established chicken rice stalls.

Boiled White Chicken 4/5

The Water Cress Pork Ribs Soup was tasty and refreshing.

Water Cress Pork Ribs Soup 4/5

For the curry chicken set, you can choose either bread or rice. The curry gravy was good and the bread was perfect for soaking up the delicious gravy.

Curry Chicken with Bread 3.8/5

Chicken King (王老五)
Leisure Park Kallang
#B1-22
Website: http://wanglaowuchickenking.com
Nearest MRT: Stadium (CC Line)

Sin Heng Kee Porridge @ Hougang Street 61

Chanced upon this new eatery near Hougang bowling centre that served pretty nice and smooth porridge at a decent price of $3 to $3.50 per bowl. Adding egg will cost an addition 30 cents. They have a huge menu offering about 20 different types of porridge.

Century Egg Porridge 4/5

Century Egg Porridge 4/5

Besides the porridge, they also have Bread + Coffee/Tea and Nasi Lemak set meal which are reasonably priced.


Sin Heng Kee Porridge
Blk 685 Hougang Street 61
#01-150
Nearest MRT: Hougang (NE Line)