Showing posts with label .Area: Balestier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label .Area: Balestier. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

NiuNiu Tea & DuDu Rice @ Whampoa Drive Food Centre - Taiwanese And Korean Street Food In Hawker Centre

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRice20

I first get to know NiuNiu Tea & DuDu Rice during Covid when it is doing home delivery. Since then, it has moved on to opening a hawker stall at Whampoa Drive Food Centre selling Taiwanese-Korean street food cuisine. It is a combination that is unique to the local hawker scene.

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRice5

You may wonder why Taiwanese and Korean street food. It is quite simple as these are food close to the heart of Ryan, the young hawker stall owner. Ryan's parents are from Taiwan, while his wife is Chinese-Korean. If I am right, the interesting stall name is named after his two daughters too.

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRice10
Lu Ru Fan 4/5

The bowl of Lu Ru Fan ($4.70) comes with braised pork, a whole braised egg and pickled vegetables on top of fragrant pearl rice. The braised pork leaned towards more fatty parts, which is my preference for a bowl of braised pork rice. However, the braising sauce is a bit on the light side. I prefer it to be richer.

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRice13
Oden 4.2/5

To go with my bowl of braised pork rice, I also ordered a bowl of Oden ($1.50 for 3pc) from the oden bar, whereby customers can pick their oden from a selection of assorted Eomuk, Daikon, Konjac, assorted Balls and assorted Sausage. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the unique pairing of braised pork rice with a bowl of soupy oden. It's like how Chinese usually like to have soup for their meal.

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRiceStall-12

NiuNiuTeaDuDuRiceStall-02

Besides what I had, the stall also sells other items like Taiwanese Mee Sua, Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Cutlet, Tteokbokki and Gimbap.


NiuNiu Tea & DuDu Rice
Whampoa Drive Food Centre
Blk 90 Whampoa Drive
#01-82
Singapore 320090
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Farrer Park (NE Line), Novena (NS Line), Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 12pm - 830pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Farrer Park MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk to bus stop at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (Stop ID 07211). Take bus 130. Alight 5 stops later. Cross the road. Walk down Balestier road towards Whampoa Drive. Turn left onto Whampoa Drive. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Novena MRT station. Take Exit B. Cross the road and walk to bus stop opposite Novena Church (Stop ID 50031). Take bus 21 or 131. Alight 6 stops later. Walk down Balestier road towards Whampoa Drive. Turn left onto Whampoa Drive. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus 145. Alight 6 stops later. alk down Balestier road towards Whampoa Drive. Turn left onto Whampoa Drive. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Niu Dian Beef Noodles @ Balestier Road - Taiwan Michelin Bib Gourmand Beef Noodles

NiuDianBeefNoodles11

The famous Michelin Bib Gourmand awardee - Niu Dian Beef Noodles from Taipei, Taiwan, opened in Singapore at VIIO @ Balestier. The establishment was founded by Mr Lin Chun Ying, a former head chef at a 5-star hotel in 2005, recreating his childhood memories of a delicious bowl of beef noodle incorporating some of his western cooking methods into his unique bowl of beef noodle.

NiuDianBeefNoodles2
Chrysanthemum Milk Tea and Lychee Mint Black Tea

Niu Dian has also collaborated with homegrown bubble tea brand Palace Tea to provide diners with an authentic Taiwan dining experience. We tried its Chrysanthemum Milk Tea and Lychee Mint Black Tea.

NiuDianBeefNoodles23
Trio Specialty Beef Noodles 4/5

NiuDianBeefNoodles10

The Trio Specialty Beef Noodles in Original Soup ($19.90) comes with boneless rib cut, tendon, and golden coin. The chewy texture of the handmade noodles stood out for me, followed by the consomme-like soup brewed over 24 hours with various beef bone parts, mirepoix and herbs.

NiuDianBeefNoodles16
Combination Specialty Beef Noodles 3.8/5

NiuDianBeefNoodles18

Diners can also pick the braised soup to go with the noodle for an additional one dollar. To try the difference, we ordered the Combination Specialty Beef Noodles ($19.90) with boneless rib cut, tendon, tripe and golden coin in a spicy soup base. I prefer the original flavour to taste the depth and body of the soup, as the chilli did not raise the taste profile but only gave it a spicy finish.

NiuDianBeefNoodles27
Cold Century Egg Tofu with Bonito Flaks 4/5

NiuDianBeefNoodles29
Braised Beancurd 4.2/5

Complete the meal with a number of sides, such as the Cold Century Egg Tofu with Bonito Flakes ($5.90) and Braised Beancurd ($3.90). They are delightful sides that are worth ordering to go with the noodles.

NiuDianFront-2

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Niu Dian Beef Noodles
VIIO @ Balestier
520 Balestier Road
#01-01/02
Singapore 329853
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 11am - 930pm
Fri-Sat: 11am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 139 or 145. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Old Airport Road Lor Mee @ Balestier Road - Famous Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee Opens A Sit Down Restaurant

OldAirportLorMeeShopfront-3

The famous Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee hawker stall at Old Airport Food Centre has partnered with Food King's Ryan Tan to open a new sit down restaurant at Balestier Road. There is always a long queue at their hawker stall at Old Airport Food Centre, and it is usually sold out by noon. So you have to be an early bird if you do not want it to be a wasted trip.

OldAirportLorMee9

With the new lor mee restaurant, diners can now savour the bowl of slurping goodness any time of the day. It is open daily from 9am to 9pm. The Lor Mee comes in three sizes for $6, $8 and $10 with choices of flat yellow noodle, round yellow noodle, kway teow or bee hoon.

OldAirportLorMee2

OldAirportLorMee8

The bowl of slurping goodness comes with braised egg, braised pork belly, fish flakes, beansprouts, fresh chillies and parsley, topped with chilli, fresh garlic and vinegar. Give everything a good mix for a good spoonful of flavour and textures.

OldAirportLorMee11

The braised sauce is the star here, making the bowl of lor mee taste so good. It is not too gooey and starchy yet has an excellent flavourful depth. Xin Mei Xiang got it right is the balance. The different flavours from the braising sauce, vinegar, garlic, and chilli come together for one to enjoy the goodness.

OldAirportLorMee13


Old Airport Road Lor Mee
586 Balestier Road
#01-01
Singapore 329898
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 9pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 139 or 145. Alight 2 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Happy Pot (锅锅乐) @ Ah Hood Road - Launches 1 Metre Long Mookata Platter With 1kg Worth Of Food

HappyPot7

Nestled within HomeTeamNS club Balestier, Happy Pot (锅锅乐) offers both hotpot and barbecue options with mookata sets and a variety of ingredients. They have recently launched their special 1 Metre Platter Set ($29.90+) featuring 1kg worth of food.

HappyPot8

The mookata set comes with a creamy and milky tonkotsu broth, and pork fat cubes are provided to get the barbeque grills ready. The 1m long wooden board showcases six varieties of proteins, with meats such as chicken, pork and seafood. While it was meant to share between 3 to 4 diners, we felt that the amount sufficed for two.

HappyPot12

The chicken and pork meats were well-marinated, and we enjoyed the prawns, sotong rings and asari clams too. It was made even better when the food was paired with their homemade sweet, tangy chilli sauce.

HappyPot4

There is also a selection of mixed vegetables and other familiar hotpot ingredients, such as the sausages, mushrooms, cabbage, crab sticks, glass noodles and eggs.

HappyPot1

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Happy Pot
HometeamNS-JOM Balestier
31 Ah Hood Road
#01-06
Singapore 329979
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun: 4pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to HDB Hub. Continue walking to Orange Tee building. Cross the road at the overhead bridge further down the road. Turn right at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. Cut across the park and take across the expressway using the overhead bridge. Cross the canal and walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 139. Alight 4 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop at Toa Payoh MRT station along Toa Payoh Lorong 2 (Stop ID 52189). Take bus 56, 105 or 153. Alight 1 stop later. Cross the canal. Cut through the cluster of HDB flats and carpark towards block 103 onto Ah Hood Road. Continue walking until the end of Ah Hood Road. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

Saturday, March 9, 2019

New Ubin Zhongshan Park @ Ramanda By Wyndham Singapore - Truly Singaporean Tze-Char In A Hotel Restaurant

NewUbinSeafood25

New Ubin has opened its third outlet at Ramanda by Wyndham Singapore at Zhongshan Park. It is their first restaurant in a hotel and an interesting collaboration to bring a truly Singaporean Tze-Char experience into a hotel restaurant.

NewUbinSeafood1
Foie Gras Egg Special 4/5

A decadent spin to our traditional Singaporean soft-boiled eggs breakfast is the Foie Gras Egg Special ($10.50). The soft-boiled eggs come with pan-seared foie gras with a sprinkle of truffle salt. It is a hearty and comforting atas breakfast to start the day.

NewUbinSeafood6
Double-Fried Eggplant 4.5/5

The Double-Fried Eggplant will be enjoyed by both young and old. They are thinly sliced and double fried to a delightful crisp coated in a savoury sweet sauce. Its really addictive and you probably won't know that you are eating eggplant.

NewUbinSeafood9
Pork Jowl 4/5

While I enjoyed the tender Crispy Pork Jowl ($14 for 125g), I thought it lacked the char and crispiness to make it tastier. Applaud to the special concocted sauce consists of miso and gula melaka, that matched the pork excellently. This dish is only at Chijmes and Zhongshan Park outlet.

NewUbinSeafood11
Prawn Paste Chicken 3.5/5

The Prawn Paste Chicken ($18 for 6pc) is deep fried to a delightful crispy exterior. However it lacked the distinct prawn paste flavour which is slightly disappointing.

NewUbinSeafood13
Chicken and Pork Satay 4.2/5

Chicken and Pork Satay ($6 for 5 sticks) is not your typical tze-char dish but it gives diner a taste of the local street food. From the uneven char on the surface of the grilled meat, it suggested that they are charcoal grilled with a hint of smokiness. Having it together with the accompanying peanut sauce for a full enjoyment. If pineapple is added to the peanut sauce, that will be even better.

NewUbinSeafood17
Fish Roe with Petai & ambal Chinchalok 4.8/5 

I am glad that New Ubin offers the Fish Roe with Petal & Sambal Chinchalok on their menu. I have not seen it being served in other restaurants before. I simply adore the grainy deep fried fish roes with petai cooked in sambal and chinalok. It just blown me away how delicious it is. I am definitely ordering this when I return.

NewUbinSeafood18
Hong Kong Kai Lan 2 Ways 3.5/5

Not really a new dish but he Hong Kong Kai Lan 2 ways ($15/$20/$25) provided the need greens for a balance diet.

NewUbinSeafood20
Boss Bee Hoon 4.2/5

The Boss Bee Hoon ($12) may look unassuming but it is packed with robust flavours on top of that smokey wok-hei, demonstrating the chef's wok skill while not burning the beehoon.

NewUbinSeafood23
Hokkien Mee 4.5/5

I was rather surprised New Ubin serves an awesome plate of Hokkien Mee ($15/$30). Their version is the wet type. The noodles are cooked until it absorbed the robust broth. Most important, it even comes with pork lard! That itself is a winner.

NewUbinSeafood27

New Ubin is probably the very first Tze-char restaurant to bring the concept of premium beef to the table. It was a hit and it soon became their signature. We tried both the USDA Black Angus Rib-Eye ($16 per 100g) and "Zabuton" Cut Mishima Reserve "Ultra" US Full Blood Wagyu ($66 for 300g). It is served together with caramelised onions, potato wedges, house-smoked sea salt flakes and heart attack fried rice. The beef itself is already beautiful on its own, hence it didn't need any sauce for me. I prefer to have it in its nature flavour.

NewUbinSeafood26
Double Heart AttacK Fried Rice 4.2/5

Not to forget the Heart Attack Fried Rice that comes with the USDA Black Angus Rib-Eye. Unfortunately you can't order the heart attack fried rice on the ala carte menu, it only comes with the beef. This is because the fried rice if fried using the beef's fats. It is also served with a sunny-side up egg. The regulars will know of the off menu Double Heart Attack Fried Rice which comes with 2 sunny-side up eggs instead.

NewUbinSeafood33
Classic Chilli Crab 4.2/5

Singaporean loves their crabs, especially the Classic Chilli Crab ($48/500g, $68/800g, $98/1kg). Remember to order some Deep Fried Mantou ($4 for 3pc) to wipe up the chilli crab sauce. I like the fact that the sauce is not too sweet and it still has that fiery spicy kick.

NewUbinSeafood30
Garlic Baked Crab 4.2/5

Besides the classic chilli crab, the crab is available in black pepper, white pepper, salted egg and garlic baked. All the different cooking method are commonly available in Singapore but the Garlic Baked Crab is something new to me. Unlike the rest which are saucy, this is like a dry version for the diners that like the aroma of garlic.

NewUbinSeafood43
Banana Gula Melaka 4/5

Dessert wise, we tried the Banana Gula Melaka ($10). The banana slices caramelised in gula melaka and served with house-made coconut ice cream. Simple it may be but it is an enjoyable dessert to end the dinner on a sweet note.

NewUbinSeafood35
Kaya on Toast Baguette 4.5/5

I was a bit sceptical to know that the Kaya on Toast Baguette ($8 for 5pc) is on the dessert menu. Isn't kaya and toast a local favourite breakfast but why is it on the dessert menu? Putting that aside, I strongly recommend you to order this even when you are already full. Do save some space for the fragrant homemade kaya and French butter. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


New Ubin Zhongshan Park
Ramanda By Wyndham Singapore
16 Ah Hood Road
Singapore 329982
Tel: +65 97406870
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Novena (NS Line),Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 1030pm
Fri-Sun: 12pm - 3pm, 530pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Novena MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Irrawaddy Road. Walk towards Ren Ci Community Hospital direction along Irrawaddy Road. Turn onto Shan Road and walk to the end. At the end of the Shan Road, cross Balestier Road to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Toa Payoh bus interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 139 and 145. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop at Toa Payoh MRT station along Toa Payoh Lorong 2 (Stop ID 52189). Take bus 56, 105 or 153. Alight 1 stop later. Cross the canal. Cut through the cluster of HDB flats and carpark towards block 103 onto Ah Hood Road. Continue on Ah Hood Road to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]