Yi Qian Private Dining @ Leng Kee Road - Hidden Restaurant Within A Business Centre, Serving Fine Cantonese And Teochew Fare

Yi Qian Private Dining is a new Chinese restaurant hidden within a nondescript business centre. Helming the kitchen is Chef Raymond, who has years of experience working at Golden Palace Singapore and Lei Garden Restaurant Hong Kong. The restaurant has an extensive menu ranging from Cantonese to Teochew Fare. Customers can even customise their menu upon the advance request of 3 days.

Crispy Prawn Fritters 4/5

A great appetiser to kick start the meal is the Crispy Prawn Fritter ($9.80). The thinly sliced prawn fritters are crispy and topped with sweet sakura prawns, deep-fried to golden perfection.

Stir-fried Shark Fin with Crabmeat served with Superior Stock in Teapot 3.8/5

A signature at Yi Qian is their Stir-fried Shark Fin with Crabmeat served with Superior Stock in Teapot ($68). It is a 2-part dish whereby the shark fin is separated from the superior stock. To enjoy the dish, have a bite of the shark fin and sip the superior soup brewed for over 6 hours using old chicken bones and ham.

Teochew Crispy Yam & Prawn Omelette 4.2/5

The Teochew Crispy Yam & Prawn Omelette ($24) comes in a disc shape, generously studded with hearty yam wedges and fresh prawns. I love the crispy and fluffiness accentuated by the flavourful yam.

Pig's Stomach and Chicken in Pepper Soup 4.2/5

The Pig's Stomach and Chicken in Pepper Soup ($108) requires pre-order at least one day in advance. A whole kampong chicken is wrapped in a pig's stomach and boiled in a white pepper soup. It is a pot of nourishing soup boiled for 4 hours under high heat with a myriad of spices.

Sizzling Kai Lan in Claypot 4.2/5

Nowadays, restaurants like to serve their vegetables in claypot, such as the Sizzling Kai Lan in Claypot ($22). They are stir-fried with belachan and shrimps. It's simple yet irresistibly mouth-watering, with the kailan retaining a delectable crunch.

Wok Hei Fried Kway Teow with Diced Kai Lan and Preserved Radish 4/5

A staple Teochew dish is the Wok Hei Fried Kway Teow with Diced Kai Lan and Preserved Radish ($18). The flat rice noodles are tossed in a hot wok with crunchy preserved radish, kailan and shrimps, infused with the wok's breath for a smokey finish.

Sugar Encrusted Deep Fried Yam Sticks 4.5/5

Surprisingly, my favourite item is the Sugar Encrusted Deep Fried Yam Sticks ($20). It is the best version I have eaten so far. It has a sweet layer of sugar coating with an exterior crisp, followed by a soft and moist interior packed with the beautiful yam flavour.

While I see a glimpse of excellence in some dishes, there are misses too. I felt I had not tried the best of the restaurant yet. I probably have to return to try more of his dishes to get a final verdict.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Yi Qian Private Dining
Thye Hong Centre
2 Leng Kee Road
#01-04
Singapore 159086
Tel: +65 65136377
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Redhill (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 3pm, 6pm - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Redhill MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn right and walk down Tiong Bahru Road. Continue onto Leng Kee Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Hoy Yong Seafood Restaurant (开洋海鲜菜馆) @ Clementi Ave 2 - Zichar Stall By Disciple Of One Of The Four Heavenly Kings

For those staying in Clementi, we are blessed to have one of the best zichar stalls in Singapore. Hoy Yong Seafood Restaurant (开洋海鲜菜馆) is located inside a coffeeshop at Clementi Ave 2. The man behind the wok is non-other than Chef Hoy Yong, the disciple of one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Singapore.

Fried Hor Fun with Egg 4.5/5

One of their popular items, which you probably get to see on every table, is their Fried Hor Fun with Egg. We have the medium portion priced at $11. For the price, the portion is very generous with prawns, vegetables, fish slices, pork slices, and squids, topped with pork lards. The sight of the runny egg, coupled with the breath of the wok, already made me drool before digging in. It is definitely one of the best hor fun I have eaten.

Pig's Stomach Soup 4.5/5

A must-try if it is your first time visiting Hoy Yong is their Three Treasures - Pig's Stomach Soup, Braised Pork Ribs and Deep Fried Duck Roll. I had two out of the three dishes, starting with the Pig's Stomach Soup ($14). You can taste the soup that has been boiled for hours from its creaminess with a piquant peppery kick. What astonished me was the amount of ingredients in the bowl of soup. You get chicken pieces, fish maw and pig's stomach. It is restaurant quality serving!

Deep Fried Duck Roll 4.5/5

The other Three Treasure item we tried is the Deep Fried Duck Roll ($14). It is a unique and tasty creation. It is like a tempura Ngoh Hiang in the crispy crumb, stuffed with roasted duck, pork and prawn. Best to have it together with the mayonnaise.

Garlic Kai Lan 4/5

When you have a master behind the wok, even the Garlick Kai Lan ($12) tasted great. The greens still retain a delectable crunchy texture, simply stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and some pork lards.

Claypot Egg Plant 4.5/5

The other vegetable dish we ordered is the Claypot Egg Plant ($18). Not shown in the picture is the fried egg hidden inside the claypot, soaking up the delicious sauce. Instead of the usual minced meat, it uses crunchy shrimp coated in batter for extra textural enjoyment.

Herbal Kampong Chicken 4.2/5

To round up our meal with a meat dish, we decided to go for the Herbal Kampong Chicken ($18 Half). It was sauna-bath in aluminium foil wrap, cooked to fork-tender in a flavoursome herbal broth.

Hoy Yong is indeed a gem in the West. Its restaurant-quality dishes make it a notch above many zichar stalls in Singapore.


Hoy Yong Seafood Restaurant
Blk 352 Clementi Ave 2
#01-153
Singapore 120352
Tel: +65 67782223
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Clementi (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 530pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Clementi MRT station (Stop ID 17179). Take bus number 52 and 154. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Dover MRT station. Take Exit A Walk to bus stop at Dover MRT station. (Stop ID 19031).  Take bus number 74. Alight 2 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine @ ION Orchard - How Did It Get a Michelin Star?

Together with a group of foodie friends, we met for lunch on a Saturday afternoon at the newly awarded 1 Michelin Star restaurant, Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine at ION Orchard in the latest Michelin Guide Singapore 2017

Steamed Teochew Pork Dumpling 3/5

From the dim sum menu, we tried the Steamed Teochew Pork Dumpling ($5.60). What exactly is Teochew siew mai? Apparently it comes with only minced pork and bamboo shoot, without the sweet and crunchy prawn. I have to say it tasted rather pedestrian, so ordinary that someone in our group associated it with those dim sum items we can get at food court.

Pig Stomach Soup 4.5/5

Fish Maw Soup 4/5

For the soup, we tried both the Pig Stomach Soup ($12) and Fish Maw Soup ($15). The pig stomach soup has a good peppery kick to it. I like the fact that it comes with salted vegetables giving it an extra layer of flavour. On the other hand, the fish maw soup was rather different from what I used to have. It comes with minced pork and seaweed. It felt more like having a bowl of bak chor mee soup.

Teochew Braised Platter 3/5

Teochew cuisine is known for the braised items, so we ordered the Teochew Braised Combination ($51). We picked the duck meat, duck tongue, pig ear and pork knuckle to form our platter. While the meats are cooked to a nice tender and enjoyable texture, I though the braising sauce was rather bland and lacked the aroma from the spices such as star anise, cinnamon etc.

Sauteed Small Oyster with Green Onions 3.5/5

The Sauteed Small Oyster with Green Onions ($42) which is recommend by the manager turned out to be quire good and interesting. I have eaten fried egg with shark fin wrapped in cabbage but the sauteed small oyster with green onions is new to me.

Pan Fried Flour Omelette with Taro 4/5

Usually I will ordered oyster omelette whenever I visit a Teochew restaurant. However I noticed something interesting on the menu which I have not tried before, Pan Fried Flour Omelette with Taro ($33). The crispy omelette comes with chunky taro cubes which was very fragrant. Have it together with the accompanying fish sauce for a lift in enjoyment.

Steamed Promfret  4.2/5

The Steamed Promfret ($132) is another classic Teochew dish which I always order. Unlike other steamed fishes, promfret does not come cheap. Putting the price aside, the timing in steaming the promfret is spot on with the nature jus of the ingredients flavouring the soft and moist promfret's flesh.

Cai Po Hor Fun 3.5/5

The Cai Po Hor Fun ($27) was decent but not wow. I have had better one elsewhere. It would be nicer if they have used the stem of the kai lan, diced it to get the rice noodle an extra crunch bite.

Three Treasure 3/5

I would advice skipping the dessert. The portion was really small and expensive. The Three Treasure ($6) I had comes with a sweet potato cube, yam cube and some ginkgo nuts. For the price, I probably can get a bag of sweet potato and yam.

After lunching at Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine, we left the restaurant rather puzzled and confused with one thought in our mind. How did the restaurant get a Michelin Star this year?


Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
#03-05
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 67362118
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sat: 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sun: 1030am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 mins. [Map]

Le Chasseur @ Eunos

Le Chasseur used to be located at New Bridge Road opposite Clark Quay Central Mall before moving to its new location at Eunos Industrial Estate. Having tried the food and knowing that it has moved to the east, nearer to my place, I was looking forward to my revisit. Upon reaching the destination with fellow foodies, Edsmond, Mandy, Nat and Nicole, I pain for the owner. Business was bad, there were many deserted tables and we were probably the only customers. Unlike the days in the old premise, the restaurant was so busy that it was pretty hard to get a table.
 

Ngor Hiang 4/5

After a quick browsing of the menu, we decided to try the Ngor Hiang ($5). Actually we were quite taken part by the portion that was served. Sad to say I could get probably twice as many from the zichar stall next door. I know I can't compare the standard and quality but we have to be realistic that we are at a industrial estate food court now, there is competition just a few stalls away. Putting the portion issue aside, the ngor hiang or prawn roll was actually pretty good. Fried to a nice outer crisp, the delectable filling was flavourful with lovely bites of mushroom, water chestnut and carrot.

Coffee Pork Ribs 3/5

Once again we have issue with the serving portion. There are six of us but we were only served 5 pieces of the Coffee Pork Ribs ($15). While the pork ribs was delectable, the coffee taste was barely noticeable.

Pig Trotter with Black Vinegar and Ginger 4/5

It seems like the gang does not really know how to appreciate the Pork Trotter with Black Vinegar and Ginger ($10) except Nicole and me. The class confinement dish with its characteristic sourness from the black vinegar was so addictive that I have to help myself to more of the delish collagen.

Pig Stomach Soup 3.8/5

The piping hot Pig Stomach Soup ($16) was exactly what we needed to warm the body in a cold and rainy night. While the hearty and comforting soup warmed our heart, a dash more peppers should be even more perfect.

Sambal Kang Kong 4/5

The Sambal Kang Kong ($5.50) was stir fried to a delectable crunchy bite and not too oily. A very enjoyable dish.

Otah Omelette 4/5

I just have to order the Otah Omelette ($6). Being both an otah and egg omelette lover, this is just like a pairing made in heaven for me.

Barbequed Cuttlefish 3/5

The tender Barbequed Cuttlefish ($21) was beautifully flavoured with the sweet sauce but I felt that it lacked the smokiness of barbeque. I suspected it was cooked over electric fire instead of charcoal fire.

Claypot Chicken Rice 4/5

Claypot Chicken Rice 4/5

Making our way to Le Chasseur is to try the Claypot Chicken Rice ($11/$20). What is so special about their claypot rice? The restaurant uses basmatic rice, a variety of long grain rice that has an unique aromatic quite similar to pandan. Be prepared to wait for a good 20 minutes as the rice is cooked raw over charcoal fire giving it the charred aromatic infused into the fluffy grains.

Tao Suan 4.2/5

We wrapped up dinner with a bowl of Tao Suan ($2.60 per portion). The version at Le Chasseur is pretty good with the mung beans still retaining a good bite not too mushy. The only complain is the you tiao was not crispy.

Many people who has dined at Le Chasseur knows about the food quality and standard. I really hope their business will pick up and prosper in their new premise. They probably need to do some adjustment to their menu considering they are no more operating in an air conditioned restaurant environment and with more competitive priced stalls in the same food court.


Le Chasseur
27 Eunos Road 2
Singapore 409387
Tel: +65 63377677
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lechasseurSG
Nearest MRT: Eunos (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 3pm, 530pm - 930pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Eunos MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn right and walk towards Eunos Crescent block 31. Cut through the block of flats and field towards Eunos Road 2. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]