Yong Kee Seafood Fish Soup (永记海鲜鱼片汤) @ Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 - Famous Batam Seafood Fish Soup Opens First Stall in Singapore

For those that has been to Batam, you probably have heard of or even eaten at Yong Kee Soup Seafood Restaurant Istimewa. Known in Batam for their clear seafood fish soup, the restaurant has recently opened its first stall in Ang Mo Kio. Yes, you are not hearing me wrong. Now we need not take a ferry across the strait to taste their popular seafood fish soup.

Seafood Fish Soup 4/5

My first instinct is to take a sip of the Seafood Fish Soup ($5/$7) which is light and sweet. Then I took another bite of the sliced fish. It was so fresh. A check with the stall ascertain my taste buds, the stall owner cut the batang fish freshly every morning at the stall. The Seafood Fish Soup here is the clear version that highlights the natural sweetness of the ingredients, rather than having complicated flavours. It is really hearty and comforting. If they can add some tofu, that will be even more complete.

Seafood Fish Soup 4/5

If you prefer something that is lighter in taste, you can go for the Slice Fish Soup ($4/$6). Comes with slices of the fresh batang fish that is sweet in taste, smooth and firm in texture. For a more fulfilling meal, you can have the Sliced Fish Soup Beehoon, that comes with silky smooth rice noodles.

Sliced Fish Soup Beehoon 4/5

Compared to the earlier two bowls of fish soup, the Fish Head Yam Soup ($6/$8) is slightly more robust in taste and richer in flavour. While the yam adds in the flavour, it still needed more work to get it really infused with the soup or it will feel kind of separated.

Fish Head Yam Soup 3.5/5

Besides the various fish soup, the stall also sells the peanut chicken feet ($1) which is a delectable side dish to go with a bowl of the light and healthy fish soup.


Yong Kee Seafood Fish Soup (永记海鲜鱼片汤)
Blk 133 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3
Singapore 560133
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Nearest MRT: Ang Mo Kio (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 930am to Sold Out

Direction: 
1) Alight at Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to Ang Mo Kio bus interchange (Stop ID 54009). Take bus 166, 169, 265 or 269. Alight 2 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to Ang Mo Kio Street 12. Walk to destination. Journey time about  12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Ang Mo Kio MRT station (Stop ID 54269). Take bus number 76, 132, 165 or 268. Alight 2 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to Ang Mo Kio Street 12. Walk to destination. Journey time about  12 minutes. [Map]

Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory @ Chinatown Point - New Highlights at Singapore's Favourite Chimaek Restaurant

With the opening of the first outlet at 313 Somerset in February 2015, Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory continues to open another 2 outlets at Bedok Point and Chinatown Point within the same year in May and December. The restaurant is fast to build on their success with the introduction of several new additions to the menu.

Mojito Double Smoothie 4.2/5

New on the beverage menu is the Mojito Double Smoothie ($12.90). The ice blended mango puree is topped with lime slushes, freshly whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. It is a very refreshing drink that is perfect for the humid Singapore's weather as well as for the fried and spicy food at Chir Chir. There are also the Raspberry Double Smoothie and Aqua Double Smoothie.

Honey Butter Chicken 4/5

The honey butter potato chip craze that swept through South Korea has been brought to the table at Chir Chir with a spin off in the Honey Butter Chicken ($28.90). Not the prettiest plating but the delicious pile consists of boneless fried chicken, Korean rice cakes, potato wedges, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, honey butter sauce, honey butter seasoning. Besides the chunky chicken which is crispy and succulent, I enjoyed the Korean rice cake which has a thin layer of crispiness on top of the chewy texture.

Topokki & Cheese 3/5

A twist from the Mac & Cheese is the Topokki & Cheese ($9.90) that comes Korean rice cake, creamy cheese sauce, chicken ham, bacon bites. Substituting the macaroni with Korean rice cake gives the dish more bite but it is not my kind of thing as I am not a big fan of topokki. I would also prefer the cheese to be richer and more intense in flavour.

Spicy Seafood Soup 4/5

Chir Chir is not just about chicken. It does have other items such as the Spicy Seafood Soup ($26.90). The spicy clam base broth comes with fresh seafood such as squid, crayfish, prawns and mussels. Glass noodles are also added completing the whole enjoyment.

Spicy Topokki with Breaded Chicken 4/5

Be warned if you have a low tolerance of spicy food. The Spicy Topokki ($15.90) with Breaded Chicken (add $5) is really fiery. It will left you with a tongue burning sensation throughout the meal.
The pot comes with Korean rice cakes, Cajun battered squid, deep fried hard boileg egg and sweet potato cubes in spicy gochujang (red pepper paste) sauce. I would recommend dunking the breaded chicken into the spicy gochujang sauce to soak up the spiciness, for a sweat breaking enjoyment.

Rosemary Chicken 4.2/5

My favourite for the dinner has to be Rosemary Chicken ($29.90). It is a good change from all the various fried items. Marinated for 12 hours, the whole chicken chopped into huge pieces and roasted to golden brown. The tender and juicy roasted chicken is accompanied by a salsa dip, salt baked egg and baked potato with sour cream.

For supper seeker, you will be please to know that Chir Chir at Chinatown Point is opened until 3am daily.


Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory
Chinatown Point
133 New Bridge Road
#01-43
Singapore 059413
Tel: +65 65381069
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Website
Nearest MRT: Chinatown (DT Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 3am

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

Yan Ji Wei Wei Seafood Soup @ Woodlands Centre Food Centre - Famous Woodlands Seafood Soup

This has been a much over due visit. I have always wanted to visit Yan Ji Wei Wei Seafood Soup at Woodlands Centre Food Centre near the Woodlands Checkpoint but the distance to the far north is just too discouraging. But for the seek of good food, I just have to make the long journey to taste the bowl of seafood soup myself.

Seafood Soup 4.5/5

Having tried AS Seafood Soup, I am quite eager to try the difference and compare them. The seafood soup comes in three pricing, $6, $8 and $10. I ordered the Seafood Soup ($10) which comes with crayfish. The stall also offers other variety such as Promfret Fish Seafood Soup and Grouper Seafood Soup. You can even add fish maw for an additional cost.

Seafood Soup 4.5/5

Compared with AS Seafood Soup, both stalls use the same ingredients for the delectable bowl of seafood soup. There are crayfish, prawns, dory fish and minced pork. However Yan Ji seafood soup is a notch better because the soup is more robust and intense.

Pig Trotter 3.8/5

Besides the seafood soup, we also ordered the Pig Trotter ($7) to try. For the pricing, this is consider quite a huge portion. I like variety for my meal, hence this is a good addition on top of the seafood soup to go with my bowl of rice.

The question is whether it is worth making the trip to try Yan Ju Wei Wei Seafood Soup. In my opinion, it is worth it. I have not known of another place that does such a delicious bowl of seafood soup, that is packed with rich intense flavours. The closest competitor would be AS Seafood Soup but it is still a notch behind.


Yan Ji Wei Wei Seafood Soup
Woodlands Centre Food Court
Blk 4A Woodlands Centre Road
#02-11
Singapore 730004
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Nearest MRT: Marsiling (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 11am - 4pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction:
1) Alight at Marsiling MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop opposite Marsiling MRT station (Stop ID 46529). Take bus number 856. Alight 3 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey tme about 12 minutes. [Map]

Toby's The Dessert Asylum @ TradeHub 21 (Jurong East)

Mud Pies, the in-dessert to have back in a decade ago, before it was being overruled by waffles. A luscious pie who has gone under the radar for the past few years,Toby's The Dessert Asylumis here to revive it. Being at Marine Parade for the past 6 years, they have shifted to TradeHub 21. Beside Mud Pies, their selection of cakes and made to order desserts will excite your sweet tooth as well. But nonetheless, we mustn't neglect our growling stomachs! Toby's has an extensive range of mains, in which I heard are just as delicious. I was lucky to be able to try out their Lunar New Year 3 Course Set Meal, which offers exclusive dishes only till end of CNY.

Fa Cai Yu Sheng 3/5

For starter, we were served with their Abalone Salad with a 'Huat ah!'. It was a refreshing salad made with an array of crunchy vegetable dressed with a tang. The crispy golden pillow and chewy abalone strips add dimensions to the flavour and texture. As the dressing is rather dense, less of it would have been better.

Braised Crabmeat with Seafood Soup 2.5/5

Our soup was Braised Crabmeat with Seafood, which was created with Shark Fin soup in mind for this occasion. If not for it being over-salted, I feel it has the potential to be one of the most unique seafood soups to be served in a western set up.

Baked Red Snapper 4/5

Next came our mains. Our Baked Red Snapper was beautifully presented. Sliced into 3 fillets, each was tender and with sides nicely baked. Lightly seasoned, it was well complemented with the creamy cheddar cheese mash. I love the fruits salad, which was tangy and appetising with the pineapple parley sauce.

Fried Pork Ribs 3/5

Their Fried Pork Ribs comes with braised cabbage, which I thought embodied an Asian wisdom in handling the heavy flavour of the pork ribs. The meat was tender and fell off the bones with a slight tug. It got rather porky at the fatty area but the smokey sauce managed it quite fine.

Salted Egg Spaghetti 3.8/5

Their Salted Egg Spaghetti did live up to our expectations. My earlier encounter with a salted egg pasta wasn't great as the sauce was too watery and absent of the salted egg taste.Their sauce was of the right consistency, coating the spaghetti without drowning it. Every morsel of it was flavoursome with a note of garlic. It could be bettered with more hardy ingredients such as prawns as crabmeat proved to be too delicate for this dish.

D-Lover 3.8/5

Finally it was time for desserts! D-Lover is their latest creation. The durian puree blends seamlessly with the fine vanilla sponge cake, creating a melt-in-your-mouth sensation. The sweetness level is just right for me but I was hoping for a richer durian flavour and texture.

Strawberry Shortcake 3/5

Cake and ice cream pairing is something unique over here. The strawberry shortcake does seem lonely without her companion, perhaps more strawberries in between the layering may help to jazz her up. The mellow strawberry sweetness of Love At First Sight may bring back some fond memories. You might want to consider having this during your Valentine's Day.

Lord Vader 4/5

The real bomb is of course their mud pies. We had one of their most popular Lord Vader ($15.90), one of the only 2 liqueur mud pies. The best part came when I poured the Grand Marnier over and dug my spoon in. The bitter sweet taste is the real pleasure.

Away from the hustle and bustle on a Saturday, together with great food and warm service extended by Toby's, our evening had been truly enjoyable. What I appreciate about their CNY meal is the subtle Asian note that runs throughout the dishes. The Lunar New Year 3 Course Set Meal is available from now till end of CNY at $38+ per set, excluding desserts. If you miss it, do look out for their Valentine's Day couple set meal, which includes their signature salmon dish.

Photograph and written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


Toby's The Dessert Asylum
TradeHub 21
8 Boon Lay Way
#01-35
Singapore 609964
Tel: +65 63162422
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Website
Nearest MRT: Clement (EW Line), Jurong East (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Clementi MRT station. (Stop ID 17171). Take bus number 52 and 105. Alight 5 stops later. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Clementi Bus Interchange (Stop ID 17009). Take bus number 99. Alight 5 stops later. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Jurong East MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Jurong East Bus Interchange (Stop ID 28009). Take bus number 52 or 105. Alight 8 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

AS Seafood Soup (安盛海鲜汤) @ Depot Road

Many people may have heard of the famous Yan Ji Seafood Soup stall at Woodlands. However not many knows about this humble little stall, AS Seafood Soup (安盛海鲜汤) at Depot Road. It actually moved from Bedok to the current location. According to my brief conversation with the cook that was preparing the seafood soup, I am told that he learnt how to cook the seafood soup from a famous stall in Woodlands. I would suspect it is Yan Ji since the style is very similar.

Crayfish Seafood Soup 4.2/5

At AS Seafood Soup, they basically sells three type of soup. They are Crayfish Seafood Soup ($10/$12), Seafood Soup ($5.50/$7.50) and Promfret Seafood Soup ($10). We had the most expensive crayfish seafood soup at $12 since we have travelled all the way to try it. The soup is cooked with old hen, dried scallop and pork ribs for a good 4 hours to get the rich flavours.

Crayfish Seafood Soup 4.2/5

The luxurious bowl of seafood soup comes with crayfish, prawns, fish slices and chunks of minced pork. I have not tried Yan Ji before but accordingly to Maureen, the soup still falls short of the intensive she had at Yan Ji. Nevertheless, this is still a delicious bowl of seafood soup if are not willing to travel all the way to Woodlands.

Braised Pig Trotter 3/5

The stall also sells Braised Pig Trotter ($5/$7). The braising sauce was actually quite good. However the braised pork trotter was a bit tough and on the dry side.

Good news to the people staying in the East. As I draft this blog post, I am glad to tell you they are back in Bedok, with the opening of the 2nd outlet at block 412, Bedok North.


AS Seafood Soup (安盛海鲜汤)
Yue Hua Food Court
Blk 108 Depot Road
#02-22
Singapore 100108
Tel: +65 83987155
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Nearest MRT: LAbrador Park (CC Line), Telok Blangah (CC Line), Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11am - 9pm
Sat: 11am - 3pm
Sun: 11am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Labrador Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite furniture warehouse (Stop ID 14401). Take bus number 408. Alight 5 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Telok Blangah MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Telok Blangah MRT station (Stop ID 14161). Take bus number 57. Alight 6 stops later. Cross the Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 18 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at HarbourFront MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to HarbourFront Bus interchange (Stop ID 14009). Take bus number 408. Alight 7 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 21 minutes. [Map]