Coffee Stars by Dao @ Wisma Atria

It was our monthly "kaki" meeting and one of my friends recommended Coffee Stars by Dao at Wisma Atria. Coffee Stars by Dao is a new star in town that serves Thai and International cuisine. Coffee Stars by Dao is from Bangkok, Thailand which has several branches in Bangkok known as Coffee Beans by Dao.

There were 9 of us and we ordered quite a number of dishes to share. We started with Soft Shell Crab Salad and Som Tum Guava with Shrimp Salad. The Soft Shell Crab Salad was fresh and refreshing. The Som Tum Guava with Shrimp Salad was very good. My friend tried it before and specially recommended it. An authentic Thai Salad full of sour lime, hot chilli and fish sauce tastes.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab Salad 4/5

Som Tum Guava with Dry Shrimp Salad 4.2/5

The Black Olive Fried Rice was fragant and nice. It came with cucumber, lime, cashew nuts and chopped chilli.

Black Olive & Pork Fried Rice 4.2/5

The Chicken wrapped in Panda Leaf was nothing special. The chicken had a nice panda fragant and not oily.

Chicken wrapped in Panda Leaf 3.5/5

The Chicken Basil came with rice and an a fried egg. It was a simple and yummy dish for one.

Fried Chicken Basil 4/5

The Sesame Shrimp Toast was something unique with shrimp batter over bread toast. It was deep fried and sprinkled with sesame. It was not oily and had a nice crisp texture.

Sesame Shrimp Toasts 4/5

The Pad Thai Shrimp and Rice Noodle was another authentic Thai dish that came with fresh middle sized shrimp.

Pad Thai Shrimp & Rice Noodle 4.2/5

The Crispy Skin Grilled Chicken came with glutinous rice.  It was a bit disappointing. The chicken was cold but tasty.

Crispy Skin Grilled Chicken 3.5/5

The Lad Na Pork was the favourite among us and it was very special. Bascially it was "Hor Fun", wide rice noodle served with some stir fried vegetables and pork. The wide rice noodle was pan fried on both the outer sides giving it a crispy texture and leaving a smooth silky texture in between.

Lad Na Pork 4.5/5

Coffee Stars by Dao not only serves Thai and International cusine. It also has a wide selection of cakes. One of their signature is the Coconut Cake. It was soft, moist and had fresh coconut meat. The rest of their cake selections were pretty good too. Coffee Stars by Dao is a nice place to go for high tea and snacks beside lunch/dinner.

Coconut Cake 4.2/5

Coffee Stars by Dao
Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road
#01-37/41
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)

JB Ah Beng (新山亚明小橱) @ Geylang

Many thanks to Ellena and Maureen, they have been organising monthly makan gathering for foodies and twitter friends. This month we headed to Geylang for Zi Char at JB Ah Beng.

The ten course dinner started with the Fried Fish Skin served with green papaya and sweet chilli sauce. The fish skin was crispy and not oily. I felt that the dish lacked a bit of saltiness. Probably some salt could be sprinkled on the fish skin or provided salty based sauce instead.

Deep Fried Fish Skin 4/5

There was a little commotion among us when the Stewed Chicken with Liang Fen was served. Everyone was wondering how the Liang Fen looked and tasted like which was hidden underneath the plateful of chicken and mushroom. Some said it tasted like Soon Kueh skin while others thought it tasted like Chee Cheong Fan skin. Nevertheless it was very tasty soaking up the delicious gravy of the stewed chicken.

Stewed Chicken with Liang Fen 4.2/5

Next was the Fried Fish Head. The stall used red snapper fish head for the dish. It was chopped into pieces and stir fried with spring onion and ginger. An enjoyable dish that will go very well with beer.

Fried Fish Head 4/5

The San Lou Bee Hoon is one of JB Ah Beng's popular dishes. Do not be mislead by the plain looking plate of Bee Hoon. Hidden and sandwiched by the Bee Hoon was a layer of greens which gave the dish a little surprise and uniqueness. Simple but very good.

JB San Lou Beehoon 4.2/5

The Baby Bok Choy with Tofu and Mushrooms had the thumbs up from all of us. The soft and smooth tofu melted in the mouth as well as my heart.

Bok Choy with Tofu and Mushrooms 4.2/5

For people that do not like to eat brinjal, this dish may change your opinion. The brinjal was coated with batter and fried with potato cubes and green capsicum. If I am blindfolded, I probably could not tell that I was eating brinjal.

Brinjal Potato with Chilli 4/5

I love fermented beancurd and I was looking forward to the dish. However I was disappointed as I could not taste the fermented bean. The pork belly was also thinly sliced and dried.

Deep Fried Fermented Bean with Belly Pork 3.5/5

The Snake Beans with Lotus Root was my favourite vegetable dish for the night. The snake beans or commonly known as long beans had a nice crunchy texture. The deep fried lotus root was also very special. It felt like I was eating potato chips.

Snake Beans with Lotus Root 4.5/5

There are many versions to cook crabs but the White Pepper Crabs at JB Ah Beng is a best try. Only three words to describe it. "Finger licking good"!

White Pepper Crabs 4.5/5

The Salted Egg Prawn Ball was supposed to be one of the other popular dishes but it was a disappointed. I applauded the concept but it turned out dried and hard.

Salted Egg Prawn Ball 3.5/5

To get her, alight at Aljunied MRT station and take 5 minutes walk towards Geylang Lorong 23.


JB Ah Beng (新山亚明小橱)
No. 2 Geylang Lorong 23
Nearest MRT: Aljunied (EW Line)

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