Bumbu Restaurant @ Kandahar Street

I get to know of this restaurant after watching a TV shows on buffet places. It was a Saturday and I was with my friend's family going around Singapore taking pictures of the life-size elephant exhibit of the Elephant Parade Singapore 2011 and I suggested Bumbu Restaurant for dinner.

Walking into the 2 storey pre-war house is like stepping back into a bygone era. The restaurant is decorated with antique furniture and artifacts everywhere as if it is a antique museum.

The Indo Thai restaurant offers both ala carte and buffet on their menu. We went for the buffet which cost $16.80+ per adult and $8.40+ for children under 10 years old. There were about 23 mains and 16 desserts/drinks on the buffet menu.

Tahu Telor 4.2/5

Unlike the usual Tahu Telor that is served in one big piece, the Tahu (Tofu) here came in small pieces. It looked mediocre but it was really very good. The Tahu was very soft and smooth.

Seafood Fried Egg Salad

What a weird combination of Seafood and Fried Egg as a salad dish. The Seafood Fried Egg Salad was served in a lime sauce with a tad of spiciness that married both the seafood and fried egg into a delightful salad.

Gado Gado

Gado Gado is a typical Indonesia dish whereby vegetables are served in peanut sauce. I don't fancy the dish because I find it weird to eat vegetable in peanut sauce. Nevertheless, the peanut sauce itself was really nutty and flavourful.

Steam Fish Spicy Lime Sauce 4/5

The Steam Fish Spicy Lime Sauce was simple, fresh and nice. The boneless fish slices were not too spicy for the kids and they enjoyed it.

Fried Fish Slice House Chilli 3.5/5

I find the Fried Fish Slice House Chilli was rather pedestrian. The house chilli did not manage to wow me.

Sweet Sour Chicken 4/5

Bumbu supposed to be a Indo Thai restaurant and I really not sure why the Sweet Sour Chicken dish is on the menu although they substitute pork with chicken since it is a Halal restaurant.

Stir Fry Prawn with Egg 4.2/5

The Stir Fry Prawn with Egg has a nice fluffy and creamy texture. It was the kids favourite dish.

Sambal Kangkong 4.2/5

I think Sambal Kangkong is my favourite vegetable dish. I realized I usually order it when I dine outside. The belacan chilli infused with the kangkong was really shiok. It was not overcooked with a tad of crunchiness that I like.

Black Pepper Beef 3.5/5

I was a bit disappinted with the Black Pepper Beef. The beef was a bit rubbery which did not justify for the flavourful black pepper sauce.

Cold Tofu with Preserved Egg 4.5/5

You don't often get to find Cold Tofu with Preserved Egg served at restaurant. I remembered the first time I tried this dish in Taiwan and I fell in love with it. The cold tofu was tasteless but paired with preserved egg, salted egg and sauce, it just turned into a very beautiful dish.

Mini Spring Roll 4/5

The Mini Spring Roll surprised all of us. The restaurant used Otak for the spring roll's filling! It is an interesting and unique combination. The spring roll was fried perfectly with a nice colouring and the skin was very crispy.

You may realized I did not post any dessert pictures. We were so full that we could not eat anymore desserts!


Bumbu Restaurant
44 Kandahar Street
Website: http://www.bumbu.com.sg/
Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW Line, DT Line), Nicoll Highway (CC Line)

Opening hours:
Daily : 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Nicoll Highway MRT station. Take exit towards The concourse. Follow the overhead walkway all the way to Keypoint. Turn right into Jalan Sultan Road. Turn left into Pahang Street. Turn right into Kandahar Road. Journey time about 15 minutes.

2) Alight at Bugis MRT station. Take exit B. Cut across Raffles Hospital. Turn left onto North Bridge Road. Walk towards Masjid Sultan Mosque.Turn right into Kandahar Street. Journey time about 10 minutes.

YIFON Bottled Mushrooms Cooking Session with Chef Eric Teo (20 Limited Edition 2012 Recipe Calendar Giveaway)

Many of you may have seen these bottled YIFON's mushrooms at the supermarkets but do you know that they are brought to you by Yit Hong Pte Ltd a 57-year-old company with the popular Narcissus Canned Mushrooms, MaLing Luncheon Meat and many (refer to picture below) under the company.

The ready to eat YIFON Bottled Mushrooms are available in a delectable range of five different mushrooms in six different flavours. There are YIFON Assorted Mushrooms, YIFON Bailing Mushrooms, YIFON Spicy Bailing Mushrooms, YIFON Spicy Golden Mushrooms, YIFON Spicy Nameko Mushrooms and YIFON Teatree Mushrooms. Each bottle costs only $1.95, halal-certified, contains no preservative and artificial colourings.

For a person that does not cook, I was very nervous when I was invited to cook with Singapore celebrated veteran chef, Eric Teo who is also the ambassador for Yit Hong Pte Ltd. Being the first Singaporean to be appointed president of the Singapore Chef's Association, Chef Eric Teo brings nearly two decades of culinary experience to Yit Hong Pte Ltd.

For the cooking session with Chef Eric Teo, I get to cook 3 innovative and interesting recipes developled by Chef Eric Teo using Yit Hong products. The jovial chef greatly calms down my nerve. I guess I have watched too much Hell Kitchen! He even went around our bench judging our dishes. It was really a fun night cooking with Chef Eric and fellow bloggers.

These were the ingredients for the cooking session with Chef Eric Teo.

XO King Scallop with Spicy Golden Mushrooms & Crispy Rice Crackers (by Chef Eric Teo)

The first dish is XO King Scallop with Spicy Golden Mushrooms & Crispy Rice Crackers. This is the most complex dish among the three. To get a good coloring on the scallops, the pan must be over medium to high heat with oil. A tip from Chef Eric on how to know whether the scallop is cooked is to use your fingers and press the scallop. If it feels spongy, it is almost done.

Recipe (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 Bottle - YIFON Spicy Golden Mushrooms, drained
6 pieces - King Scallops
6 pieces - Rice Crackers, deep fried
1 tbsp - XO Sauce
1 stalk - Spring Onions, sliced
1 piece - Red Chili, diced
1/4 tsp - Sesame Oil
Method
1. Heat up wok over medium to high heat with oil.
2. Pan-fry scallops for 30 seconds on each side, add XO sauce and toss well.
3. Separately, mix YIFON Spicy Mushrooms with chilli and sesame oil.
4. Assemble YIFON Spicy Mushrooms with scallops and rice crackers, sprinkle with spring onions   and serve.

XO King Scallop with Spicy Golden Mushrooms & Crispy Rice Crackers (by SG Food on Foot)

And here is my final product! I have a bit of difficulty cooking one of my scallops as it was rather big but I still managed to pull it off. I also managed to slice up some chilli and spring onions to garnish the dish without cutting my fingers. Phew! I managed to cook a dish without any injuries.

Pork Luncheon Meat Bruchetta (by Chef Eric Teo)

The second dish is Pork Luncheon Meat Bruchetta. A simple and yummy snack. You can cut the thickness of the luncheon meat to your own likings. If you like it to be crispy on the outside and soft in the inside, use high heat.

Recipe (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 Can - MaLing Pork Luncheon Meat
1 Roll - French Baguette, sliced
4 - Quail Eggs, hard-boiled and halved
30g - Red Cherry Tomatoes, halved
30g - Shallot, sliced
20g - Sweet Basil Leaves
30g - Pineapples, diced
Seasonings
2 tbsp - Olive Oil
1 pinch - Black Crushed Pepper
1 pinch - Salt
Method
1. Slice MaLing Pork Luncheon Meat into 4" by 2". Pan-fry until both sides are crisp and brown. Set aside
2. Toast sliced baguettes for 3 minutes.
3. Mix hard-boiled eggs, pineapples, tomatoes, sweet basil leaves, shallots and seasoning.
4. Top toasted baguette with luncheon meat and above mixture. Serve.

Pork Luncheon Meat Bruchetta (by SG Foot on Food)

Finally a dish without breaking a sweat. The toughest job was actually peeling the quail egg. Chef Eric commented that I need a ruler to slice my luncheon meat to size. Ha Ha Ha.

Mini Ham and Cheese Pizza with Assorted Mushrooms (by Chef Eric Teo)

Last dish is Mini Ham and Cheese Pizza with Assorted Mushrooms. With Christmas and New Year around the corner, many of us will be holding parties. Instead of ordering pizza delivery from Pizza Hut why not try your hands in making some pizzas using YIFON Bottled Mushrooms? The dough can be readily purchased at any supermarkets and you can let your creativity runs wild.

Recipe (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 Bottle - YIFON Assorted Mushrooms, drained
2 pieces - Pizza Crust
3 tbsp - Tomato Sauce
10g - Red Onions, diced
30g - Turkey Ham
5g - Salad Leaves
1/4 tsp - Olive Oil
1 pinch - Salt
1 pinch - Pepper
Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree, bake pizza crust for 3 minutes. The pizza crust should be golden brown but soft in the center.
2. Spread tomato sauce evenly. Top with YIFON Assorted Mushrooms, salad leaves, ham and cheese.
3. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for another 5 minutes then serve hot.

Pizza (by SG Food on Foot)

This is my pizza creation. My tomato based pizza had YIFON Assorted Mushrooms, pineapples, red onions, shaved ham and rocket salad. I remembered watching some TV shows that pizza should not have more than 3-4 ingredients, so I tried to keep it simple. So happy when Chef Eric's wife asked for a slice of my pizza.

VOTE FOR ME AND YOU GET TO WIN TOO

Currently Yit Hong Pte Ltd is running a blogger contest on its facebook page. If I win, 3 lucky voters who voted for me will walk away with fabulous Yit Hong products and a limited edition 2012 calendar autographed by Chef Eric.

Just follow the simple steps,

1. Go to Yit Hong Pte Ltd Facebook Page and LIKE it. Click Here.
2. Find SG FOOD ON FOOT and LIKE my blog post.

Good Luck!

GIVE AWAY - LIMITED EDITION 2012 CALENDAR

I have 20 copies of the limited edition 2012 calendar to give away to my readers. The calendar features 12 innovative recipes using Yit Hong products formulated by Chef Eric. All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog with your email address. The first 5 readers will walk away with a limited edition 2012 calendar authographed by Chef Eric.