Tuesday, November 18, 2014

King's Roasts @ Balestier Food Centre

IMG_5945ed

Using modern technique to roast his pork belly or also known to my local as sio bak. Chef Kingsley Tan uses the combi oven which is commonly used in hotels but not in hawker. He started King's Roast selling is combi oven roasted meat at newton circle food centre before relocating to his current premises at Balestier Food Centre.

IMG_5954ed
Sio Bak 4/5

After moving to Balestier Food Centre, he changed his menu to offer more western cuisines but the roasted Sio Bak is one pride that he kept it on the menu. Using combi oven to roast his pork belly, he ensures the consistency in every roast as the temperature, timing etc can be pre-programmed. The crispy and crackling skin, the moist and juicy meat all is roasted to his preference.

IMG_5948ed
Char Grilled Chicken Chop 3.5/5

IMG_5949ed
Fish and Chips 3/5

IMG_5952ed
Char Grilled Pork Chop 4.2/5

During my visit, I also managed to try the Char Grilled Chicken Chop ($6.50), Char Grilled Pork Chop ($6.50) and Fish & Chips. Among the three I tried, my favourite was the Char Grilled Pork Chop. The pork chop was beautiful marinated and tender. However the star has to be the sauce that complemented the pork chop. Each set also comes with a coleslaw and a choice of fries or garlic butter rice.

King Roast
photo credit: misstamchiak.com

King's Roasts will be taking parting in this year Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 doing their signature Roasted Pork Belly. However for the fund raising event, the will be using the premium Kurobuta Pork for their sio bak. The sound of it already makes my saliva drips. So drop by King's Roasts stall at the event to bite into the crackling Kurobuta Sio Bak.

bannerhome

The Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Hall 401 & 402 on 22 November 2014, 11am to 5pm is a fund raising event for the beneficiaries under the care of Touch Community Services regardless of race and religions. Coupons is required to purchase the food from the various hawkers and can be purchased at https://www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg/. While the hawkers sacrifice their time and some even a day's income to do a part for the needy and disadvantaged, I hope you can support them and do a part for charity too. See you at the Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014.


[CLOSED]
King's Roasts
Balestier Food Centre
Stall 8
411 Balestier Road
Singaopore 329930
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kingsroasts
Nearest MRT: Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 145. Alight 4 stops later. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

Monday, November 17, 2014

Restaurant HOME (家) @ The Rail Mall

IMG_6395ed

Celebrity Chef Tan Yong Hua is no stranger to the culinary scene having appeared in many TV programmes. He is also known to be the first Singaporean to trump the Iron Chef Thailand. Having helmed the kitchen at Peach Blossom, Sze Chuan Court, Pearl River Palace and Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant, Chef Tan has decided to venture on his own and opened Restaurant HOME (家) at the rail mall.

IMG_6391ed
Barbecued Peking Duck Skin 4/5

Restaurant HOME (家) is popular for its Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood ($68 whole duck). There is three ways to enjoy this delicacy. We started with the roasted skin that is extremely crisp with a slight hint of the lychee wood aroma. Dip it into the specially prepared sugar dip for a different but much welcome appreciated of the delightful crispiness.

IMG_6394ed

IMG_6396ed
Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood in Wrap 4.2/5

The second way to enjoy the Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood is in a wrap. The sliced duck meat still with the thin layer of skin intact wrapped together with cucumber, spring onion and a sweet plum/hoison sauce in a thin crepe. This is probably my favourite way of appreciating the beautiful poultry with the succulent meat and the different layer of textures.

IMG_6412ed
Deep Fried Peking Duck 3.5/5

Lastly the remaining of the Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood is chopped up and deep fried with dried chilli, roasted minced garlic and capsicum pepper fine salt. An extra $10 for this servicing. Due to the deep frying, the meat was dryer and tougher but the aroma of the dried chilli, roasted minced garlic and capsicm pepper fine salt made it very tasty. A perfect dish to go with a bottle of beer.

IMG_6399ed
Baked Marble Goby in Claypot 4.2/5

Besides the signature Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood, Restaurant HOME (家) offers a good selection of cooked food on the menu too. A worthy dish to try is the Baked Marble Goby in Claypot ($9/100gram) with Chef Tan's in house recipe. The fish was cooked to perfection with lemon grass, galangal, spring onions and Chinese shaoxin wine. The flavours did not overpowered the taste but instead complemented the natural sweetness of the tender and moist fish.

IMG_6406ed
Homemade Egg Beancurd in Pi Pa Style 4/5

The Homemade Egg Beancurd in Pi Pa Style ($36) is another delectable offering on the menu. The homemade egg beancurd with shrimp paste, crab meat and roe is a bit grainy but I actually enjoyed the roughness in texture. I am not complaining as it is not common to get freshly made beancurd from scratch nowadays with many restaurants resorting to getting it from factory made ones.

IMG_6415ed

IMG_6416ed

IMG_6421ed

Another dish on the menu that caught my attention is the Stewed Golden Noodles with Lobster and Spring Onions wrapped in O Ba Leave ($12.50/100gram). The noodles and the lobster are served separately. The egg noodle is specially made to Chef's specifications which has a nice springy texture sort of like those you get from wanton mee stall.

IMG_6419ed
Old Cucumber Soup 4.5/5

Restaurant HOME (家) is currently having a lunch promotion with a 3 course meal ranging from $20 to $26 per person). It comes with a Soup of the Day, a Noodle Dish and a Dessert. For our soup of the day, we tried the Old Cucumber Soup which was comforting and nutritious.

IMG_6423ed
Homemade Ramen with 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone 4.2/5

For the noodle main of the 3 course set meal, there is a variety of selections. We tried the Homemade Ramen with 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone ($26), Crispy Roast Pork with Homemade Yellow Noodle ($24) and Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood served with Homemade Yellow Noodle ($24).

The ramen noodle for the Homemade Ramen with 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone has a softer texture compared to the yellow noodle but the sauce made the whole dish slurping good.

IMG_6425ed
Crispy Roast Pork with Homemade Yellow Noodle 4/5

IMG_6427ed
Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood served with Homemade Yellow Noodle 4.2/5

Both the Crispy Roast Pork and Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood used the same noodle served for the Lobster Noodle dish. The roasted pork belly may look kind of pale in colour but we were quite surprised by the crispy skin. It may not have that charred and smokiness but overall still a decent main.

IMG_6431ed
Chilled Rosella Flower Jelly with Diced Mango 4/5

Finished the 3 course lunch set with the Chilled Rosella Flower Jelly with Diced Mango. The dessert comes with a bit of sourish sweetness which is really refreshing.

IMG_6428ed
Chilled Japanese Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice

Chef Tan also treated us to an addition dessert in the Chilled Japanese Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice. The subtle sweetness of the pumpkin puree and the black glutinous rice worked for me. I will gladly order this dessert in my next visit.


IMG_6408ed

Chef Tan Yong Hua will be taking part in this year Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014. He will be preparing the Barbecued Peking Duck Rice with Lychee Wood to delight your palate. Do drop by his stallto try the delicious barbecued peking duck.

bannerhome

The Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Hall 401 & 402 on 22 November 2014, 11am to 5pm is a fund raising event for the beneficiaries under the care of Touch Community Services regardless of race and religions. Coupons is required to purchase the food from the various hawkers and can be purchased at https://www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg/. While the hawkers sacrifice their time and some even a day's income to do a part for the needy and disadvantaged, I hope you can support them and do a part for charity too. See you at the Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014.


Restaurant HOME (家)
The Rail Mall
392 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 678046
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restauranthomeatrailmall
Website: http://www.restauranthome.com.sg/
Nearest MRT: Hillview (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Hillview MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left onto Upper Bukit Timah Road. Walk down Upper Bukit Timah Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes.[Map]