Sunday, December 2, 2018

The Carvery @ Park Hotel Alexandra - A Festive Forest Feast

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To ring in the festive season, The Carvery at Park Hotel Alexandra rolls out a series of stellar eats as part of their Festive Forest Feast themed menu where diners can partake in yuletide feasting for the entire month of December, available from 5 December 2018 to 1 January 2019.

The indulgent meat buffet offers a scrumptious spread of seasonal goodies with quality roasts flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices, including the 'diamond of the earth' itself, black truffle, as well as other earthy bites come by way of a harvest bounty of root vegetables, fresh greens and fruits.
 
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Dingley Dell Pork Rack 4.2/5

Known for its marbling and tender texture due to the special cereal-based diet feed and stress-free environment the Dingley Dell pig is reared in, the pork rack is brined with Chef's Ian secret recipe brining mix for 12 hours to tenderise the meat and enhance its flavours. It goes well with the house made pineapple sauce which provides a tangy flvour to the dish.

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Whiskey-Aged US Angus Beef Prime Ribs 4.2/5

Considered as one of the most flavoursome cuts of beef, its Whiskey-Aged US Angus Beef Prime Ribs flaunts a fine-grained texture and generous marbling. The meat is dry-aged in house for 14 days by being wrapped in a cloth soaked in bourbon, before being slow roasted to a perfect medium rare doneness, boasting tenderness and succulence in each bite.

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Spit-roasted Chicken with Truffle 4/5

Pre-soaked for up to 24 hours in a special brine full of fresh herbs and vegetables, the Spit-roasted Chicken with Truffle is further slathered with house-made truffle butter inside and out which imparts a distinct truffle aroma and retains the succulence of the meat at the same time.

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Beef Wellington 3.8/5

The Beef Wellington features a hunk of fillet steak coated with duxelles before being wrapped in a golden crusty puff pastry and baked.

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Balsamic Braised Beef Short Ribs 4/5

The hot food section features several other glorious dishes for the enjoyment of diners, which includes the Balsamic Braised Beef Short Ribs. Coated in a flavourful gravy, the beef short ribs boast a soft tender texture, which fell apart easily in the mouth.

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Yorkshire Pudding 3.8/5

To soak up all the luscious drippings and gravy, the Yorkshire Pudding is a welcoming addition on the plate.

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Raspberry & Lychee Trifle 4/5

In line with the forest feast theme, the Raspberry & Lychee Trifle features glorious layers of lychee and rose custard, vanilla sponge soaked with fruity kirsch liquer, crunchy hazelnut crumble, raspberry macaroons, berry compote and a generous toppings of fresh cream and berries.

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The Forest Feast is available from 5 December 2018 to 1 January 2019. With a slew of exquisitely crafted festive delights to look forward to this Christmas season, some of the highlights on the Festive Carving Board includes the premium meats - Roasted Pork Knuckle, Whiskey-Aged US Angus Beef Prime Ribs, Spit-roasted Chicken with Truffle and Dingley Dell Pork Rack are available for weekend dinners only.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


The Carvery
Park Hotel Alexandra
323 Alexandra Road
Level 7
Singapore 159972
Tel: +65 68288880
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Website
Nearest MRT: RedHill (EW Line), Queenstown (EW Line)

Opening Hours;
Daily: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Queenstown MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Queenstown MRT station (Stop ID 11149). Take bus number 195. Alight 2 stops later. Walk towards Ikea, At Ikea, continuing walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Redhill MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Redhill MRT station (Stop ID 10201). Take bus number 33 or 120. Alight 4 stops later. Walk towards Ikea, At Ikea, continuing walk to destination. . Journey time 10 minutes. [Map]

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Maxwell Hakka Handmade Yong Tau Foo @ Maxwell Food Centre - Go Early Before Their Chee Cheong Fun Yong Tau Foo Gets Sold Out

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Maxwell Hakka Handmade Yong Tau Foo has recently set foot at Maxwell Food Centre, specialising in Hakka style Yong Tau Foo. Ingredients are handmade, notably their special fish paste with carrot slices and the soup broth prepared with pork bones, radish, ikan bilis and soy beans.

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One look at the ingredients stuffed with their special fish paste and you will know they are indeed different from the commercial 'snowwhite' version. They are prepared fresh daily to ensure quality, mostly done by the owner, Vincent himself with a bit of help from his aunt on weekdays and co-owner Alex will be around on weekends to share the load as well. He learnt the skills from his uncle and took him about a year before coming out on this own. Although stories of giving corporate jobs and switching to hawkerpreneurship are not new these days but they are still very much inspiring to listen to, especially when it is not big and fancy about dreams and what not, but very much rooted to changing a source of livelihood, like how hawkers started off back then. I also like to see how their loved ones root for them and support them in different ways. Kindness makes the world go round.

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Back to the food. Another key aspect of Yong Tau Foo is the sauces. At Maxwell Hakka Handmade Yong Tau Foo, their chilli sauce and sweet sauce are concocted with their own recipes as well, including the sesame oil drizzled on the dry Yong Tau Foo.

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Chee Cheong Fun Yong Tau Foo 3.8/5

The most popular item here that often gets sold out is the freshly steamed Chee Cheong Fun Yong Tau Foo ($4) and I can see why is that so. The chilli and sweet sauce go naturally well with chee cheong fun and when served alongside with other ingredients. This bowl of 'chunky' ingredients of different textures and bites is quite satisfying to eat. I would imagine for somebody who often have chee cheong fun as breakfast or snack, this is a perfect combination for a brunch. And for such a hearty bowl, it is only $4.

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Dry Yong Tau Foo 3.8/5

The Dry Yong Tau Foo comes with their special sesame oil, giving a dash of flavour to the plain Bee Hoon. Hence, I do suggest having your bee hoon or noodles at the side for the extra enjoyment.

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One of Alex's own creations is the Fried Egg in which he halved the egg, laid the fish paste and fried it. The usual ones would be frying the entire egg without any stuffing, this definitely takes more effort.

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Yong Tau Foo Soup 3.8/5

The soup here is really tasty - light but has the depth and sweetness. Hence the Yong Tau Foo Soup ($3.80) is what I will go for. As for the ingredients, I enjoy both the non-fried and fried beancurd with fish paste, as well as the brinjal and bitterguord. The sliced carrots in the fish paste stood out in most of the ingredients, adding texture and sweetness to the well seasoned stuffing. Both the brinjal and bittergourd could be better if they were of thicker slices. One could appreciate the fish paste more as the ingredients tend to shrink and get abit oily when fried. The Green Chilli YTF is quite yummy too, as the sweetness of the carrot does help to ease the sharpness of the chilli.

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Growing up eating my mum's Yong Tau Foo and seeing her making each ingredient from scratch, like any hawker dish, dishing out a bowl of a decent Yong Tau Foo is not easy. They have done a pretty good job, with quality ingredients and conviction to get it right. Maxwell Hakka Handmade Yong Tau Foo is quite secluded at the last row near to the construction side hence do keep a look out for it if you often get your lunch from Maxwell Food Centre. They are open on weekends too.

Photos and words 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. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Maxwell Hakka Handmade Yong Tau Foo
Maxwell Food Centre
Stall 3
1 Kadayanallur Street
Singapore 069184
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pager (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1030am - 4pm

Direction:
1) Alighat at Tanjong Pager MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn left onto Maxwell Road. Walk down Maxwell Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]