Diamond Kitchen (钻石小厨) @ Science Park I - Exclusive Dishes To Celebrate Both Mother's Day And Father's Day

For this coming Mother's Day and Father's Day, a table of home-style dishes that are rich with comforting Malaysian-Chinese flavours may be just what we are seeking for. Diamond Kitchen at both Marine Parade and their Science Park outlets have specially crafted five new menus and four exclusive dishes for these two occasions.

Crispy Fried Potato Slices with Salted Egg Yolk 4.2/5

Riding on the salted egg yolk trend is the Crispy Fried Potato Slices with Salted Egg Yolk ($12). Tossed in the restaurant's signature homemade salted egg sauce, each deep-fried potato slice was evenly coated with flavours that set your tongue tingling. A dish for both young and the old, this will definitely whet your appetite for what's about to come.

Homemade Yam Balls with Otah 3.8/5

These Homemade Yam Balls with Otah ($16) is an interesting take on familiar flavours. It's like your traditional yam ring but broken up and fried in individual portion and at the core of each yam ball is a slab of house-made otah, made with a combination of mackerel, spice blend and the restaurant's proprietary 'Gan Xiang' blend. If you are a fan of yam ring, this is even more moreish with all sides crisp golden brown. I would have liked it, even more, should the otah be less mellow, as the heat from the spices tends to overwhelm the delicate yam flavour.

5-Step Diamond Kitchen 'Duck Rice' 4.2/5

A must-order is definitely the 5-Step Diamond Kitchen 'Duck Rice' ($24/$48). What's on your plate is a result of a 3-day preparation work which involves roasting, air-drying, steaming, deep frying and then pan-frying. What you get eventually is slices of 'pancake' - a crisp layer of glutinous rice base topped with a layer of juicy roast duck shreds. What's brilliant I thought it is the addition of the sweet chilli sauce underneath that softens the crisp glutinous rice. Hence, when you bite into it, the crunchy rice pancake is actually slightly chewy with crisp edges, and the tenderness of the duck meat stands out even more.

Sauna Prawn 4.5/5

Aside from the exclusive dishes above, you may not want to miss some of the restaurant's signatures, such as the Sauna Prawn ($24/$36/$48). Live tiger prawns are laid on hot stones in a bamboo basket before a herbal stock is poured over the prawn and steam for several minutes with the lid closed. It was really fragrant the moment the dish was served to our table, and each prawn not only had that subtle herbal taste, but it also carried a hint of smokiness which further elevated its flavours.

Diamond Gan Xiang Crab 4.5/5

You might have heard of their legendary Gan Xiang sauce, in which you can experience it in various forms such as fried rice or bee hoon, but to fully appreciate it, perhaps it would be the Diamond Gan Xiang Crab (market price). A concoction of hae bee hiam, curry powder, lemongrass, dried chilli, taucheo along with a few other ingredients, it sounded assertive, akin to what a black pepper sauce would do to my taste buds. But surprisingly, it was a lot more well rounded than I imagined, so much so that I could polish the sauce off the crab claw before diving into it. Usually, I simply would just scrap the sauce off the flesh.

Superior Stock Clam Bee Hoon 3/5

We had their Superior Stock Clam Bee Hoon ($12/$18/$24) as well. I would prefer a stock that is more sweet-savoury, with a lighter consistency to highlight the flavours of the clams.

Rounding up of evening is a Mother's Day dessert, Heart of Gold Warm Pumpkin Dessert. I love how warm and comforting it smells, with the coconut cream laced on top of the pureed pumpkin. Each bite is satiated with yam bits, sweet corn and sago. It was so yummy!

Heart of Gold Warm Pumpkin Dessert 4.5/5

The special early bird discount of 30% for the Mother's Dat set menus are over, but you could still enjoy the promotion if you pre-order the Father's Day set from 8 to 31 May 2019 via Diamond Kitchen's website.

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.


Diamond Kitchen (钻石小厨)
Science Park 1
Oasis
87 Science Park Drive
#01-01
Singapore 118260
Tel: +65  64640410
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Kent Ridge (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 230pm, 530pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Kent Ridge MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop opposite Kent Ridge MRT station (Stop ID 15139). Take bus number 92. Alight 5 stops later. Walk towards Technology Crescent. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Rasa Hakka Restaurant @ Taman Sri Tebrau [Johor Bahru, Malaysia] - My Go To Place For Thunder Tea

A decade ago, I chanced upon Rasa Hakka Restaurant when visiting our neighbour across the causeway, and since then, whenever possible it will be one of the pit stops for my meals. Years back, when someone asked what would be my last meal on earth, I was never certain. As I age and settle into myself, the answer found its way to me. It would be Ham Cha. Most of you probably know it as Lei Cha aka Thunder Rice Tea, terms that I got acquainted with much later in life. It's a dish filled with memories of me helping my mum with the pounding and grinding of the tea leaves, peanuts, in a round wooden vessel with a wooden pestle before we proceeded to a more conventional stone bowl and grinder, then to the current blender. Trust me, the taste is not the same. Anyway, I don't remember a moment that I have never like it, even as a kid and it just satisfies me so much to have a real good one.

Rice Wine Chicken 3.5/5

I brought my parents there this time round to have a taste of their other dishes. My dad chose the Rice Wine Chicken (RM$18 small) straight away. The soul lies with the rice wine of course, and for those who have not ever tasted homemade rice wine before, I must say you are truly lucky. It is a lost trade, at least, till I learn it from my mum. Soon I hope. My dad's instant response towards this dish was "your grandma's one is more fragrant". It was decent enough to satisfy our cravings but the flaw I guess comes from the fact that the dish was not prepared a la minute, and so the flavours of the chicken and the wine didn't fully bind together.

Yong Tau Foo 3/5

I grew up in a family where Yong Tau Foo is made from scratch. Mum will painstakingly scrap the fish meat off from the skin and bones and fill in the ingredients one by one. Those ready-made with white fish paste that shriveled under heat, my mum basically scorns them. At Rasa Hakka, you can pick and choose the Yong Tau Foo at RM$1.80 per piece , coupled with rice or noodles. I would suggest choosing noodles over rice when having Yong Tau Foo in Malaysia for a change. The handmade noodles with the minced meat is really quite delicious. I find the soup here one of the better ones. For the past few times I came, it was consistently sweet with a depth of savouriness. I thought it was even tastier this time round but the Yong Tau Foo itself sadly was less enjoyable. Although they were made of real meat, the meat was too compact and lacked juiciness from elements like water chestnut bits. The saving grace was the add-on noodles.

Thunder Rice Tea 4/5

And of course, my favourite Lei Cha. There are 3 options - White Rice, Brown Rice and Full Vegetables, small or large. I always go for the Full vegetables (RM$12 large) which comes with a bigger bowl of tea too. I don't think the taste of it has changed much over the 10 years, just that they no longer served black-eye peas. Perhaps you could share with me which stalls still serve that. The vegetables here are neither too salty or bland, nor oily. The cai pok has a balanced of sweet and saltiness, hence even though it may seem quite a big scoop, it flavours the entire bowl just right. My favourite part is the generous portion of mani cai, which to me is one of the leading characters to an authentic bowl of Lei Cha, next to peanuts and cai pok. Because it is such a laborious task to prep this vegetables, you will only see this mani cai in independent food stalls in Singapore. I love their tea too, nicely seasoned and rich enough with tea leaves and herbs.

Other everyday Hakka dishes include Deep Fried Pork Belly, Steamed Pork with Preserved Mustard. Within walking distance from KSL shopping mall, Rasa Hakka Restaurant serves well as a fuss-free dining option and a good alternative if you want to take a break from your usual pit stops.

Words and photos 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.


Rasa Hakka Restaurant
No 93, Jalan Keris 1
Taman Sri Tebrau
80050 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Tel: +60 127071449
[Map]