Tai Lok Claypot Chicken Rice @ Alexandra Food Village - Formerly From Margaret Drive Food Centre

Tai Lok Claypot Chicken Rice may sounds familiar to some. The stall used to be at Margaret Drive Food Centre and moved to Alexandra Food Village when the building was demolished. I remembered I reviewed the stall back in 2010 when I started blogging. It is almost a decade, and I am glad that they are still around.

The pricing of the claypot rice is based on the servicing portion. I had the claypot rice for 2 pax which costs me $12. The other pricing is $18, $23 and $28 respectively for 3, 4 to 5 pax. I usually add extra chicken for my claypot rice, and that cost me an additional $5.

If you did not pre-order, be prepared to wait for around 30 to 45 minutes. As you can see from the photo, for $17 ($12 plus $5 for extra chicken),  I get a pot of claypot rice brimming with ingredients. It comes with chunky pieces of tender chicken, Chinese sausage, liver sausage and vegetables.

Give the fragrant rice a good toss in the dark soy sauce for the sweet, savoury finishing. I would recommend drizzle a bit of oil into the claypot rice, for that lift in the aroma as well as giving the rice a smooth texture. Not to forget their chilli sauce. It is really power and shiok.

Besides the claypot chicken rice, the stall also sells several soup dishes to go along with the rice. I had the Peanut and Chicken Feet Soup ($3.50) which is really flavourful, packed with the essence of the ingredients, boiled for hours. The other soups available on the menu are Watercress with Pork Rib Soup, Old Cucumber with Pork Rib Soup, Preserved Vegetable with Duck Meat Soup, Herbal Black Chicken Soup and Pig Stomach with Pork Rib Soup.


Tai Lok Claypot Chicken Rice
Alexandra Food Village
120 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Singapore 150120
Tel: +65 64740439
Nearest MRT: Queenstown (EW Line), Redhill (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Wed-Sun: 5pm - 10pm
(Closed on Mon-Tue)

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 3 stops later. 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 5 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time 10 minutes. [Map]

Kushikatsu Tanaka Singapore @ Clarke Quay - Japan's Number 1 Kushikatsu Chain Fires Up New Grand Menu

I first visit Kushikatsu Tanaka at Clarke Quay when it opened its door in January 2018. Back then, the menu is focused on its signature kushikatsu, the Osaka-style fried cutlet skewers. Recently it has expanded its menu, rolling out a fresh new line-up of authentic Japanese izakaya items as well as yakiniku.

Great for sharing over a couple of drinks is the izakaya dishes such as the Salmon Sashimi ($10), Pork Kakuni ($10), Chicken Skin & Aspara Amakara Itame ($10), Ika Butter Yaki ($8) and Tako Butsu ($10). My favourite is the stir-fried chicken skin and asparagus in a mildly spicy soy-based sauce, followed by the sliced salmon sashimi in yuzu mustard sauce. The other items are as good too. The pricing is also very attractive, ranging from eight to ten dollars.

Cheese Imo Mochi 3.5/5

Cheesy Fried Potato 3.5/5

The new menu has a Cheese Special section. If you love something more cheesy, you can have the Cheese Imo Mochi ($6) and Cheesy Fried Potato ($6). The potato mochi is pan-fried and then topped with sweet teriyaki sauce. As for the cheesy fried potato, it is drizzled with nacho cheese sauce.

Okonomi Yaki 3/5

Salmon Belly Teriyaki 3.5/5

It's not just about small plates at Kushikatsu Tanaka. Some items are more substantial and filling such as the Okonomi Yaki ($8) and Salmon Belly Teriyaki ($12). Besides vegetables, there is also pork in the okonomiyaki. Initially, I thought the salmon belly teriyaki looks like unagi, this is because it is drenched in a sweet teriyaki sauce. This literally melted in the mouth due to the use of the fatty cut.

Yakiniku 4/5

The highlight of the new menu has to be the Yakiniku. It comes in 3 different offerings. The Yakiniku Rib Eye ($17), Yakiniku Age Beef Tongue ($22) and Yakiniku Mori ($26). If you want variety, I would recommend the yakiniku mori which comes in a mix platter of rib eye and aged beef tongue.

Kushikatsu 4/5

A must-have here is definitely the Kushikatsu which has been deep-fried to golden brown that ranges from $1.20 to $2.80 per skewer. Some of the new golden skewers are Unagi Cheese ($2.80), Shitake Niku Tsume ($2.80) and Tomato Bacon ($1.80). Besides the new items, I also had some of the classic golden skewers such as the shrimp, bacon cheese and asparagus. It even has dessert skewer such as Cookie & Cream and Banana.

The revamped and expanded menu at Kushikatsu Tanaka means there is something for everyone. Besides its golden fried skewers, the menu also includes yakiniku and an array of Osaka-style street foods and sharing items.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Kushikatsu Tanaka
Merchants' Court Clarke Quay
Block A #01-01B
3A River Valley Road
Singapore 179020
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay (NE Line), Fort Canning (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 12pm - 230pm, 5pm - 12midnight
Fri & Eve of PH: 12pm - 230pm, 5pm - 2am
Sat: 11am - 2am
Sun & PH: 11am - 12midnight

Direction: 
1) Alight at Fort Canning MRT Station. Take Exit A. Turn right and down River Valley Road. Turn right onto Tan Tye Place. Walk to the end of the road. Turn left onto Clark Quay. Walk to destination. Journey time bout 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Clarke Quay MRT station. Take Exit C or G. Walk to the river front. Turn left and walk down the river. Cross the bridge. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes.  [Map]