Saturday, July 3, 2021

Qi Xiang Hot Pot @ The Chevrons - Popular Chicken Pot In Kovan, Opens New Hotpot Restaurant In The West

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Qi Xiang Hot Pot at The Chevrons is proudly brought to you by the team behind Qi Xiang Chicken Pot. Known for its unique beer-infused chicken pots, the restaurant also uses traditional claypots, and what you get is one of Singapore's first-ever yuan yang claypot options. What's more, it opens till 3am daily!

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The restaurant will also be offering free-flow drinks, fruits and condiments for $5 per pax. Among the various condiments, be sure to get its in-house special chilli sauce, which is full of zing and adds a fiery kick to every bite.

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Pumpkin Soup 4.8/5

Soup bases options include its Signature Broth ($29.90 for full or half pot) which has brought them to fame, but I chose other two which complement each other - a soul comforting and nourishing Pumpkin Soup ($29.90 for full or half pot), juxtaposing a piquant and zingy Green Pepper Sauerkraut Dory Fish Pot ($37.90 for full pot, $20.80 for half pot). The Pumpkin Soup takes more than 5 hours to be ready, and supposedly rich in chicken and pork collagen. That was quite evident in the deep chicken flavour underneath the sweet pumpkin note. You can even amp up the chicken broth by pairing it with Qi Xiang Hotpot’s Famed Boiled Chicken ($9.90 for half chicken or quarter thigh meat options, $15.90 for whole chicken).

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Green Pepper Sauerkraut Dory Fish Pot 4.8/5

On the other hand, the latter was highly stimulating with a broth cooked with herbaceous peppercorns, ginger, sour mustard leaves, and laced with chilli oil. I like this version versus a full-blown mala soup. It gives that pleasant peppercorn aroma and a fiery kick without the greasiness. What's interesting is the addition of dory fish to emulate the concept of sliced fish bee hoon.

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Japanese Wagyu Beef

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Iberico pork

The menu features over 80 delectable options, including premium shabu shabu meat featuring Australian Wagyu Beef ($49.90 for full portion, $24.90 for half portion) and Japanese Wagyu Beef ($135.90 for 300g, $67.90 for 150g). Of course, there is seafood as well, such as prawns and Tioman fish slices.

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Smoke Infused Duck Breast Braised in Szechuan Sauce 4.5/5

But what jazz up this hotpot menu is its range of sides. For instance, this Smoke Infused Duck Breast Braised in Szechuan Sauce ($18.90) is a rather well-considered dish prepared through the precise cooking methods of being braised, sous-vide, then tea smoked with umami-packed house-made Szechuan sauce. I love the fats that lace around the meat, which made each slice tender and succulent.

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XO Homemade Carrot Cake 3.8/5

If you like deep-fried carrot cake, you may find this XO Homemade Carrot Cake ($10.90) sinfully good. Each chunk of carrot cake is turned into a crispy morsel tossed with crispy egg bits, beansprouts and spring onions, dressed in dollops of XO sauce.

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Prawn Pizza 4/5

Another delectable bite is this crowd-pleasing Prawn Pizza ($9.90). The filling in between the thin crisp was pretty well done, with bits of prawns to provide that bit of a bite.

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To celebrate the new opening, you can enjoy the following promotions:
- No service charge (June 2021 to August 2021)
- Free Mee Sua Dish for birthday diners

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.


Qi Xiang Hot Pot
The Chevrons
48 Boon Lay Way
#03-06
Singapore 609961
Tel: +65 88086730
Facebook
Website: Nearest MRT: Jurong East (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am – 3am

Direction:
1) Alight at Jurong East MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn left and walk to junction of Jurong Gateway Road and Boon Lay Way. At the junction. turn right and walk down Boon Lay Way. At the junction of Jurong East Street 11 and Boon Lay Way, cross the road and continue down Boon Lay Way. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Jurong East MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Jurong East Bus Interchange (Stop ID 28009). Take bus number 52 or 105. Alight 7 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

Friday, July 2, 2021

Coexist Coffee Co @ Hillview Terrace - New Hidden Cafe In The West On The Rooftop Of An Industrial Building

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Who would ever guess someone will open a cafe located on the rooftop of an industrial building in the West of Singapore? Coexist Coffee Co is located at Hillview Terrace. Take the lift to the seventh floor and take the staircase to the eighth floor to reach the cafe.

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DDeck in white and red tiles, the interior is quite bare and straightforward, giving the cafe a spacious feel. The eye-catching piece of furniture would be the suspending stone table extending out from the counter.

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White with Oat Milk

At a glance at the cups for our White With Oat Milk ($6), you may think the cafe uses plastic cups for the coffee. I don't blame you; that was my initial impression until I lift the cup to sip my coffee. Oh, it is heavy. It is not plastic but porcelain.

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Steak & Eggs 3/5

The menu at Coexist Coffee Co is quite extensive. We tried both the Steak & Eggs ($26) and Sambal Fish and Chips ($20) from the menu. Both dishes were served about half an hour apart, with many tables checking on their orders and staff going around apologising for the wait. The kitchen is slow in dishing out the food. Hopefully, they can sort out the operation as the delay is ready too long.

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Back to the food, the Steak & Eggs is quite average. While it is cooked to the correct doneness, the meat is rather tough in texture. There are no sauces, lightly seasoned to enjoy the beef's natural flavour. While we manage to finish the steak, we didn't touch the salad because the dressing is too sour and acidic.

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Sambal Fish and Chips 3.8/5

The same very sour and acidic dressing is used in the salad for the Sambal Fish and Chips ($20). The fish tasted much better than the steak. The batter is light and crispy. The fish itself is fresh, not those frozen types, complemented by the sambal, which is not spicy.

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As the cafe is only on its second day during my visit, we have to excuse the operation. I think the concept has potential, but they need time to fine-tune and smooth out their operations.


Coexist Coffee Co
Hillview Building
48 Hillview Terrace
#08-00
Singapore 669269
Nearest MRT: Bukit Batok (NS Line), Hillview (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 7pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Hillview MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to the traffic junction of Hillview Road and Upper Bukit Timah Road. Cross the road. Walk to bus stop opposite Glendale Park Condominium (Stop ID 43279).Take bus number 176, 177, 653 or 963. Alight 5 stops later. Cross the road to Hillview Terrace. Walk down Hillview Terrace. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Bukit Batok MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to Bukit Batok Bus Interchange (Stop ID 43009). Take bus number 177. Alight 3 stops later. Walk down Hillview Ave to Hillview Terrace. Turn right onto Hillview Terrace. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]