Anchor Celebrates Heartland Food Campaign - Anchor's 美食大选

I was very privileged to be the only blogger to be invited by the kind folks at Anchor Beer to join them in the celebration of Anchor Celebrates Heartland Food Campaign - Anchor's 美食大选 as the campaign drawn to a conclusion with a mini food adventure. Together with 15 lucky readers and consumers with a friend of theirs, we visited the winning stall of the last 2 featured dishes - Braised Duck and Oyster Egg.

The whole event was hosted by Liu Ling Ling, the famous and popular Getai Queen. She is so friendly and humorous, keeping us entertained the whole night. We also have Mr Schubert Neo, Senior Marketing Manager of APB to give out the award to the wining stall.

The winning stall for best Braised Duck is Seng Kee Roasted Meat Duck Rice at Blk 7 Eunos Cresent. I am happy and proud that I have reviewed the stall and it won!

And of course we drink Anchor Beer as we indulged in the food from the winning stall.

Braised Duck

Braised Pork and Egg

Tau Kwa and Tau Pok

I will not review the stall again. You can read it in my previous post here.

After Eunos, we made our way to SWEE Fried Oyster the winner for best Oyster Egg at Blk 644 Hougang Ave 8. Actually the stall has been around for almost 22 years but they were more popular for their satay.

Fried Oyster

One distinct different I noticed is their chilli sauce which surprisingly pairs very well with the fried oysters. The plate of fried oyster also came with fresh, fat and juicy oysters.

Group photo

Lastly a group photo for memory. Once again thank you Anchor Beer for the invitation.

Hard Rock Cafe @ Cuscaden Road

In my previous post on Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa, I mentioned that there are 3 Hard Rock Cafe restaurants in Singapore at Resort World Sentosa, Cuscaden Road and Changi Airport Terminal 3 Departure Transit Lounge. Together with Andy, ShiTing, Celes and HongPeng, we were down at Hard Rock Cafe Cuscaden Road to check out their new seafood menu.

Seafood Platter 4/5

We started off with the Seafood Platter ($28++). It came with an assortment of grilled prawns, calamari rings, battered sea bass fillet, soft shell crab served on a bed of french fries with tartar sauce. Fresh fried seafood with tartar sauce would never go wrong. Unfortunately, the grilled prawns will a little under cooked.

Crispy Sea Bass 4/5

The Crispy Sea Bass ($26++) was served with pesto sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables. The pan fried sea bass was beautifully executed with a nice crisp on the skin and moist inside. However, I did not enjoy the pesto sauce pairing. I would prefer the sauce to be more zesty though.

Chilli Crab Spaghetti 4/5

I was actually looking forward to the Chilli Crab Spaghetti ($26++). Having tried the Chilli Crab sauce at Hard Rock Cafe, I knew it was good. The sweetness of the fresh crab meats and the spicy sauce coating the spaghetti was an enjoyment. If I could substitute the 2 pieces of toasted bread for a crab claw or maybe some fried soft shell crabs, visually it will look more value for money.

Crab Fried Rice 4.2/5

Last but not least, we tried the Crab Fried Rice ($20++). It was wok fried with succulent crab meat, prawns and diced portobello mushroom, wrapped in an egg omelette. It was very tasty and fragrant. Probably my favourite out of the 4 new seafood dishes in terms of taste but not the price.

Overall the new seafood menu at Hard Rock Cafe definitely passed the mark but the pricing maybe a bit challenging.

A great thanks to Natalie for having us and Andy for coordinating the tasting session.


Hard Rock Cafe Singapore
HPL House
50 Cuscaden Road
#05-01
Singapore 249724
Tel: +65 62355232
Website: http://www.hardrockcafe.com
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu & Sun: 11am - 1am
Fri-Sat & Mon: 11am - 3am
(*1st Sunday of the month: 11am - 3am)

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk towards Wheellock Place via ION. Exit Wheellock Place and turn left towards Liat Tower. Continue to walk towards Orchard Parade Hotel. Turn left onto Cuscaden Road. Journey time about 12 minutes.

Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre Hawker Trail

The last Hawker Food Trail was back in October 2011 at Ghim Moh Food Centre. Together with the help from Maureen, we organised another Hawker Food Trail this time at Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre. A total of 18 pax, 11 stalls and just $9 per person.

Lor Mee 3.8/5

Lor Mee 178, Stall #02-58

Lor Mee 4.2/5

Tiong Bahru Lor Mee, Stall #02-80

We have a Lor Mee fight off between Lor Mee 178 ($3) and Tiong Bahru Lor Mee ($3). The clear winner among the foodies was Tiong Bahru Lor Mee. The traditional lor mee's gravy was more robust and had more ingredients. However, Lor Mee 178's deep fried shark meat is not to be missed.

Chwee Kueh 4/5

Jian Bo Shui Kueh, Stall #02-05

A must try at Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre is the Jian Bo Shui Kueh (8 piece for $2.40). The freshly made chwee kueh was moist and firm. The chye poh was fragrant and tasty which paired very well with the chwee kueh.

Prawn Noodles Soup 3/5

Min Nan Prawn Noodles, Stall #02-31

The exquisite Prawn Noodles Soup ($4) came with a generous serving of prawns, fishcakes and meatballs. Yes meatballs, quite interesting that the stall served meatballs in their prawn noodles. Unfortunately the meatballs lacked flavours and textures. The soup also missed out on the prawny robustness.

Glutinous Rice 3/5

HarriAnn's Delight, Stall #02-25

I didn't know the Vegetarian stall sells Glutinous Rice ($2). The glutinous rice was recommeneded by Yan Cai. It was rather fragrant but I still think it lacked the aroma from the dried shrimps.

Pau & Siew Mai 4/5

Tiong Bahru Pau, Stall #02-18/19

The Paus was light and fluffy with delightful fillings. The Siew Mai was huge and meaty. The Paus and Siew Mai ($7.60) definitely a hearty breakfast or tea time snack.

Char Kway Teow 3/5

Tiong Bahru Char Kway Teow, Stall #02-11

The plate of Char Kway Teow ($4) probably not the best I have tried. Although it came with abundance of ingredients, I am not a fan for the dry version.

Fishballs & Fishcakes 4/5

Tiong Bahru Fishballs, Stall #02-20

Hardly do we find this type of stall selling only fishballs and fishcakes in hawker centre. The stall sells a huge varities of fishballs and fishcakes in varies shapes and sizes. The fishballs and fishcakes ($5.60) were fresh and springy.

Roast Meat Platter 4/5

Lee Hong Kee Roast Meat, Stall #02-60

The succulent Cantonese style Roast Meat Platter ($10) was really commendable.  My favourite was their roast pork. With crackling crisp skin and juicy tender meat.

Wanton Noodles 4.5/5

Zhong Yu Yuan Wei Wanton Noodles, Stall #02-30

The Wanton Noodles ($5) was the favourite with all the foodies among all the dishes we had. The stall uses the armpit char siew which has a beautiful layer of fats which was extremely tender. The noodles were excellent too, getting praises from the foodies.

Milo Dinosaur Ice Kachang 4/5

Liang Liang Garden, Stall #02-75

The desserts from Liang Liang Garden were the perfect thirst quenching for the hot weather. The Milo Dinosaur Ice Kachang ($3) was topped with condensed milk, Hershey chocolate and Milo powder.

Shark Fin Cheng Tng 4/5

Liang Liang Garden, Stall #02-75

Another interesting dessert was the Shark Fin Cheng Tng ($3). I was very curious to find whenever real shark fin was used. As you can see from the picture, it was not the real stuff. The so called shark fins were actually made from jelly strips.

It was another fun and successful hawker trail. Many thanks to the foodies who came early to help out and queued for the food. If not for them, it would not be possible. We are also glad to know new friends and have Ann, Tony and Alexis joining us for the first time.