Cheng’s at No. 27 - Hainanese comfort food

Found this place from the monthly magazine that the RC send out. I always read their food recommendations. Yes, I am auntie like that.

Cheng’s is a family owned restaurant specializing in Hainanese food. I follow up the magazine review from Cheng’s with ieatishootipost blog post on the restaurant. The food review seems promising!

The menu is simple and straight forward. The post on ieatishootipost covers like majority of food on the menu.

On this visit, we ordered the salted green mustard duck soup, crispy chicken with ginger and sambal French beans.

The salted green mustard duck soup is delicious but a tad too salty. After the meal, I had to keep drinking plenty of water but yet still feel quite thirsty. I am amazed that the duck meat in the soup is super tender and still juicy to eat after being boiled in the soup.

The crispy chicken with ginger is really good. I like the thin ginger slices and the chicken breast that actually tasted like pork. A quick blanch of oil with the slightly sour sauce made this an outstanding dish that goes well with rice.

The sambal French beans is light in its flavor with being overly spicy. The vegetables are very fresh and crunchy.

This is also a place I will recommend for simple Chinese lunch and/or dinner.

Food tasted 9 Sept 2017

Cheng's at No. 27

27 Yong Siak Street 

Singapore 168654
Tel: 6223 7883

Wed - Mon: 10 am - 3 pm, 5.30 pm - 10 pm 

Closed on Tuedays

Summerlong @ The Quayside, a good place to wind down

Gone were the days that we don’t read food reviews before patronizing a restaurant. So today, we stray from our usual habit and we simply walk in a restaurant that attracted us most.

And that is Summerlong – a Mediterranean cuisine.

I was attracted by the ambience of soft lights and soul music. The dining is alfresco with candles placed on every table. Colour is light pastels with wood furnishings and decorations. A very cosy and welcoming set up.

As we have not made a reservation (obviously), we got a bar table. But the seats are still comfortable enough. The lady that attended to us spoke to us in an ang mo accent and provided us some recommendations on food.

No complimentary water is served so we have to order water still or sparkling. We ordered Pinot gris and beer to go along with food.  

Starter is roasted sweet potato and chilli hummus. I was worried that it will be too spicy but was assured that this is more sweet then hot. In case you wondering like me what is hummus, its actually sweet potato mashed. This is served with 4 slices of bread that almost like a naan. This serving of bread is a little small and we have plenty of hummus left over so we topped up for another bowl of bread.

We also shared a sweet corn and goat cheese fritters with cardamom yoghurt. The fitter is well fried but what impressed me most is the yoghurt mixed with mint that enhances the flavor of the dip.

Final dish for the night is the Mediterranean pork ribs, pomegranate glaze with dukkah crust. The pork ribs are well cooked to a smoky flavor. I thought the dukkah crust is interesting as compared to the usual bbq pork ribs. Servings also a little small but good for us who are trying to lose a few kilos.

Strong recommendation and definitely the star restaurant for me for the month of September. 

Food tasted 30 Sept 2017

Summerlong @ The Quayside

60 Robertson Quay
#01-04
Singapore 238252
Tel: 6235 1225

Tues - Fri: 5 pm till midnight
Sat - Sun: 11.30 am - 3 pm, 6 pm till midnight

Closed on Mondays

To gather Cafe (the more we get together the merrier we'll be!)

Place is not near any MRT but it is quite near the ever popular Bedok North Blk 85 Food Centre.

I was pretty surprised that there is such a cafe in such a obscure place. Upon reaching, the decoration is modern and clean.

Originally expected the sitting space may be pretty tight but i was pleasantly surprised that this place is made up of 2 shopfront. Its pretty comfortable to move around and we have lots of seats to pick.


Best: most food is under S$12  so it is very very affordable. Total damage after meal is S$25.70. 

We started off with Soup of the day ($3.90). Today's soup of the day is tomato soup. I loved it to bits. I wish i could have the entire bowl of it to myself instead of sharing it with hubby. I don't usually have tomato soup but this is just the right amount of tanginess. Heavenly. 

Grilled pandan chicken ($9.90) is served with fries and salad. The main show stopper is the chicken. It is grilled to perfection. Skin is crisp and meat is juicy and tender. The sauce that is drizzled on the chicken is a little harder to contend with. Its a mix of coconut and cream. But i love the pineapple salsa. It takes the entire dish to a different level.

Pork Cordon Bleu ($11.90) is a little complicated (quoting hubby word for word) and i tend to agree. It has too much going on for it. Cheese, pork and ham. Too much flavour but lacks punch. 

Overall, i like the pricing of the food and the food i had today is above average so i will be so keen to try again without blowing a hole to my pocket. 

Food tasted 19 July 2017

ToGather Cafe

84 Bedok North Street 4
#01-25/27
Singapore 460084
Tel: 6445 1011

Pansasonic SD-P104 Breadmaker

Blame it on the free Panasonic workshop, i attended to find out more functions on the cutie oven, end up getting super impressed with the Panasonic breadmaker. After mulling over it for 2 weeks, i decided to grab that from Harvey Norman promotion at S$265.

Its the best price i can find now retailing at S$265 or get it online at S$270 and get whatever existing vouchers applicable online.

Anyway i got my breadmaker yesterday night and made my very first bread. Super kan chiong! ha ha!

This will be a compliation of some bread recipes that i am keen to try. Let's hope my love for baking will continue with this little investment. 

Buttery broiche bread
Chocolate banana bread
Chocolate walnut bread
Lemon cranberry bread
Laksa bread cups

Nasi Lemak Sandwich

Otah bread
Oat bread
Sweet Potato bread
Teh Tarik French Toast
Walnut and apricot bread

Jams
Strawberry Jam
Kaya


Others
Muah Chee

Xiao Ya Tou - Little Badass Girl

This is a fusion restaurant mixing chinese, japanese and western food together.  The interior decoration is distinctively rustic going back to maybe the 1980s?  with the smoking chinese wannabe badass girl as its logo. Not sure who its trying to appeal but i really like the giant neon lights of the badass girl form displayed at the back. 

Food served can be categorised brunch, lunch and dinner. We didn't make a booking since its a public holiday and we wanted to take things easy. 

We are the very first customers so we had the entire place to ourselves for a good 30 -45 mins till all those who reserved arrived.  Plenty of time for some self-indulgent photoshoot. 

We ordered Unagi Benedict(S$16) and  XYT Lu Rou Fan (S$13, kinda of heavy for brunch but whatever).

Food plating is very westernised and modern. Giving out all the right vibes, yea? 

Hubby is perfectly happy with his Unagi egg benedict. The egg benedict is made up of low temp egg, mushroom duxelles, hollandaise and prawnand potato kewpie mayo salad. He says that it is a superb and perfect marraige of japanese and western cuisine. I guess it really depends on whether you like unagi. I personally don't like unagi so this combination does not appeal. I tasted a mouthful and though its quite nice but not a great as what hubby described. 

I had the Lu Rou Fan which is braised wagyu beef on rice with low temp egg, pickles, shredded seaweed and scallions. Its is definitely yummy and oh yes wagyu beef but i will prefer a real pork lu rou fan at half the price. This dish just didn't blow me away.  

I had such high expectations because the people behind this restaurant are the folks behind symmetry. I will go back to symmetry but not this place because while the food is nice there are so many other places to try and at better price point. 

Food tasted 26 June 2017

Xia Ya Tou

6 Duxton Hill 
Singapore 089592
Tel: 6226 1965

Sumo Big Prawn - nice but could be better

I’ve been wanting to try this prawn stall for the longest time but couldn’t because of the extremely long queues or the prawn noodle is sold out. Hubs gives it a thumbs up, so must try since i am usually the person who likes the soupy food. 

Today is my chance to try it. The cheapest option of $5 is not available so I decided to try the $8 prawn mee hoon. 

The serving of lalas and 3 big size prawns is pretty impressive. However, you need to get your hands dirty to eat the prawns. 

The prawns are very fresh and succulent. The shell easily peels off the skin. 

The broth is flavourful but lacks a little punch. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but It lacks the taste of prawn base soup. 

Overall a very enjoyable dish, but its has to be given its $8 price tag.

Food tasted 4 Feb 2017

Sumo Big Prawn

628 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4
#01-72
Singapore 560628
Tel: 9299 2621

Magic Kitchen - not your usual cafe

Been patronizing this store for a long long time. Its one of the hidden finds in Ang Mo Kio and only those staying around the area might be aware of this rare gem.

I love their home style soups and will have them on weekends. But they have long cease serving these nourishing soups on weekends.

Menu wise is wide ranging with a mix chinese cum western style breakfast. Meaning you can choose from bread toasts to curry chicken and desserts.

This is not your usual fancy pants cafe. But it does serve great food at fabulous price. The chairs and tables are the portable type that my mum will use. (sorry mum).

I love their zhu chang fen which is soft and tender and the brown gravy is just absolutely delicious. 

Today, I feel like having the peanut butter with chocolate thick toast (guaranteed better than the local branch of dazzling café) and Hubs is having their kueh, yam cake and soon kueh.

The toast is toast to perfection and a good pairing with their local kopi (coffee). If you want to try something more fanciful, you can have a hazelnut coffee that doesn't break a bank.

The yam cake is also above average, soft tender and totally delicious.

Food tasted 4 Feb 2017

Magic Kitchen

529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10
#01-2335
Singapore 562529
Closed on Tuesdays
Tel: 6208 6845

Full of Luck Club - Prepare to win 4D

Well new year is coming....going to this place gives great vibes.

I told mr FAT that if he this place fail to live up to the hype we go the place i familiar with at Holland Village.

 The dishes are served really fast. Might be attributed to the lack of patrons and there is plenty of seating spaces. The crowd did pick up a bit after 8 pm. Are Singaporeans having their meals later now?

 Golden sand corn with salted egg yolk 金沙玉米 （S$4.80 ). This dish is highly recommended by a blogger. Hence, this is mr FAT must order item. Upon tasting, its simply corn kernels that are coated with salted egg sauce. I'm not too impressed with this dish.

Chilli glazed fried fermented bean paste chicken wings 韩式炸鸡腿 ($8.0) I have no expectations for this dish. Ordered because i was craving for something finger licking and i am pleasantly surprised. The wings are well fried and coated with just the right amount of flour. The meat is juicy and tender.

 Stir fry radish cake with X.O. sauce ,XO酱炒萝卜糕($7.50) This dish is pretty outstanding. The radish is soft and moist on the inside. On the crust its crispy with wok hei. Thumbs up!

Salted egg yolk prawn 金沙虾  (savoury prawns in salted egg sauce, lettuce, fried curry leaves, crushed peanuts and bird's eye chilli), smoked duck 香熏鸭胸 (tender smoked duck breast in tangy sweet sauce, carrot cabbage slaw and spring onion). Bao aka buns option is any 2 for $9.80

I came here primarily for this. I can't forget the little bao i had in Hong Kong. But i am quite sorely dissappointed. Its not bad but it just doesn't live a lasting impression. Mr FAT mentioned that its not on the top of must it food on their menu so i am pretty unfair to them if i am eating this as a mains. ok ok! point noted.

Between the 2 buns, i will repeat my order of  smoked duck because it is more flavourful and all the ingredients works well together.

Tried my first Bi Luo Chun 洞庭碧螺春 $6.50, a light flavoured green tea that complements all the dishes we ordered.

I think i might return here again if i miss Little bao. This is the closest food that is similar in Singapore.

Food tasted 14 Jan 2017

Full of Luck Club
Holland Village
243 Holland Ave
Singapore 278977
11 am to 11 pm daily
Tel: 6208 6845

Dallas Restaurant & Bar – Suntec Skygarden

Snapper fish tacos ($17) with slow chipotle, pineapple chutney, cascabel chilli.

Set meal – 2 course or 3 course. Prime rib steak on smokey texas BBQ with dallas fries and seasonal vegetables. We opt for 2 course at $40 as the prime rib steak is pricier.

This will be the 2^nd time I am here. I went there the first time on recommendation by my friends. It was a great experience with good views and great food.

I repeated my order of snapper fish tacos which is light and refreshing.

The prime rib steak is cooked to medium well but still totally delish.

For the carnivorous, this like a place in heaven. If you order the meat platter, you can eat till your heart’s content.

Food tasted 9 Sept 2016

Dallas Restaurant & Bar

3 Temasek Boulevard

#03-302/303 Suntec City Sky Garden

Singaore 038983 (Suntec Tower 5)

Opening Hours: 

Mon – Wed: 11.30 am – 12.00 am

Thurs – Fri: 11.30 am – 1 am

Sat, Sun & PH: 11.30 am – 12.00 am