Groupon deal at Lao Beijing

Groupon deal can be addictive! There was a period of time I kept buying and sometimes forgot to use it! Till recently I refrain myself from buying anymore. My brother is also one of them...lol! Every time almost expiring he will pass the groupon to me. Thanks to him for this visit to Lao Beijing. We had a good meal and the food were all very flavourful and yummy! 

Nice chrysanthemum tea!

The King of Kong Bak Pau Makan Session

Signed up for The King of Kong Bak Pau Makan Session at Westlake 西湖小吃 with 3 of my colleagues. Our first time attending such event. The food was good overall with more hits than misses but just a bit too heavy in seasonings and oil for some dishes if not will be perfect. However the theme for the makan session was Kong Bak Pau and Westlake's version of Kong Bak Pau definitely lives up to it's name - King! So far is one of the best I have tried! 

Thank you Dr Leslie Tay! We had an enjoyable evening!

All You Can Eat Buffet Dinner at The Cathay Restaurant

[Closed]

Revisited The Cathay Restaurant with my family and tried the Ala Carte buffet dinner. Great value and quality was pretty good with more hits than misses. The menu offers more than 60 items to choose from and we managed to try half of them.      

Check out the buffet menu here!

Paradise Inn @ Changi Airport T1

Time for dinner when we arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 from Bali. We decided to fix our craving for Chinese food at Paradise Inn. The restaurant was very packed during dinner hour. The food was average, more on the oily and salty side. We were more impressed by the drinks we ordered. Very refreshing and nice to drink!  

Braised Tofu with Crystal Prawn (S) - S$18.90++

Dian Xiao Er @ Nex

Dian Xiao Er is one of my favourite chain Chinese restaurant. Whenever Groupon has promotion on the roast duck, I will buy the voucher which give me an excuse to dine there. Other than the signature herbal roast duck, other dishes are very well executed too especially the cod fish is a must try. 

Signature Herbal Roast Duck

Signatures by Lam's - Colleague's Birthday

[Closed]
1st Jul 2011

Celebrated a colleague's birthday at Signature's by Lam's. A Chinese restaurant near my workplace where we will only visit on special occasion. Most of the dishes in the menu are executed well and prices are reasonable too.

Crispy Champagne Cod Fish - S$25++

I love cod fish cooked in any style and this was good! The sauce was appetizing and complimented the cod fish very well.

Comfort dishes @ Soup Restaurant

27th May 2011

We missed homely Chinese food after our Korea trip and satisfied our craving at Soup Restaurant. Really enjoyed the food very much...

Hand Chopped Minced Pork with Salted Fish - $8.90++

Signatures by Lam's - Revisited

[Closed]
3rd May 2011

Lunch with boss at one the fine dining Chinese restaurant near workplace. Food is always good here. We enjoyed the beef very much, one of the best stew beef I ever tasted.

Stewed Beef in Hot Stone Pot

Back to The Paramount Restaurant again...

30 Jan 2011

My Aunt Peggy just didn't want to waste the $50 Tunglok voucher away so we were back to The Paramount Restaurant again one day before the voucher expired...lol! This time round we had dinner. We ordered a few dishes to make up S$100 in order to use the voucher. We enjoyed all the dishes we ordered, with the S$50discount we only need to pay around S$70. Not too bad, with nice ambiance and attentive services, we had a good dinner that evening.

Braised Pig Trotter

Signatures by Lam's

[Closed]
28th Jan 2011

With colleagues had a sumptuous lunch at the newly renovated Lam's restaurant near workplace before we closed for CNY holidays. The restaurant used to be non aircon and served zi char dishes, abalone noodles and Xiao Longbao. Recently revamped the restaurant's concept and menu. Now serving only Lam's signature dishes. However we still preferred the previous menu more economical...hehe!

Yusheng - S$25+

Yusheng is a popular raw fish salad that we usually have during CNY especially on the 7th day of CNY which we Chinese celebrate as everyone's birthday. This has since become an auspicious dish that is served in Chinese restaurant prior before CNY till the 15th day of CNY.

Lo Hei!

My first Lo Hei for CNY 2011. Jokingly shouting & tossing with fellow colleagues that hoping for thicker burger king (refer to bonus...lol!) next year...! Personally I don't really like Yusheng, always find the plum sauce too sweet for my liking.


Prosperity Treasure Pot - S$98+ (Pen Cai)

A cheaper version of Pen Cai but taste really good. The pot contained 9 items braised in abalone & scallop sauce that include abalone cubes, sea cucumber, mushrooms, fish maw, fa cai, duck wings, roasted pork, Chinese cabbage & fresh prawns


Cod Fish with Garlic - S$25+

Simple but delicious. Cod fish was sweet tasting and went really well with the garlic sauce


8 Treasures Beancurd - S$20+

Very nicely executed. Tofu was smooth and soft, the sauce was nice too.


Fried Egg with Oyster in XO Sauce - S$12+

This was quite disappointing, the egg had too much flour and the sauce didn't taste as good as before.


Stir Fry Ngai Bai with Garlic - S$9+

Overall food was quite nice with more hits than misses but we waited for awhile for the food to be served. Service was really quite slow.




Signatures by Lam's
18 Kaki Bukit Road 3
#01-16/17 Entrepreneur Business Centre
Singapore 415978
Tel: 6749 9337
Opening Hour: 10.30am - 10.00pm

Soup Restaurant @ Toa Payoh - A Revisit

12th Nov 2010

Soup Restaurant has always been one of my favourite Chinese restaurant for comfort food. I love their dishes, simple and homestyle. Food are always consistent and never disappoint at any branch. A revisit with family at the Toa Payoh branch on a Friday evening and we waited for awhile to get a table. We didn't order any soup as the soup of the day was sold out for the evening. These are some of the favourite dishes we usually ordered at Soup Restaurant.

Hand Chopped Minced Pork with Salted Fish - S$8.50++



Hometown Fish Belly with Chilli & Spring Onion - S$12.80++



Samsui Ginger Chicken - S$14.80++



Ah Kon Fan Shu Leaves - S$8.00++



Fried Peanut & Maiden Fish - S$9.80++

This is only avaliable at Toa Payoh branch, one of their specialty. This was executed perfectly. The sauce was sweet and sour with a bit of spiciness, complimented the crispy maiden fish, peanut, pineapple & cucumber very well. So appetising and delicious! A must try!


Peanut - S$2.00++



Photos taken with my very old Canon digital IXUS 750! Testing out whether still workable. haha... though the pictures not very sharp but the effect still better than using my iPhone 3.




Soup Restaurant
450 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
#01-10 Toa Payoh Entertainment Centre
Singapore 319394
Tel: 6352 2889
Daily Opening Hour:
Lunch: 11.30 am – 2.30 pm
Dinner: 5.30 pm – 10 pm
Sat, Sun & PH : 11.30 am – 10 pm

Peony Jade - Hairy Crab Set Menu 1 for 1

5th Nov 2010

The Hairy Crab season is here again! I was goggling around for restaurants serving hairy crabs and chance upon Peony Jade located at Keppel Club. They are having Hairy Crab set meal 1 for 1 promotion for OCBC credit card member and Keppel Club member. 1 for 1 Promotion started from 12/10/2010 till 15/11/2010. The set menu looks quite interesting so my family decided to try it on Deepavali holiday. Every dish is created using hairy crab, from the the shell, crabmeat to the roe. There are 2 set of menus to choose from, Set A @ S$128++ and Set B @ S$158++ per pax.

Hairy Crab Menu A & B

* Steamed 'xiao long bao' with hairy crab golden roe accompanied with hand-peeled crabmeat roll with shredded radish

Both menus kicked off with this starter. The xiao long bao was a bit dry and salty where the crabmeat roll was quite a delight.

Hairy Crab Menu A - S$128++
* Double boiled supreme shark's fin soup with hairy crab and chinese herbs
* Stewed shrimp with hand-peeled hairy crabmeat and homemade beancurd
* Baked hairy crab shell stuffed with diced abalone, hand-peeled crabmeat and cheese
* Braised ee fu noodles with hand-peeled crabmeat

All were quite nice except for the baked hairy crab shell with cheese. The filling was not well baked and tasted too sweet for our liking.

Hairy Crab Menu B - S$158++
* Braised supreme shark's fin with hand-peeled hairy crabmeat, golden roe and egg white
* Wok tossed Shanghai nian gao with hairy crab in xo sauce
* Stewed bamboo pith and seasonal greens with braised hairy crab golden roe
* Ee fu noodles soup with shredded hairy crab meat and golden roe



We enjoyed most of the dishes in this set except for the shark fin was a bit too salty.


Hairy Crab Menu A & B
* Boiled hot ginger tea with glutinous rice dumpling

Both set served the same dessert. The dumpling was filled with black sesame paste and tasted ordinary. We didn't know how to appreciate the ginger tea, tasted very spicy and thick. Ginger tea was always served with hairy crab.

Overall we enjoyed the meal but if not for the 1 for 1 promotion, we don't think is worth paying so much. Restaurant ambience is good but service still can be improved.

Peony Jade
@ Keppel Club (M, Level)
Bukit Chermin Road, Keppel Club
Singapore 109918
Tel: 6276 9138

Opening hour:
Mon - Fri 11:00am to 2:30pm and 6:00pm to 10:30pm
Sat - Sun 10:30am to 2:30pm and 6:00pm to 11:00pm

Red Star Restaurant

5th Sep 2010

Red Star Restaurant has been around since the 70's. Probably is one of the oldest authentic Chinese restaurant in Singapore, used to be managed by one of the Top 4 Chinese Chefs in Singapore, Master Chef Tan Rui Jia. Though he has since passed away but the restaurant still remain as it is, serving dim sum in the traditional pushcarts and authentic Cantonese cuisine. My aunt attended his restaurant cooking class before in the 80's and even till now she will refer to his cookbook for certain dishes.

We heard that there are always a long queue for dim sum on weekends as they don't accept reservation but evening is not so crowded. We decided to try their dinner instead as Aunt Peggy just recuperate so she cannot go to crowded places. The moment you step into the restaurant, you can feel the charm of the 'old days' with a strong nostalgic ambiance. Even the serving staffs seem to be growing old with the restaurant, mostly are aunties and uncles in the the 50's. Haha service standard still need lots of improvement.

Now's let talk about the food, it was not as good as expected and a bit pricey. The food was either too bland if not too oily and salty though there's some hits. Either we did not order the right dishes or is more value for money to order set dinner than ala carte in this kind of Chinese restaurant. Still, we will want to return to try their dim sums some other times.

Roast Pork & Char Siew Platter - S$16.00

These were sinfully good, lots of fats but were nice. Both were well flavoured and roasted.

Shark Fin with Crabs Meat - S$48.00

This is one of their signature dish and the portion is good for 6. Very little fins though crab meat was quite a lot. We find it ordinary probably because it's almost similar to my aunt's version. She cooks a good shark fin soup too (recipe), I think she also referred to Master Chef Tan Rui Jia cookbook for recipe...lol!

Fish Head & Mustard Green Soup - S$12.00

The fish soup was rich tasting and we all love the mustard green in it. But quite oily... see the the thin layer of oil that covered the soup.

Fried Frog Leg with Spring Onion & Ginger - S$14.00

The frog legs were fresh and sweet tasting, the sauce was tasty too. I like the generous serving of spring onion which went well with rice.

Fuyong Dan (Omelette) - S$12.00

This was the worst dish we had for the evening. The omelette was dry and not fluffy at all. I think I can make a better one anytime...

French Bean with Minced Pork & Raddish - S$12.00

Not fantastic too, a bit too salty and oily.

Seafood Bee Hoon - S$12.00

This was too starchy and bland for our liking. It's also lack of "wok hei".

Red Star Restaurant Pte Ltd

Blk 54 Chin Swee Road

#07-23

Singapore 160054

Tel: 6532 5266 / 6532 5103

Daily: 7.00am - 3.00pm / 6.00pm - 10.30pm

Singapura Seafood Restaurant

22 Aug 2010

Singapura Seafood Restaurant has been around since the early 90s, located at Selegie House serving mainly Fuzhou cuisine. I have added this restaurant in my to try list for a while back since I read about them at ieatishootipost. I was more than happy to say yes when my aunt wanted to go there for dinner on Sunday. We were quite pleased with the food with more hits than misses.

The moment you step into the restaurant, it gives an authentic old Chinese restaurant feel and along the side wall, you can see numerous pictures and write up of the restaurant. The restaurant was not very crowded when we just arrived but diners started to come in after 7pm. With only 2 staff serving and the lady boss in charge of taking orders, our orders took a while to come and refill of drinks were slow too. We were not very affected by it as long as the food is good furthermore they don't charge service charge and GST. We ordered a few of the signature dishes except the cold crab where almost every tables have it. We just didn't feel like eating crab that day.

Special Prawn Rolls - S$16.00

I liked the prawn rolls, something different from the usual ngoh hiang. The lightly seasoned prawn was crunchy and fresh tasting, rolled up tightly with pig mesentary (Peng Seh) and lightly coated with flour to deep fry. Worth trying.


Fuzhou Fried Liver with Kailan - S$15.00

Chef recommended dish. The pork liver was thick, juicy and tender deep fried in a thin layer of flour and saute in a flavourful sauce. Served on top of a bed of kailan. The sauce was a bit on the sweet side for us but it was really good to go with rice.


Stir Fry Flower Clams - S$12.00

Very fresh and sweet tasting flower clam stir fry in spicy sauce. This dish was rather common but they have done it well with good wok hei.


Oyster Omelette - S$20.00

Though is not a signature dish here but is our family all times favourite. This dish was executed well too. The omelette was very fluffy and the oyster was sauteed in a tasty sauce that complimented the omelette very well.


Claypot Red Wine Chicken - S$10.00

Another signature dish, stewed chicken, mushroom and tanghoon in homemade red wine sauce(hong chow) served in claypot. This was quite nice too, felt very comforting and warming after eating it.


Fuzhou Fried Noodles - S$10.00

This is a must order dish. One of the best noodles I had in the Year 2010. Almost similar to Hokkien mee but nicer. Thumb up for this.


Special Bee Hoon - S$10.00

This was probably the only dish that we didn't enjoy. Too plain and bland for our liking, not so special after all.




Singapura Seafood Restaurant
Blk 9 Selegie House
#01-31 Selegie Road
Singapore 180009
Tel No: 63363255 / 63363478
Daily: 11am - 2:30pm, 6pm - 10:30pm

Flavvors

[Closed]
11 Aug 2010

Flavvors is one of the new threesome restaurants under Febulous restaurant group recently opened in Toa Payoh, OrangeTee Building near HDB Hub. The other two are Wavve - the western grill and bar and Luvvy Curry - fast food concept serving Japanese curry rice set. I decided to try out Flavvors first as it seem more appealing to me. The setup is typical modern Chinese restaurant setting but the menu is rather cafe style, with more choices for one dish meal like fried rice and noodles. Most of the dishes are reasonably priced below $10.00.

Zhong Zai Fan - S$6.80++
Seafood Hor Fun - S$7.80++



Steamed rice with Chicken, Chinese sausage and mushroom was decent but not impressive. The seafood hor fun was rather good with nice smoky fragrant from the wok that we liked.


Salted Vegetables and Duck Soup - S$4.80++
Golden Mushroom with Cereal - S$4.80++



The soup has a very strong ginger taste and a bit salty for our liking. Crispy golden mushroom was a delight.


Kailan in 3 Ways - S$4.80++
Xiao Long Bao - S$6.80++



Kailan cooked in 3 ways (blanched, deep fried & stir fried) was quite unique and tasty but portion was really small. Steamed Xiao Long bao was a disappointment and probably the worst I ever had. The first round served to us were uncooked, the inside was cold and raw. Anyway, even it was cooked it didn't taste good too. The skin was too thick, the meat was starchy and mushy instead of juicy.


Fried Ice Cream with Salted Egg Yolk - S$4.80++

We ended our meal with a weird tasting dessert. Deep fried ice cream with salted egg yolk, chilli and curry leaves sauce drizzled over it. Very unique combination of flavour. However the batter that coated the ice cream was too thick and chewy for our liking.




Flavvors
430 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
#01-01 OrangeTee Building
Singapore 319402
Tel: 6255 2151
Daily: 11am – 11pm