Fish Soup Bee Hoon

Fish Soup Bee Hoon 

I ate this Fish Soup Bee Hoon again after some time back at this neighbourhood coffee shop stall at Blk 444 at Pasir Ris Drive 6.

The weighing scale is still there to give each customer equal measure of their sliced fish order. Prices remained at $3, $4 and $5 dollars, depending on the weight of the fish slices.

This time though, I 'da pow' (ordered take-away) and they provide a really good looking plastic container with plastic spoon and wooden disposable chop sticks.

The fish soup bee hoon maintained its light yellow broth filled with fat slices of fish and white round bee hoon and I did not mind the relatively bland soup base as I was not keep to load up on MSG and other salty precipitates.

The fish soup bee hoon's diced chilli immersed in light soya sauce and other seasoning retained the tastiness that I remember from my last visit.

Recommendation:

Score for sliced fish soup bee hoon (yu pian mi fen) : 7 out of 10

Deep Fried Baby Squid

Deep Fried Baby Squid

Today's featured Pasir Ris dish is the deep fried baby squid that I tasted at a small zi char stall at the Pasir Ris Town Park near the fishing pond. If you visit Pasir Ris Town Park Pond Fishing area, it is the stall located at a corner of the single storey shop.

Deep Fried Baby Squid is a rather high fat, high cholesterol dish that should be indulged infrequently. That said, there are so many other deep fried dishes around Pasir Ris that are tasty, irresistible and convenient to feed on.

The Deep Fried Baby Squid at this stall in Pasir Ris is done the way I prefer - crispy on the outside with a little soft gelatinous crunch in the middle. The seasoning is an unusual mouth-watering additive that I have not sampled elsewhere.

Even if you feel squeamish about the little tentacle-like bits of the Deep Fried Baby Squid, you should give it a try.

Recommendation:
Deep fried baby squid = 7.5 out of 10.

Say Cheeze Restaurant Tampines 1

Say Cheeze Restaurant Tampines 1

I ordered the Beef Tenderlion at Say Cheeze Restaurant, Tampines 1 as I was captivated by an eye-catching picture of their beef tenderlion dish outside their restaurant at Tampines 1. Although they appear to specialize in cheese, and related dishes, there was a full service dinner available.


My beef tenderlion at Say Cheeze Restaurant in Tampines 1 was presented with two side dishes. From a selection of their menu, I chose mashed potato and apricot rice. These side dishes were fairly adequate and ordinary in taste.

As usual, my beef tenderlion was cooked 'medium'. I loved the softness of the tender beef that oozed loads of beef juices. The outer layers were firm but not too hard. The sauce, slightly bland without the taste of salt, was of mysterious origin as it came in one standard selection and I didn't ask and couldn't tell what it was made of. Nonetheless, the texture of the beef tenderloin was near perfection and cooked exactly the way I liked.

I was surprised to find that Say Cheeze Restaurant at Tampines 1 served up one of the best beef tenderloins in restaurants around Pasir Ris and Tampines.

Score for Beef Tenderloin at Say Cheeze Restaurant Tampines 1:
Recommendation = 9 out of 10.

Price of Beef tenderloin at Say Cheeze Restaurant Tampines 1 = 24.90 before GST.

Superdog Hotdog

Superdog Hotdog

Image: Superdog Chilli Hotdog

I ate at the Whitesands Shopping Centre's new Superdog outlet recently. The Superdog restaurant looks like a fastfood restaurant with a long counter filled with cash registers. Although it was near closing time, there were several tables filled with patrons enjoying Superdog hotdogs.

The presentation of my Chilli Superdog hotdog looked like the American hotdog. The size of my Chili Superdog hotdog was about right for my stomach.

Upon my first bite of the Chili Superdog Hotdog, I liked the soft yet firm texture of the Superdog hotdog's beef frank. The chilli sauce wasn't that hot and spicy. I would describe it as a sweet kind of tomato sauce with a little dash of chilli. The bread was generally soft and good. As this Superdog hotdog was made fresh, the warmth was retained when the Superdog hotdog was delivered to my table.

I did not particularly like the raw tasting diced onions on my Superdog hotdog. Otherwise, a Superdog hotdog should serve well as a meal anytime of the day. For those with voluminous stomachs, one Superdog hotdog may not satisfy hunger.

Recommendation for Superdog hotdog:
Score = 7.5 out 10.

New York Ribeye Steak

New York Ribeye Steak

I ordered the Ribeye Steak from New York New York restaurant at Downtown East for the first time recently. As is usual for my steak orders, I always ask for the beef steak to be cooked "medium". I chose the mushroom sauce.

Presentation of New York New York's Ribeye Steak was just adequate. The layer of brown mushroom sauce covered most of the beef steak. The side dishes were presented in a simple manner on a clean white plate.

Their Ribeye Steak was cooked to the style that I liked. My first bite revealed the succulent soft beef. The texture was similar to shabu shabu beef, except that these were much thicker slices. Some bits of firm tendon at the edges could be discerned but it did not spoil the smoothness of the steak.

I found the mushroom sauce rather ordinary. It somehow lacked the freshness and taste of fresh mushroom. It's degree of saltiness in the seasoning was a little beyond my usual liking.

New York New York's Ribeye Steak side dishes were a letdown. You can see these side dishes in the photographs. Those potato wedges were coated with too much seasoning. With that much salt, I fear the extra work my kidneys will need to perform to get rid of it from the system.

Anyway, the test of a good ribeye steak dish is always in the beef. Nobody orders beef steak because of the side dishes. Don't you agree?

Restaurant Address:
New York New York Restaurant
Downtown East E-Hub
1 Pasir RIs Close
Level 1

Recommendation For New York Ribeye Steak:
Score = 7 out of 10 points.

Hokkien Mee

Hokkien Mee

This wonderful looking fried hokkien mee from Blk 444's coffeeshop stall tasted as good as it looked.

I was hooked on the springy noodles the first time I placed this Hokkien Mee in my mouth. The strong flavours were adequately infused throughout the mee that had me licking my chopsticks.

The pieces of prawns were well cooked, and thus a little too stiff for my liking. The squid bits were a little tougher than I was used to eating too.

If you like eating hokkien mee for its mee, this dish should not disappoint.

Location: Coffeeshop stall, Pasir Ris Blk 444

Recommendation of Hokkien Mee:
Score = 8 out of 10 (for the mee in this Hokkien Mee)

Green Tea-Coffee Cake

Green Tea-Coffee Cake

This cake came in an unusual combination of flavours. Between its layers of cake mixture, there were layers of green tea stacked with layers of coffee mixture.

I love green tea and I love coffee. But to sample the two at one go was a first for me. When my spouse purchased this combo green tea and coffee cake from a temporary stall set up in the middle of White Sands Shopping Centre, I just had to overcome my initial apprenhension and have a bite.

Yes, first impressions of the green tea-coffee cake were kind of weird. The sweetness hit my palate first, followed by the strong aroma of coffee. A close second later, the bitterness of green tea set in. Somehow it tasted better than how I described. It was an unusual combination that worked well for me!

As I worked my tongue around the bits of peanuts and marzipan onthe green tea-coffee cake, the thick cream provided a smooth base to mix all the ingredients. This combination of crunchy peanut bits with cream was a revelation.

My Assessment of Green Tea-Coffee Cake:
Score = 7 out of 10.

I shall look out for this green tea-coffee cake when the temporary hawkers move in again at White Sands Shopping Centre.

"Har Gao": Shrimp Dumpling

"Har Gao": Shrimp Dumpling

I took a bite of this Har Gao or Shrimp (Prawn) Dumpling dish at Xin Wang Cafe Restaurant in White Sands Shopping Centre.

The Har Gao (Shrimp Dumpling) came in threes inside a bamboo basket. First impression was that the Har Gao / Shrimp Dumpling looked rather small in size. One piece of the Shrimp Dumpling also had a tear on its rice flour skin.

One bite of the Har Gao made up for the average presentation. The texture of the prawn was firm to bite, with a springy chewy not mushy feel. The skin was a little too starchy for my liking. I appreciated the taste of the prawn dumpling, better than some other restaurant's Har Gao / Prawn Dumpling. The skin tasted rather flat, as does most other stall's Har Gao skin.

For the price of $2.50 for three pieces of Har Gao / Shrimp Dumpling, I considered it of moderate value.

Recommendation:

Score for Har Gao / Shrimp Dumpling = 6.5 out of 10.

Eat and Enjoy Deepavali

Deepavali Greetings

I wish all my readers a very happy Deepavali !

Eat and Enjoy!

Pasir Ris Not Paris blog

d24 Durian Mooncake: Goodwood Park Hotel

d24 Durian Mooncake: Goodwood Park Hotel

These d24 durian flavoured mooncake from Goodwood Park Hotel were purchased and sampled today by me. d24 durian by themselves are really soft, tasty and aromatic fruits. Snow skin type of mooncake are also my favourite. Put d24 durian into snow skin mooncake like the way Goodwood Park Hotel does, combines the best of two worlds that I simply cannot resist.

The durian of the d24 label inside snow skin mooncake are eaten chilled. The instructions on the box label informs that their durian mooncake have to be kept in the freezer for storage. The durian mooncake also has to be consumed within three days.

At $48 before gst for a box of four durian mooncakes, the durian mooncake from Goodwood Park Hotel is not cheap. However, the culinary pleasure of eating delicious durian mooncake during the coming mid autumn festival period is infinitely worth more than the money spent.

Looking forward to more mooncakes, especially with durian fillings over the next fortnight.

Godzilla Pau: Dinosaur Dumpling

Godzilla Pau (Pow): Dinosaur Dumpling

This is an amazing dumpling, just like a dinosaur that this pau is named after: Godzilla Pau (Pow).

The Godzilla Pau (or Pow) is a meat and egg steamed dumpling fit for a dinosaur. Each handcrafted Godzilla Pau (or Pow) is a delicious edible work of art meant for eaters with dinosaur appetites. The Godzilla Pau dumpling contains dinosaur proportions of pork, egg and other ingredients that is more than enough for two persons looking for tea and a stall with the Godzilla (of the dinosaur from Japan fame) name.

Each Godzilla pau (or pow) dumpling is about triple the size of a standard sized meat dumpling. The Godzilla pau pork meat is soft, much softer than other dumplings I’ve tried. Once you bite into it, the pork oozes a sweet liquid with a tinge of salt and other secret sauces.

This Godzilla Pau (or Pow) is not the only dumpling made by this stall. Other dumplings albeit of non-dinosaur proportions are also worth a try. Perhaps I might describe them in detail later.

For now, the Godzilla Pau (or Pow) is my dinosaur dumpling of the month. My assessment: 9 out of 10. If the skinof the pau were more evenly distributed, this Godzilla pau would have achieved a perfect ten.

I bought the Godzilla Pau (Pow) from an air-conditioned stall at Elias Mall Neighbourhood Centre in Pasir Ris Drive 3. For map and route to Godzilla pau stall, check the road directory.

Gelare Ice Cream

Sampled this ice-cream from Gelare, located in the basement of Far East Shopping Centre. Visited the ice cream parlour with family while waiting to fetch child from school.

Eight lovely scoops of ice-cream with pieces of Oreo biscuits greeted us on the table. The four flavours of ice cream chosen were chocolate, coffee, strawberry and vanilla.

I liked these scoops of ice cream as the milky taste so commonly found in other brands of ice cream was absent. Originated from Italian and American roots, these ice creams tasted better than the average run-of-the-mill types. The smooth texture with just the right amount of sweetness whetted my appetite for more. But the scoops of ice cream was smaller than what I have been used to eating at one sitting.

The chocolate had a mild bitter but sweet tange to it which I lloved very much. The coffee flavoured ice-cream would have raised my temperature more if the caffeine kick had been stronger. Nevertheless I would grade this Gelare ice cream 7.5 out of a possible 10 score.

Price: S$24.80 for 8 ice cream scoops

Half Chicken, Swenson's Restaurant Suntec City

We ate at Swenson's Restaurant, Suntec City recently. I chose the chicken as I was feeling carnivorous. This Swenson's restaurant is a branch located at the basement where there were many other crowded restaurants around the Fortune Fountain.

The chicken was very soft, easily cut by teeth, with bits of chewy tendons. As expected of chicken, the fatty parts under the skin were minimal but not overshadowed. I liked the texture of the chicken, although the seasoning was too salty for my liking.

The carrots and vegetable were softer than I had come to expect. I severely felt the absence of an outstanding sauce, and it really affected the overall chicken taste in this dish. Otherwise I would have given the chicken dish at this Swenson's restaurant branch a grade higher than 7.5 out of 10.

Claypot Seafood Beancurd At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport T3 Branch

Claypot Seafood Bean Curd At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport T3 branch

The look of Dian Xiao Er's seafood bean curd as presented to our table was average. Looks about the same with other Chinese restaurants that serves such seafood beancurd dishes in a claypot.

The gravy was a tad salty for my liking although those who like sodium chloride with their plain dry white rice will apppreciate it better. The toufu or beancurd appeared similar to those we buy from the supermarket, with a few deformed edges fromthe cooking process. There wasn't much of an inspiring taste from this comfort food that I have grown so used to.

The seafood ingredients was rather limited to a prawn or two and portions of squid. I liked the springy texture of the squid that had criss cross incisions on its side. Some carrot slices and celery made up the rest of thisclaypot dish.

My grading for this dish is a 6 out of 10. Not so comfortable comfort food.

Deep Fried Kailan At Dian Xiao Er In Changi's Terminal 3

Deep Fried Kai Lan at Dian Xiao Er in Changi's Terminal 3

First look to even a casual observer would have raised an alarm. Where's the kai lan? Is there a mistake in the order?

Closer inspection would still lead you to believe that the green curly stuff is NOT kai lan. You check with the waitresses and they reassure you that there's not any mistake in Dian Xiao Er's kitchen.

You take a chopstick full of this green stuff and pop it into the mouth. It still does not taste like the usual kailan dish that you get at the zi char stalls or other restaurants in Singapore.

The light green thick blades of stem do pass the identification test for kai lan. It is kai lan but it tastes so different. And very good. Perhaps the sweetly salted bah hoo or pork floss has something to do with that.

Together, the curly kai leaves that have been fried to a crisp, with the thick stems and the bah hoo / pork floss, this dish is a 9 out of 10 in my books. At $9.80 per small size plate, it is a uniquely delicious way of cooking kai lan that works.

Ten Wonder Duck At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3)

Ten Wonder Duck At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3)

Another wonderful bite of meat, this Ten Wonder Duck at Dian Xiao Er in Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3). First taste of this wonder-blend of ten herbs (which I have absolutely no idea what they are) is a pleasing combination of salt, sweetness and herbal sensations. No spice here, unlike the Spicy Mongolian Prok Ribs that I tasted earlier.

The skin is rather crispy, with a mild crunchiness. The duck meat is cooked just soft enough to melt under each bite. I love the combination of this outer crunchy duck skin with the soft duck meat.

The bones are the difficult bits to handle. I would have preferred if they had deboned the duck thoroughly. But that's the thrill of duck eats, you get the choicest bits with the bone breaking parts too. Sorting out the two is rather easy, I must add.

My grade for this is a 8 out of 10. the price at S$12.80 for such a small serving is hardly value for money and not enough to provide for five hungry stomachs.

Spicy Mongolian Pork Ribs At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport T3

Spicy Mongolian Pork Ribs At Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport T3

My first bite of Spicy Mongolian Pork Ribs at Dian Xiao Er of Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3) gave me a coughing fit of epileptic proportions. The black pepper and red cut chilli bits nearly squeezed my airway to toal occlusion.

Since that initial near fatal bite of Spicy Mongolian Pork Ribs, I showed more respect for the power of its spiciness. This browny lumps of pork ribs may not look fiery nor appetising upon first glance. But it certainly packs a punch for someone like me who can take a moderate hit with anything spicy.

The meat is soft while the tendons provide a springy firmness. Chew on the solid rib bones and your bruised gums will regret it. Mark my word, this potent mix of different textures with a spicy punch is worth the $11.80 for the smallest portion available at Dian Xiao Er.

I will feature other dishes at Dian Xiao Er soon.

Shredded Duck Vermiceilli At Xin Wang White Sands Shopping Centre

Shredded Duck Vermiceilli At Xin Wang White Sands Shopping Centre

This dish can be found at Xin Wang Hong Kong restaurant, the White Sands Shopping Centre branch at level 1. It costs $8.90 for quite a large plate to satisfy two persons on a low diet outing.

I like the soft stewed duck shreds that come with a plate of light brown fried vermiceilli. The duck tastes sweet, lightly flavoured and gives the jaws a bit of exercise.

The vermiceilli feels robust with a mildly chewy sensation under the palate. The soy taste is not overpoweringly salty. Mixed with sour plum bits, the mildly plum fragrance gives the dish an unusual oomph.

If you mix the crunchy shreds of lettuce with the soft vermicelli, the combination seems to work really well.

Personally, I would rate it 9 out of 10.

Hokkaido Sotong Balls At Tampines Mall Atrium

Hokkaido Sotong Balls At Tampines Mall Atrium

EM bought six Hokkaido sotong balls at the Tampines Mall Singapore atrium today despite the long queues. The famous and highly popular Hokkaido Food Festival had been underway since 5 July 2008. This Japanese food festival has been a fixture at Tampines Mall for a couple of years. She tried to purchase some Japanese food on a Sunday but she couldn’t get a toehold in the maddening crowd. Only today did we get a chance to sample delicacies from Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture.

Six huge solid-looking sotong balls stared at me during lunchtime today. A glassy piece of edible material was laid on top of the pieces with a thick Japanese mayonnaise paste. I bit a little of the this glassy stuff and it melted in my mouth without much taste.

When I chewed onto the sotong balls, the soft paste-like outer layer was mushy to touch with a mild sweetness. Under this layer, the sotong parts were apparent on my tongue, like springy chewing gum with a robust texture. The difference in contrast between the soft out shell and the firmer core made this an interesting bite-sized dish for lunch.

As I enjoyed the morsels of sotong between my teeth, I could imagine the sotongs must have undergone plenty of cardiovascular work out in the oceans off Hokkaido before they landed up in some Japanese fishing vessel to be brought to Singapore for our dining pleasure. The world is indeed getting smaller by the years.

Japanese Food at Downtown East Pasir Ris

Japanese Food at Downtown East Pasir Ris

I love to eat Japanese food and I heard it's the favourite foreign cuisine amongst Singaporean stomachs. My current favourite restaurant is Nihon Mura at E!Hub Downtown East in a corner of Pasir Ris, which opened recently.

This cozy little restaurant tucked at the highest level of E!Hub in Downtown East offers a plethora of famous japanese dishes. Don't expect to be presented with a traditional menu here. After you are urshered to your table, grab a cup and head straight to the buffet spread. There you will find one of a tag which comes in a wooden stick like the ones doctors used to stick into your throat with the Teriyaki chicken don written on it. Collect this tag and any others that you wish to order into your cup. Once you're done with your menu selection, present this tag to the cashier and wait at your seat in this japanese restaurant. In a while, the dish you ordered will be presented to the table.

My current favourite japanese dish is the Teriyaki Chicken Don. It comes in a piping hot bowl that will burn your japanese rice if you do not scrape the bottom regularly. Even so, some grains of japanese rice still gets burnt but that just adds to the unique flavour. It's almost like eating claypot japanese rice!

The Teriyaki sauce gives a pretty shiok zing to the bits of chicken slices. The crust is rather crunchy with a soft springy core that leaves the mouth full of Teriyaki taste. I particularly like to savour these slices without the japanese rice, so as not to dilute the flavour.

A raw egg sits on the top of this bowl of japanese rice. If you press it with a spoon, the yolk will burst out of its sac and soak into the japanese rice. Once it reaches the hot metal bowl, it will cook rather quickly and relinquish an eggy aroma that sends my salivary glands into overdrive. I prefer to mix the raw egg evenly throughout the rice and sort of fry it like in a frying pan.

No adjective can adequately describe the unique experience of eating this Teriyaki chicken don. Even as I write this post, the rush of saliva forming up in my mouth is making me swallow more frequently than usual. Mmmm... perhaps this weekend again...