Friday, January 24, 2014

Ramen Burger by The Travelling C.O.W.

An interesting creation no doubt but it did not taste too special. And, it is probably a little pricey to pay $9 for a piece. 

It was the last piece for that day. It was reserved for me upon the request made on their facebook. Many of their other customers wanted it but was told it has already been sold out. 










Thursday, January 23, 2014

Eng's Char Siew Wanton Mee

This particular wanton mee has been in my must-eat list for a while. My first encounter was years ago at Dunman Food Centre. I wanted to try then but the stall only started at 3 pm. Then, he closed down and moved to the current location. The 2nd generation owner has passed on and left this shop to his son. I heard the standard is still as good in the hand of the 3rd generation owner. 

I was there slightly after 1 pm. The shop was not as crowded as expected as there were still quite a few empty tables at that time. I didn't take notice of those order chits placed on the table and so i actually wanted to go over the counter to place the order.

A friendly gentleman spotted it. He came by to tell me to fill up the order chit then proceed to make payment at the counter. When filling up the order chit, i left the box for table number out accidentally. When making the payment, i was asked for the table number. While walking back to the table, the same gentleman approached and told the lady at the counter that it is table number 15. I would think the service was an efficient one. 


We ordered 2 bowls of large Wanton Mee at $5.50 each and a glass of lime juice at $1.50 for a total of $12.50.


My attention rested on that bottle of chilli. It has got a label pasted on it stated, 'Beware of Super HOT Chilli.' (注意:超辛辣椒酱).  It just gotten me all curious about it. I have read about the extra spiciness of the chilli sauce in some reviews. I guess their business must be really good as they pasted a notice on their cutlery holder stating, 'Due to space constraint, please share the table with other diners.' (感谢:由于座位有限, 请分享座位,一起吃面).

Somehow, sharing table is never quite a culture in Singapore though it's very common and acceptable one in Hong Kong.


The lime juice tasted just right though the taste was slightly diluted after a bit. I collected it at the counter after done with the payment. 


The waiting time was a short one. The 2 bowls of noodle were served at the same time to our table.


The noodle looked a little plain topped with a handful of sliced char siew and a few stalks of vegetables.


I squeezed a little of the super spicy chilli from the plastic bottle. I mixed it a little then tasted it. It did not taste too spicy initially but the aftertaste was rather intense. 


The texture of noodle was cooked well to give it the desired springiness at just the right softness. Those slices of char siew did not taste too impressively though.


There was a total of 6 wantons hidden underneath the pile of noodle. I totally enjoyed the old school taste of those wantons.


Though not the best wanton mee that i ever tasted but it is still worth a try if you happen to be in the vicinity.


ENG'S NOODLES HOUSE
287 Tanjong Katong SINGAPORE 437070.

Tau Kwa Pau - that familiar taste.

This has always been a part of my growing up memories. It's still the comforting taste that i remember though there's an increase in prices. It is now $1.50 for a piece of tau kwa stuffed with bits of egg, crispy flour, fish cake, cucumber etc. 






SHENG CHENG TAO KWA PAU . DUCK RICE
369 Tanjong Katong Road SINGAPORE 437126.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Freshly made soup available at Hawker Centre

This is the first time that i came along such a stall in a hawker centre. I came across this stall online and came purposely today just to try it. I was there close to 11 am. The hawker centre was rather quiet at that time with no queue right at this stall at all. I decided to go with Minestrone soup. I love anything that is tomato based and this made Minestrone to be my favourite choice whenever i am making an order for soup. 

I given my order and waited there. Minestrone Soup served with a bun reasonably priced at $5.20 as compared to The Soup Spoon. The stall owner asked me to take a seat and offered to send it when it's ready. He sent it in a couple of minutes on a tray. I guess he knew i was looking for the soup. He said it's in the brown paper bag together with the bread. 


A good portion of Minestrone was served in a paper bowl with the stall name nicely printed.


I simply adored the bright orangey color of the soup.


When i took the bun from the brown paper bag, it was still warm.


The portion of soup was substantial for a quick lunch. It was packed with different ingredients like bits of carrot, cucumber, onion, tomato and pasta.



 A piece of butter was given together with the bun. A fork with a piece of those wooden ice cream stick wrapped in the piece of tissue paper.



The best way to enjoy is to tear a small piece of the bun and to dip it into the soup then eat it. I enjoyed my early lunch totally. It is definitely a hearty yet healthy alternative as compared to the usual rice and noodle.


Chatted a little with the owner. I was told the Minestrone and others on the menu are freshly prepared daily with fresh ingredients to ensure the best quality of these items.

This is going to be my choice for lunch or even dinner if i happen to be in the vicinity. Some of the items available on their menu are Green Pea Soup with Bacon ($4.80), Pumpkin Soup ($5.20), Forest Mushroom ($5.20), Spicy Pork Spaghetti ($5.20), Spaghetti Bolognese ($5.20), Cream of Onion Soup ($5.60), Beef Stew ($5.80) etc. If you need an extra bun to go with your soup, it is available at 0.40 cents for a piece.

If you are wondering where to eat during the Chinese New Year period then you might be delighted to know that they are open during that period.


THE SOUP BAR
Block 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-51 Tanjong Pagar Food Centre SINGAPORE 081006

Brothers Ramen

I have heard about this ramen stall located in a coffee shop for a while and wanting to eat but did not have a chance mainly due to their short operating hours. The stall opens Monday to Friday at about 11.30 am to about 3 pm. They are closed on Saturday and Sunday. 

Their stall used to be named as Homebaked Dough. The 2 brothers that manned the stall started selling ramen since then though their main business is supposed to sell cookies and thats how they gotten their initial stall name.

These 2 brothers did not go through proper culinary training. Now, you might be wondering how did they manage to cook and to sell ramen? They gotten their recipe from demonstration that found online and gotten to learn it by watching them on You Tube from how to prepare the broth to how to cook the noodle as well as to prepare to chashu and the flavored egg. 

That's kinda impressive.


I was there at about 11.20 am. I thought they might not be ready yet as i remember read it from their facebook page that they start at 11.30 am. When checking with one of the brothers, i was told that they are ready for business.

I decided to go with Shoyu Ramen at $6.00 and Spicy Ramen at $6.50. I added a flavored egg to the Spicy Ramen for only 0.50 cents. It is usually charged at $2.00 in some other ramen places.


I was asked to take a seat and it will be served to the table. 


The presentation was rather simple for both bowls of ramen. The Shoyu Ramen came with a substantial portion of nicely cooked noodle with a handful of beansprouts together with chopped spring onions. 

The noodle was cooked just right to achieve the desired springiness with a delightful softness. The texture of Chashu was done pretty well too. The crunchiness of those beansprouts enhanced the overall texture. It would definitely be better if they served it with seasoned beansprouts rather than the plain tasting one. 


It tasted good for the price though not as good as those from those Japanese eateries specialised in ramen. 


I would think the Spicy Ramen was pretty nice as well. The level of spiciness was rather distinctive but comforting. If being given an option, i would like to have it a slightly spicier. The overall standard was good though. 


I added a flavored egg for just 0.50 cents. I did not have an expectation but ended up impressed by how its taste. It was done well to give the egg yolk a desired softness with a pretty orangey color. Pricing it at 0.50 cents is definitely worth the value as compared to the $2 charged in those proper ramen shops. 


Perhaps i did not mix it too well as the slight spiciness was gone slightly when i was about done with my noodle. It has bits of those dried shrimps at the bottom of the soup and it reminded me a little of laksa. 


BROTHERS RAMEN
Block 5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-04/05 Teck Kee Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 081005.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Saybons - French Food Factory

They started by wanting to make french food accessible and affordable as their main objective. 








SAYBONS - FRENCH FOOD FACTORY
9 Bishan Place #02-27A Junction 8 SINGAPORE 579837.

Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint

I was there for the Thai Seafood Soup but the stall was closed on that day. 

This shop seemed to be an alternative. I have been wanting to try it ever since they tried to sell their shop with recipe for $3.5 million. I guess the sales did not go through as i recognised the lady behind the chopping board to be the lady boss featured on the news. 

There was quite a queue when i was there at about 1 pm and almost all tables were occupied then. I managed to find a table while my lunch partner joined in the queue to order. He waited for about 15 minutes or so before he got to order. We decided to have a plate of Char Siew & Roasted Meat Rice and a plate of Roasted Meat with Roasted Duck Rice together with Salted Vegetable Duck Soup for a total of $14.20. 


The taste of Char Siew and Roasted Meat was just decent with a rather nice texture.





The roasted duck was a pure disappointment. It was probably the worst roasted duck that i ever tasted as it has got a pretty strong burnt taste and the meat was a tad too tough. This was probably the worst roasted duck that i ever tasted.



The Salted Vegetable Duck Soup was the most enjoyable on that day. It has got a generous amount of salted vegetable with pieces of chicken wing in it. The soup was slightly oily but it has got an appetising saltish taste that i enjoyed.




This is likely to be the only experience as i am not likely to come back.

Overall rating: 2/5


KAY LEE ROAST MEAT JOINT
125 Upper Paya Lebar Road SINGAPORE 534838.