Don . 档 : Western-Japanese Fusion Donburi in Coffee Shop

It has only started on 19 December 2016, it is a hawker stall in a coffee shop serving Western-Japanese fusion Donburi. As it stated on their Facebook page that they "aim to bring you the best in Western-Japanese fusion Donburi through the finest selection of meats and fine-dining cooking method". They are serving 6 different types of Donburi: Wagyu Beef Don ($12.90), Salted Egg Tempura Don ($9.90), Mentaiko Salmon Don ($9.90), "Sio Bak" Don ($8.90), "Dak Gang Jeong" Don ($7.90) and Garlic Parmesan Chicken Don ($7.90). There are also side dishes like Blooming Onion ($5.00), Dragon Fries ($6.00), Dak Gang Jeong ($6.00), Buttermilk Crispy Wings ($6.00) and Over-baked Blue Ginger Wings ($6.00) to go with dips like Truffle Aioli ($0.50), Wasabi Mayo ($0.50) and Japanese Curry ($0.50). Miso Soup is also available at $2.00. 

I decided to go with the Wagyu Beef Don and when I could not decide on the other item to order, I asked for the recommendation. I was told that their 3 best sellers are Wagyu Beef Don, Salted Egg Tempura Don, and Mentaiko Salmon Don. The handsome chap that was taking my order said, "It actually depends on the type of texture that you want". I went with the Salted Egg Tempura Don. And, he asked, "Do you want to go with Miso Soup, it is only at $1.00 when you order a Don?". I decided to get just a bowl. I paid a total of $23.80. I asked, "Would you serve it to me?" as I overheard he was asking the customer in front of me for the table number. I did not take notice of the "Self-service" signage displayed near the right corner of their stall. That chap did not point it out but agreed to send it to our table. This is a part of good service. Both orders were served at the same time in about 10 minutes by the same chap, he said, "I will bring the Miso Soup over later as it's not hot enough". He brought it over in a couple of minutes together with the receipt which I was not given earlier.

Wagyu Beef Don consists of 54 degrees sous vide Wagyu beef with donburi sauce and served with 72 degrees onsen egg and japonica rice. 

Apparently, i did not like it as much. The texture of the beef was slightly tough and too chewy to my liking. Those sliced beef seemed to be overcooked based on its color.

And, I felt Miso Soup with only wakame and silky tofu is not quite worth the $2.00 and not even at $1.00 when order as a set. It did not have much of the miso flavor, a little too light and diluted. I understand the reasonably high costs involved in running a hawker stall but I still think that they might want to consider to give it as compliment together with an order of Donburi. 

The Salted Egg Tempura Don consists of tiger prawns and assorted vegetables fried in tempura butter then sprinkled with their special salted egg yolk mix and also served with 72 degrees sous vide egg and japonica rice. 

It might not be disappointing if they just named it Tempura Don as I could not taste much of the salted egg flavor from their supposedly special salted egg yolk mix. Those tempura pieces were lightly battered and deep-fried well to get that desired crispiness, it was nicely done actually. 

Though the overall taste was far from 'Oishi' but the stall is only less than a month old, they still need time to fine-tune as well as to make the improvement. I would just give it another go but not too soon.

DON . 档

30 Foch Road #01-02 Fusion Food Dynasty Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 209276

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 9.30 pm (Daily)

Royal J's Seafood : Fried Porridge is a must-try!

The first time when i came across Fried Porridge was in Penang which i did not get to try. Then, i heard about this particular Fried Porridge when they were still at Machperson but again, i did not get to try. There were many reviews about this Fried Porridge on the net that got me really curious and finally made an effort to try it at their current location at Foch Road, which is at Lavender and near to Jalan Besar.

I went on a Sunday, it was not too crowded in the coffee shop though there was a short queue for the supposedly famous roasted meat stall there. I decided to try their signature Fried Porridge and also Seafood Horfun, i was charged $14.00 for both and have to pay right at the counter after ordering.

The Fried Porridge came first, though it is the smallest portion that i ordered but it was good for 2 pax. It is done the same way of frying rice or even noodle, the already cooked porridge is then stir-fried in a wok over a relatively high fire using a ladle to keep tossing in a fast motion repeatedly and rather quickly. When is done, it is then served in a claypot to keep it warm and garnished with chopped spring onions and dried shallots.

It might not quite look like it but it tasted much better than expected. The texture is not as mushy but much thicker then the plain porridge and rather flavorful. You could actually taste bits of dried shrimps, dried squids and fried pork lards that contributed to its intensified flavor. Even though i have yet to try another one to have a comparison but this one is good enough to get me going back. If you happen to know another Fried Porridge in Singapore, do leave me a message as i am interested to try for comparison purpose.

The Seafood Horfun came next. I did not take notice of its price when placing the order earlier but if the total cost for both items is $14.00 and the smallest portion of Fried Porridge is $6.00 then the Seafood Horfun should be at $8.00. If it is so then its value did not quite justify the price charged. It was served in a substantial portion with ingredients like sliced fish, prawns and squids with some greens. I could taste the distinctive wok taste from those nicely charred fried horfun and unlike most other horfun that is usually missing the wok taste. It is indeed getting harder to come across a really good horfun these days and though this might not be the best ever tasted but it is not too bad.

I am likely to try other dishes when i come by again for their Fried Porridge.

ROYAL J'S SEAFOOD

30 Foch Road #01-02 Hotel 81 Elegance SINGAPORE 209276

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 2.30 pm / 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm (Daily)

Crazie Chef: Room for Improvement

I was there with a friend in the evening on a weekday slightly after 5 pm. The Chef was all alone at the stall this time. My initial order was steak but he said it is not available and he did not have ribs at that time too. He said it is better to pre-order as he only restock it once a week or based on his orders. I could not help but wonder how good is his business as he is not even confident enough to fully stock up on his beef to meet the needs.

I decided to go with his signature TexMex (Texmas Mexican) Chicken Chop at $8.90 and Napolean Sauce Lamb shank at $26.90. We waited for slightly more than 30 minutes for both orders to be served. There was just another order by other table to be served at the same time. That might be the reason why did not he want to serve us when we were there on the other occasion when he claimed he was on the stand up for booking.

The TexMex Chicken Chop came first. It was served with Baked Potato with Cheese Sauce and a portion of grilled vegetable consists of Broccoli, Bottom Mushroom and Tomato. 

The Chicken Chop was nicely grilled to give it a slight crisp and charred texture but the the BBQ sauce did not taste too special. Apparently it tasted just like those ready made bottled BBQ sauce that are easily available in supermarket. I am a huge fan of Chicken Chop but i did not like what i have tasted and not likely to come back.

Chef informed that the Lamb Shank is quite a big portion and he asked whether it is meant to be shared as it might be a bit too big for just 1 person to finish.

The Lame Shank served after a good 15 minutes after the Chicken Chop. The chef was apologetic though. He explained that what made his Lamb Shank special is the desired softness of the meat that would came off the bone effortlessly. The Lamb Shank was not as big as told by the chef. The pool of sauce tasted just like any pasta sauce but it was overwhelmed with sweetness and i did not like it. Chef claimed that most locals like it sweet so it is not possible for him to tone down the level of sweetness.

The mashed potato was nice but not quite memorable, definitely not the best that i have ever tasted. The Lamb Shank was nicely done to give it just the right texture but it was not seasoned enough to be flavorful. I felt the quality and taste did not justify the $26.90 for the dish. I could not quite understand the need of serving it with such a massive portion of sauce if the food is really that good. 

CRAZIE CHEF

465 Crawford Lane #01-5401 SINGAPORE 190465

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 2.30 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Tuesday to Friday)

1.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday) (Closed on Mondays)

Kaya Toast, Soft Boiled Eggs and Coffee - Traditional Breakfast

What do you usually eat for breakfast? A typical set of traditional like coffee with soft-boiled eggs and kaya toast is the preferred choice of the older generation. But, this is not quite likely be the preferred choice of the younger generation. Many of these youngsters would rather have it in one of those fast food outlets or some of those western cafes serving the so called all-day breakfast like those Egg Benedict sets. 

Such a simple breakfast is served at $3.40 right here, a coffee shop along the Lavender Road. It reminded me of my Grandpa and this would definitely be his choice for a good breakfast to start his day. 

The soft-boild egg and coffee were served first, right to the table. I was told that the soft-boiled eggs have to wait for 6 minutes for it to be ready. The coffee did not taste as good as i expected it to be. It was rather diluted with not quite enough coffee taste and it did not taste too milky as little condensed milk was added though the sweetness was just right. 

The Kaya Toast came later. It was lightly toasted with a thin layer of kaya applied together with a piece of butter sandwiched in between.

Waited for the 6 minutes to be up before removed the eggs from the hot water in the plastic corner.

Then cracked it lightly to break it and poured it onto the saucer. This followed by the other egg.

The next step is to sprinkled a little white pepper with a few drops of soya sauce added.

All done and getting ready to eat.

The best way to enjoy it is to dip the toast into the egg yolk to have it slightly coasted then eat it.

This is the most perfect breakfast to a good day. Simple yet satisfying. 

DING LE FOOD COURT

119 Lavender Road SINGAPORE 338731

Dinner at Lavender Food Square

It was a rainy evening. I was right at this food centre for a quick dinner before proceed to a meeting. I wanted something hot so this claypot prawn noodle is definitely a good choice. Serving it in the Claypot is a good way to retain its heat and to keep the noodle soup hot. 

There was a short queue of a few people when i was there. I decided to go with the $5 portion of big prawn noodle listed as the number 1 item on their menu. A substantial portion of the yellow noodle served with 4 pieces of medium sized halved prawns in rather tasty prawn broth.

The prawn was of a reasonable size and tasted rather fresh with natural sweetness detected. 

The noodle was cooked to the right texture to give it the desired chewiness. A handful of bean sprouts were added to give it the delightful texture. 

Some big prawns displayed in the water tanks. 

The Uncle passionately cooked every bowl of noodle before served. 

A queue was still there even after i done eating. This may not be the best tasting prawn noodle that i ever tasted but it is definitely amongst one of the above average stalls. 

ALBERT STREET PRAWN NOODLE

Block 380 Jalan Besar Lavender Food Square #01-42 SINGAPORE 209000.

This stall replaced the original beef noodle stall right at this location in the food centre. I heard the owner of that particular stall has already retired. No queue spotted when i was there for dinner. I still decided to go ahead to try it. I ordered the $5 portion with just pieces of sliced beef and nothing else. 

The substantial portion of thick bee hoon served in the thick gooey sauce then topped with salted vegetable and sesame seeds to serve. 

The first mouthful did not manage to amaze me. The taste did not even come close to the previous stall. It tasted rather average as compared to some of the betters one that i ever eaten. There were quite a few slices of nicely cooked beef in it. The thickness of these sliced beef was just right to give it the desirable chewiness. 

The salted vegetable with little saltish taste. It did not help to enhance the overall taste any further. 

This is definitely not my top choice when i am craving for beef noodle. 

CHINATOWN BEEF NOODLE

Block 380 Jalan Besar Lavender Food Square #01-28 SINGAPORE 209000.