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Inspired by the wide ranging food available & travel accessibility in Singapore, this blog serves information shared and experienced by the author. Beware, it might be highly addictive.
Our planned lunch destination was permanently closed and we quickly settled down at the nearby food centre. There were not many stalls open during then and with a limited choice, I quickly ordered my bowl of noodles from Yong Le Kedai Makan.
Yong Le Kedai Makan
Upon seeing the word Bittergourd, I could not resist but drew myself closer to their stall and took a look at the menu.
Menu
I ordered Bee Tai Mak Dry with a bowl of Bitter Gourd Soup. The Bee Tai Mak was tossed in sweet black sauce and topped with minced pork, and chopped & fried onion. Simple and tasty that I could finish up the entire bowl of noodles without having the bowl of soup.
Mee Daging+ Sup Peria 肉脆面 + 苦瓜汤 - RM 7
The soup was tasty with hints of Chinese wine and strips of ginger were added to add freshness to the soup. Ingredients include thin slices of bitter gourd, tomato, fishballs, minced meat, lean meat, liver and pork kidney.
Soup
Soup was ideally sweetened by the use of the above ingredients and best of all, the texture of the kidney and pork kidney was more than what I had expected. It was rich and not overly done. Stall owners were proud that the kidney was well cleaned and indeed there is no trace of foul smell.
Kidney
It was indeed a rare find along the road while we were travelling in Pekan Nanas, the portion is indeed generous.
Yong Le Ku Gua Mi Fen Tang 永乐苦瓜米粉汤 干捞猪肝 Location: Jalan Besar, Taman Sri Pekan Nenas, 81500 Pekan Nanas, Johor, Malaysia
We did the same thing again by filling u our stomachs with Cottage Spices Nyonya Food before leaving Malacca for Singapore, 6 years apart. Having experienced long queues even on a weekday, we had decided to visit the place as soon as it starts operating for the day.
Cottage Spices - A Taste of Melaka
The coverage of their menu as well as the batik table cloth still feel familiar to me from the last visit. Groups of customers came strolling into the Restaurant after we settled down.
Menu
Otak Otak also better known as Steamed Fish Cake. As a starter dish, this whet our appetite for more. It was not overly spicy and the taste of fish as well as spices were prominent.
Otak-Otak 蒸娘惹鱼饼 - RM 26 (Medium)
Sotong Sambal Petal is one of the recommended dishes under the Seafood Menu. The squid was fried with stink bean and well coated with sambal sauce and cut onions.
Sotong Sambal Petai 参巴臭豆墨鱼 - RM 41
Out of the Egg dishes, Telur Dadar Cinclok is still a popular choice among us. The fermented shrimps omelette was fluffy and went well with our plates of rice.
Telur Dadar Cincalok 娘惹虾子酱煎蛋 - RM 19 (Medium)
Ayam Buah Keluak aka Black Nut Chicken is one of my favourite Nyonya dish for ordering. The spices is strong and chicken was tender.
Ayam Buah Keluak 黑果鸡 - RM 33 (Regular)
The sour and spicy Tamarind Fish Head was the bomb! The tangy Nyonya flavour gravy was perfect to go with the plate of white rice.
Asam Pedas Kepala Ikan Nyonya 娘惹阿参鱼头 - RM 58
The Asam Pedas was addictive and the fish was cooked together in some lady fingers and brinjas. Very appetizing dish!
Lady's Fingers & Brinja
The stewed chicken in fermented bean paste together with potato cubes and slices of mushroom were delicious too.
Ayam Pongteh 娘惹酱汁鸡 - RM 22 (Regular)
Sambal dish is the quintessential of the Nyonya cuisine and if you are a fan of Brinja
Terung Sambal 茄子叁巴 - RM 25 (Medium)
Here's another recommended dishes under the seafood section. The prawns were well cooked in coconut milk with pineapple. The spice together with the fragrant coconut milk and sour taste from the pineapple were perfect.
Udang Lemak Nenas 凤梨椰奶明虾 - RM 69
The meal would not be completed without the cuisine's staple dessert like cendol. It was a small serving topped with red bean, coconut jelly and drenched with gula melaka and coconut milk.
Cendol 晶露 - RM 5.80
Dessert
While the recommended Nyonya Restaurants in Malacca are always crowded during peak hours, it will be best to visit them early. A pet peeve here maybe that the car parking lots were rather limited in the area.
Cottage Spices Nyonya Restaurant Location: 171, Taman Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka, Malaysia Website
I have been craving for a delicious Teppanyaki meal for the longest time ever since my favourite restaurant at Jurong Hilltop closed down. Located in CHIJMES, Tatsu combined sushi as well as the Teppanyaki concept in the restaurant even though the seating is rather limited.
Tatsu @ Chijmes
We were quite lucky for no reservations were made on a weekend and gotten ourselves a seat at the counter. Despite the low ceiling with opened kitchen and confined air-conditioned environment, the air was still well-ventilated.
Counter for Teppankaki
They have wide varieties of raw fish and these fish are flown in from Japan 4 times a week to ensure the utmost freshness. I had their Mekajiki Sashimi and these slices were thick and delicious.
Swordfish Belly Sashimi - $12
We ordered the Wagyu Dinner Course at $128 as well as Wagyu & Lobster Course at $168.
These were included in the Wagyu Dinner Course :
Salad
Slipper Lobster
Scallop
Wagyu Steak
Assorted Mushroom
Seafood Fried Rice
Asari Miso Soup
Dessert
And these were included in Wagyu & Lobster Course:
Salad
Lobster
Wagyu Steak
Assorted Mushroom
Seafood Fried Rice
Lobster Head Miso Soup
Dessert
The set meal starts with a bowl of Salad dressed in tasty Japanese Goma Sauce. The mixture of greens, vegetables and tomatoes gave a refreshing start to our meals.
Salad
Following the usual Teppanyaki Restaurant practice, the raw food will be served in a tray for our eyes before the chef places them down on the hot plate.
Combination of ingredients from the sets
As for the Seafood Fried Rice that we were having, ingredients such as prawns, salmon, cucumbers and carrots were included.
Seafood Fried Rice Ingredients
The chef is friendly and he started off by cooking the scallops as well as the slipper lobster (Crayfish).
Crayfish & Scallops on the Way!
Adding Oil
Chef Preparing the Seafood
The freshness of the crayfish was commendable. Without much seasoning, the original taste brought up the freshness of the seafood.
Time for Crayfish
The lobster was served with creamy sauce and tantalising.
Lobster
The charred edges and sauce over the scallops were addictive. I just could not stop at 1 after popping it into my mouth,
Scallops
Chef at work
Keeping the chef busier, we ordered another side dish on top of our meal. The texture of Foie Gras was rich, buttery and delicate. The charred taste as well as the fried garlic and spring onion toppings had given additional taste to the dish.
Foie Gras - $38
Soon these slab of Wagyu steak was skillfully cut up into uniform pieces and processed by the chef in front of our eyes.
Wagyu Steak
Checking the Doneness
In no time, we get to enjoy these juicy beef cubes on the plate. Doneness of these beef cube was perfect. A handful of fried garlic slices were given to pair with these.
Wagyu Cube
The lobster head was made useful by cooking them in soup. Compared to the Asari soup, this was much sweeter.
Lobster Head Miso Soup
The last dish of the meal before the chef cleans up the hot plate. Surprisingly the bowl of fried rice was great. It swept my feet off for every pearl grain was well coated in flavour. The egg fragrance with the chunks of seafood within sums up a good bowl of fried rice.
Seafood Fried Rice
Moving on to the last dish on the menu before we moved our butts will be the creamy chocolate pie that was drizzled with chocolate sauce. It was quite a small portion which I think was not overly cloying for the palettes.
Chocolate Pie Dessert
It was a pleasant experience in Tatsu for Teppanyaki and I do not mind splurging some money for occasions to enjoy a good meal like this.
Rating: 4 / 5
Tatsu Location: CHIJMES, 30 Victoria Street #01-08 Singapore 187996 Nearest Station: City Hall (EW13 / NS25) Website
A place where Unagi lovers need to check out in Guoco Tower. Unatoto is a popular Unagi Don chain in Japan. Adding to the existing popular Unagi Don competitors like Unagi Tei (previously known as Man Man) & Unagiya Ichinoji in the market but at an advantage to consumers like us as we have more choices for Unagi dining.
Unatoto Japanese Unagi Restaurant
This flagship of Unatoto is located in Guoco Tower, strategically next to Tanjong Pagar MRT station with hundreds of outlets across Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Menu
Yes! Just recently, they are opened on Saturdays as well as Sundays. We were relatively early on a weekend morning and were the first few customers. The interior was decorated with Japanese concepts, hanging Japanese Posters and portraits on the wall while the furnishings were mainly wooden in theme.
Japanese Theme
Having starting off our meal with a warm portion of Chawanmushi with mushrooms and meat. The taste was decent and nothing much special in taste. If you prefer Unagi in Chawanmushi, they have that on their menu too.
Chawanmushi 茶碗蒸し- $5
We ordered the Umaki which comes with a choice of half or full. It is savoury tamagoyaki encased with unagi in the middle. Besides that, the Umaki was "stamped" on its surface.
Umaki うまきい - $5.50
Unagi in Umaki
While I prefer more options to savour down my bowl of Unagi Rice, I went ahead ordering Hitsumabishi. The wholesome unagi is grilled and chopped into pieces then spread on the rice and topped with cut seaweed. If you prefer to pair them with broth, scoop some rice and unagi and put them in a separate bowl and pour the broth in it.
Hitsumabushi ひつまぶし- $13.50
The value for money Unagi grilled over the charcoal. The double portion looks good with Unatoto's special Unagi Tare sauce complimenting the Unagi decking up by a bed of Japanese White Rice. The Unagi was well coated in its sauce and the first bite of it had me given them a thumbs up! Soft & tender with a good smokiness from the charcoal.
Unadon Double うなどんダブル - $14.50
Yummy Unagi
Compared to Unagi Tei aka Man Man, we get to see the processes where the Eels were alive, BBQ, then served on our plates. However in Unatoto, we can only see through the glass with staff on duty doing the grilling over charcoal fire. Nonetheless, if you are carving for Unagi Don, do keep in mind to try out Unatoto.
While waiting for our food to be served from Restoran Nasi Ayam Kian Huat in the morning, we walked around, trying to get an experience and feel of the locals for the scene of street hawkers like these are simply extinct in Singapore.
Kueh
Its quite interesting to see hawkers preparing their food in mobile carts, setting up tables and spreading up products for their business. The usual staples food for breakfast for Asians can be easily purchased in Pasar Pagi Taman Pelangi.
Stalls
Fried Fritters, Kuehs, Soya Bean Drink, Bean Curd & Chee Cheong Fun, you name it, they have it.
Chee Cheong Fun Stall
There are hawkers that come in bikes selling roasted meat too.
Roasted Meat
It feels like turning on a time machine and walking back into the past. We got to see how butchers work with the limited space on their scooters, weighing the meat. The scene of houseflies landing on fresh meat reminds us of how fortunate we are, coming from a place where our hygiene is well taken care of.
The Mobile Butcher
There are crabs for sale too kept in a styrofoam box and cover by some metal gauze.
Crab
Hopping over to the dried good stalls, you can see ginger, ikan billis, onions and potatoes etc.
Dried Goods
There are fruit stalls as well as juices too.
Fruits and Juices
Strawberries
Yong Tau Foo
It looks as good as if I miss out on the night market in JB, I can head down to the Pasar Pagi to get what I want too.
What do you need
There are also a number of repeated stalls selling the same food as well as household items.
Dry Goods
Do you want to grab some poultry back home too?
Poultry
Poultry
Poultry
We cannot miss out on the fishmonger when there are butchery and poultry stalls. In fact, the spontaneous him had actually posed for us in the picture.
Fish Mongo
While walking down the street of Pasar Pagi, we can already smell the alluring fragrance of the fried carrot cake from a distance.
Fried Carrot Cake
The "Cling Clang Cling Clang" sound can be heard too.
Busy at Work
Even though we had our breakfast, the lingering aroma along the walkways of the Pasar Pagi had tempted me.
I'm Resisting
If you are looking for bites, pancakes are available too.
Pancakes
This stall is just a walking distance away from our breakfast place and the steaming hot Tau Huay aka Beancurd is simple and stomach comforting.
Bean Curd & Soya Milk
When you see Beancurd or Soya Milk Stall, there is always a fried fritters stall nearby.
Fried Fritters
I could not resist the food and bought some Fried Fritters aka "You Tiao" and bean curd.
Before our Breakfast
You will be asked if you prefer the normal amount of sugar syrup on the wobbly bowl of beancurd.
Beancurd
Here it goes, the traditional way of enjoying the local snacks.
Uniquely Asian
Pasar Pagi Tamn Pelangi is opened every Monday and Thursday from 6.30am to 10am. Do visit them if you got the chance.
Pasar Pagi Taman Pelangi Location: Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
