Tan Xiang Yuan

Singaporeans are not strangers to celebrity restaurants, let alone this conservation building occupied by Tan Xiang Yuan. It is a Cantonese concept restaurant owned by celebrity owners, Ben Yeo and Chef Cao Yong.

Tang Xiang Yuan 

In the evening

Located in a two-storey conservation building, the restaurant can accommodate approximately 70 people with both indoor and outdoor seating options. For the al fresco area, the place is equipped with many portable fans and a sheltered area.

2nd Level

We raised our cups of fragrant Chinese tea in a toast to happiness and health, savoring the warm, comforting aroma as we clinked glasses. This ritual set a celebratory tone, marking the beginning of our meal and heightening our appreciation for the forthcoming feast.

Toasting

The Peking duck was presented before us with a remarkable allure. Its skin, a flawless golden brown, was crisp and glistening, inviting admiration and anticipation. The texture of the skin was incredibly delicate, promising a satisfying crunch with each bite. 

Peking Duck 北京烤鸭 - $98

As the waitress skillfully removed the glistening skin, piece by piece, the crackling sound heightened our anticipation. Each crackle seemed to amplify our eagerness, awakening our senses and building the excitement for the indulgence that awaited us. The meticulous process only deepened our appreciation for the dish, making the imminent enjoyment of the Peking duck even more tantalizing.

Processing the Peking Duck in Progress

Each slice of skin was a perfect golden-brown, with a glossy sheen that highlighted its crisp texture. The surface was subtly caramelised, creating a delicate crackle when touched. 

The Duck Skin

A Peking duck wrap with a twist. The combination creates a delightful contrast of textures and flavors: the richness of the duck, the crispiness from both the skin and the toasted beancurd, and the refreshing bite of the vegetables, all wrapped up in a delicate pancake. It's a deliciously unique take on the classic Peking duck wrap.

Peking Duck Wrap

There are a few variations of cooking style for the leftover duck meat at an additional of $10. We can choose, Scallion Ginger, Salt & Pepper or Cereal Coat. We had the Salt & Pepper and although the seasonings were flavourful, the non-meaty pieces of duck were the shortcomings of the dish.

Salt Pepper 椒盐

The seafood hot pot came brimming with a rich and flavorful seafood broth. It featured an array of premium ingredients: plump tiger prawns, delicate fish maw, tender Lala clams, succulent abalone, tender fish slices, seaweeds, Tofu, hearty taro cubes, and expertly crafted house-made shrimp and pork balls.

TXY Signature Seafood Hot Pot 招牌海鲜炉 - $98

Each component contributed to the broth's depth of flavour, resulting in a delectable and satisfying dish. The freshness of the ingredients infused the broth with an irresistible taste.

Our Own Servings

The freshness of the ingredients spoke for itself, each bite and sip revealing their superior quality.

Dipping Sauce

The vibrant flavours and tender textures of the tiger prawns, fish maw, Lala, and other components highlighted the exceptional freshness, making the broth exceptionally flavorful and satisfying.

Freshness of Ingredients

Enjoying the simplicity of vegetable dishes like this, we delighted in the stir-fried Green Dragon vegetables with beansprouts. The dish showcased a harmonious blend of crisp, fresh vegetables, with the Green Dragon vegetables adding a subtle, earthy flavour and the beansprouts providing a satisfying crunch. The stir-frying process enhanced their natural flavours while maintaining their vibrant colour and texture, making it a refreshing and satisfying complement to our meal.

Green Dragon Vegetables with Beansprouts 青龙苗

While the kid usually prefers their usual snacks over our dishes, we were pleasantly surprised to find that TXY offers cheese sticks. These cheesy treats turned out to be a hit, keeping the kid entertained with the fun of pulling apart the gooey, stretchy cheese. The unexpected addition of cheese sticks to the menu was a welcome surprise that kept the little one happily occupied.

Cheese Sticks

Head over to Dickson Road and enjoy some quality Chinese Food at Tang Xiang Yuan.

Tan Xiang Yuan
Location: 1 Dickson Road Singapore 209493

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge

After all these years of having pork porridge around, I'm still swearing that Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge has the best Pork Porridge in Singapore. 

Stall of Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge 

I like the consistency of the porridge texture with a mixture of pork in the porridge. The pieces of fried fritter, use of spring onions, Dong Cai and fried shallots add on aroma to the bowl. 

Pork Porridge with Egg - $4.50

Topping up my bowl of Porridge for another $0.50.

Add On Egg 

Time passes but the bowl of stomach-comforting porridge still tastes as good as before. The minced meat ball still pack with unique flavours that you will not find in another porridge stall. 

Ingredients

While we were early but was not the earliest, we waited about 15 minutes for the order. I will be back again for my favourite again!

Rating: 4 / 5

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge

Location: 638 Veerasamy Rd, Singapore 200638

Al Haleem Restaurant

It was a rare sight that we were here in Little India after dinner time and for supper. If not for the Art Jamming class at Paint Blush we had a few doors away, we would not have a chance to be here.

Al-Haleem

The creamy Butter Chicken was good to pair with our Garlic Naans. It was creamy but not cloying.

Butter Chicken Masala - $8 

 Its fragrance and taste were a good marriage to our Naans.

Butter Chicken & Naan

This is the first time I'm having their classic curried dish from North Indian Cuisine which was supposedly made with fresh spinach, onions, spices, panner and herbs. I was kind of turned off by the artificial green colour that made my entire mouth green. 

Palak Panner - $7

"Palak" is a Hindi word for "Spinach" and "Paneer" refers to cottage cheese. Pardon me but the cheese tasted similar to our Chinese food Tau Gua instead.

Cheese

Sharing the Naan with my friends, we had Garlic and Kulcha Naan. The Kulcha Naan was made up of shredded carrots. Both Naan tasted decent with the gravy we ordered.

Garlic Naan & Kulcha Naan - $3.50 Each

On a side note, we had the egg pratas with Dhal Curry and we loved it very much for the vegetarian curry was packed with Chickpeas taste. Yummy!

Rating: 3 / 5

Al Haleem Restaurant
Location:  65 Dunlop St, Singapore 209393

Paintblush Pte Ltd

I have been wanting to try Art Jamming for a long time as I have been seeing people having fun while making their artistic creations from scratch on a blank canvas.

PaintBlush offers a good experience of art jamming different from others are it always us to bring your own bottles & snacks and enjoy them in painting with some awesome music and also ending off the session with a complimentary photobooth.

PaintBlush

At PaintBlush, its about the experience and they believe that its more important to have fun thus the studio allows us to bring in our drinks and snacks. 

Where Masterpieces are Created

Art Jamming price includes canvas, acrylic paints and palette, brushes, easel stand and paintbrush apron.

Palette and Acrylic Paints

No doubt that everyone paints with the same reference painting, everyone's individuality and personality shine through in their interpretation of the painting. Did you spot the outstanding portrait?

Across the Horizon

With the patience and advice from the instructor, I managed to paint this masterpiece. To be honest, I haven't been touching the paintbrush since I left secondary school days. I can't believe I'm holding brush and painting again after so many years.

My Masterpiece

It was a pleasant experience, that we got to enjoy a bottle of wine while painting. It really gives us more creativity.  Share the joys with my mates and have a fun time painting. You can bring your own wine/drinks/BBT!

Wine

We ended our session with our masterpieces at the photo booth against the artistic backdrop. 

Photobooth

Photos will be sent to participants via WhatsApp in around 1-2 weeks time. 

Complimentary Photos 

My 1st experience of Art Jamming was great and therapeutic. It had kind of took my stress away and I'm enjoying every moment of my painting session. Jacky who was our Art Instructor was supportive and encouraging. The environment was cosy too with a good ambience.

Thank you PaintBlush and Scale Micro Influencers for having us.

Paintblush Pte Ltd
Location: 73 Dunlop St, #02-00, Singapore 209401
Website

Copper Chimney

Copper Chimney is located at Syed Alwi Road, just directly opposite Mustafa Center. They are dedicated to providing a good experience of North Indian and Indian Chinese Halal Food. With this, they have also become one of the Best Indian Food Chains in Singapore since 2012.

Copper Chimney

Service is friendly with the staff recommending dishes to detail when asked. 

We started off with the Masala Roomali. As I do not have many chances to try out North Indian Cuisine, it is kind of interesting to learn that Masala Roomali looks like a big bowl makes up of thin crispy crust. It was sweet and appetising with finely cut tomato dice and red onions.

Masala Roomali - $9

The Chicken Malai Tikka was served on a plate of 4 chicken fillets. The surface of the chicken was slightly charred and the meat was tender as well as succulent. Squeezing the refreshing Kaffir lime juice over them and enjoy dabbing them into the sauce given.

Chicken Malai Tikka - $17.90

We had Chicken Biryani as the main. It was served in a pot accompanied by yoghurt. There are two pieces of chicken among the fragrant long grain basmati rice.

Chicken Biryani - $16.50

My friend had the Minty Calamansi and it's always the case that my North Indian Cuisine cannot be considered complete without a cup of Lassi.

Mint Calamansi &  Mango Lasi - $6 & $8

I do enjoy North Indian food and having said that, such cuisine is not very common in the malls and I do not mind making a return for other dishes.

Rating: 3 / 5

Copper Chimney
Location: 100 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207676

Website

South Buona Vista Braised Duck

The first time when I learnt that South Bouna Vista Braised Duck (South Buona Vista Road Famous Teochew Boneless Duck [Closed]) had moved to Desker Road, we drove all the way there but were left with frustrations as we made numerous rounds in the vicinity and got no parking lots.

This time, I decided to give it a try while I was in the vicinity hunting for some Heritage Challenges. They finally have a shop space of their own with simple white walls and non-elaborated furnishings. If you are looking for some Instagram worthy decorations, I'm afraid there aren't any but if you are here for their food, you are sure to bring back with a satisfying tummy.

In the shop of South Bouna Vista Braised Duck

The braised duck was savoury just like the way we like it. The starchy braised sauce was rich enough to give a good flavour to the plate of meat. To add on, the meat was tender and soft

Signature Braised Duck for 2 Pax - $12 with 2 Bowls of Porridge at $1 each

The chilli dip goes well with every item on the plate, including braised duck and cucumber. It was both sweet with a little spicy kick from the sambal and have a sour vinegar taste with some minced garlic as well as chopped chilli.

The Complete Order

If you enjoy braised items, you can order their braised egg, beancurd and beancurd skin with peanuts set.

Braised Egg, Beancurd, Beancurd Skin, Peanut Set - $4 (Small)

There are a few signature Sambal dishes that are not to be missed, namely their Sambal Kang Kong, Tofu, Prawn and Sotong.

To be honest, I felt warmth in the tummy as well as in my heart for I have been missing this taste ever since.

Sambal Kang Kong - $8 (Small)

We have ordered the cup of Homemade water chestnut to beat the heaty day. The day was so hot that we ordered 2 cups per pax.

Homemade Water Chestnut Drink - $1.80

I will say that they have maintained the "99 Bend Braised Duck Rice" standard that I used to have during my school days. If to compare the popular braised duck rice we have in Singapore, for example, Sean Kee, I will say that they are of both different levels of taste, sometimes I will miss one of them. Last but not least, there are no service charges or GST to be paid here.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

South Buona Vista Braised Duck

Location: 81 Desker Road Singapore 209604

Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice & Hainanese Chicken Rice

If you have heard of the previous Carona Fried Chicken, this stall is a hawker gem that was lost and found. I haven't really heard of this stall previously but when I was there for the famous Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge, I learnt that this stall is famous for its fried chicken. Be prepared to join the long queues during peak hours!

Stall

No doubt that we were there during non-peak hours, many of the dishes were sold out and we were limited to only some of the items on the menu. The soups given are of self-service and can be taken over at the ordering counter in the big pot. The soup has a subtle sweet taste from the vegetables and chicken meat. Such taste feels totally homely and nourishing.

Order

The rice was fragrant and not too oily pairing the chopped pieces of chicken meat, with mixed beans topped with sesame seeds on their sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice 酸甜鸡肉饭 - $4

Lemon Chicken Rice comes with the fragrant and grainy rice too with chopped pieces of chicken drenched in the generous use of lemon sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Lemon Chicken Rice 柠檬鸡肉饭 - $4

The famous fried chicken wings are ordered. Though the appearance may look unappealing and dry, the wings are well marinated and the layer of batter gave a crisp and nice crunchy texture as we sink our teeth into it. The piquant chilli was a good combination to these chicken wings and they reminded me of our Singaporean style of Chicken Rice chilli with a garlicky finish. 

Famous Fried Chicken Wings 驰名炸鸡翅膀 - $1.50 Each

Just like what they mentioned via words of mouth, the taste was traditionally good. No doubt they are famous, I still find that there are tastier fried chicken wings in Singapore. Nonetheless, the pricing of the chicken rice was perfectly reasonable.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice & Hainanese Chicken Rice
Location: Yi He Eating House, Blk 638 Veerasamy Road #01-101 Singapore 200638

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge

This Hainanese Porridge has a long history and was said to be one of the popular porridge stalls in Singapore. When we arrived at the coffee shop on a Public Holiday morning, most of the tables were already taken up.

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge

A basic bowl of porridge cost $3 and we have topped it up with additional egg and century eggs. Pork porridge contains innards and minced meat.

 Porridge

The texture of the porridge was smooth and consistent, added with both spring and fried onions, enhancing its taste. 

Pork Porridge with Egg & Century Egg - $4

The taste of the ingredients had told me that the porridge was carefully prepared. The pig stomach contains slight hints of pepper while the minced meat contains chopped ginger taste. They were all well marinated.

Ingredients

Fried garlic and "Dong Cai" (preserved vegetables) was also used. The entire bowl of porridge was flavourful and better than my expectations.

Yummy!

Overall, we spent about 30 minutes of wait for the bowls for porridge but if you were to ask me, I felt that it's well worth the wait. I can say that it is the best bowl of porridge that I have so far.

Rating: 4 / 5

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge
Location: 638 Veerasamy Rd, Singapore 200638