Seasalt

Checking out the hipster coffee shop in Bukit Merah again and this time round we are going for some German cuisine as well as seafood. We were quite lucky to have a seat with just walking-in and without any reservation.

Seasalt's Buzzer

Serving mussels in broth of garlic and wine and all in one pot. The pot in its handle gave us a total feel as if we were at home and an additional bucket to arrange the empty shells into it.

Mussels in Stock - $15

Those mussels were fresh and just simply dip the toasted white breads into the sauce and finished up the dish!

Mussels

Hope to be back again for others seafood.

Rating: 3 / 5

Seasalt
Location: Blk 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1 Singapore 151119

88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist

Someone raved about the delicious Hong Kong Roast Meat in Bukit Batok and I immediately thought that he was mentioning about the stall in Bukit Batok's industrial estate. This is the 2nd time having dinner from them with the first round being "Tabao" back home without actually looking at the stall.

My return to the physical stall was triggered by the urge of their impressive Char Siew Meat which I thought thought was remarkable in the neighbourhood and their generous gravy was something I look upon to.

88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist

Noodles were sold out and we have a meat platter consisting of BBQ Meat (Char Siew), Roast Pork and Roast Duck. The advantage about dining in is that, customers get to self help with the gravy from the pot themselves.

Meat Platter - $13 with 2 bowls of rice

Char Siew Meat was commendable as it was not too oily and it was also not to the extreme of using lean meats and ending up compromising its texture. Instead, the meat had good consistency of charred flavours and rights amount of fats.

Having braised sauce drench over the duck meat was awesome! Skin was crispy and absolutely fragrant without being too greasy, for extra kick, dab them into the spicy chilli given.

Top View

Though with distinctive layers of fats and meat on the crispy roast pork, it did not really suits me as I find them on a dry side. Since roast meat was their specialty, I believe this is a one time off thing and since most probably I will be back again in the day time for another try!

Roast Meat

Herbal Soup was accompanied with the roast meat platter and was not too bad.

Herbal Soup

Overall, it feels great to have another good roast meat option in Bukit Batok! I will be back for their noodles for sure!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist
Location: Blk 265 Bukit Batok East Ave 4 Singapore 650265

Chey Sua Carrot Cake 青山菜头粿

The chance is here! And this time round I was here on a weekday morning in Toa Payoh for a plate of so called one of the best carrot cake in Singapore. In the past I was there in the evening and was rather disappointed as by the time I was there, Chey Sua Carrot Cake Stall was already closed for the business day.

There was no queue in front of the stall which caught me by surprised and immediately i went up and order a medium portion at $3 but was asked for a table number. They provide the service to your table and no wonder there was no queue to be seen.

Chey Sua Carrot Cake

They are one of the few carrot cakes stall left that insist in preparing their own carrot cake from the scratch instead of adopting the factory packed carrot cake. And if you are looking for traditional taste like this, Chey Sua Carrot Cake may suits the list.

Carrot Cake - $3 (Medium)

Though most of the Carrot Cake comes in white or Black version, for Chey Sua, their default will be white. I was absolutely surprise when the lady took my order over. Carrot cake was fried to crisp and you can see the distinctively layer and amount of eggs used. The combination of crispiness and softness of their carrot cake was heavenly. Not forgetting about the consistent use of chai bor that had been mixed with the carrot cake, elevating its taste. Unlike the usual carrot cakes we had in rectangular and cube shapes, theirs remind me of Korean Kimchi Pancake.

Yummy Carrot Cake

Spelling another difference in their carrot cake will be the style of chilli used. If you realised, chilli was only a final touchup on the exterior crisp layer. The uniqueness of Chey Sua Carrot Cake had really won my heart! I don't mind travelling here in the morning for a plate of this again!

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Chey Sua Carrot Cake  青山菜头粿
Location: Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre, 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh #02-30 Singapore 310127

The Pantry

Braving the rain and huge wind that was so strong that had physically forced and pushed me to take a few steps ahead was an unforgettable experience I ever had in Amsterdam. Can't imagine my trip throughout was mostly rainy with some hiccups but still we managed to get some good meal in between.

Pantry

Walking up and down of the streets due to the blurred vision caused by the rain and street lights, we had finally managed our navigations to the doorsteps of The Pantry as advised by our mobile application for Traditional Dutch Food.

And Wow, we never knew seat was almost all taken and was lucky that we got ourselves the window seat by the door even without a reservation. We was warmly greeted by service crew and with a question of "Where are you from?" and was handed the English Menu.

We got a Table!

Environment was cozy in its dimly lit chandeliers, furnished by solid wooden table and chairs with traditional Dutch decorations (paintings & porcelains) on its wall. This spot fits a perfect date with a nice ambiance and famous music playing softly in the background.

Environment

Interior Walls

Lamps

To be frank, I know nuts about Dutch Food and as usual we hit on the usual order by choosing the Pre-Set Menu, one each.

Pantry's English Menu

Meanwhile before the Starters, we were so excited about Amsterdam Beer and got ourselves each a Amstel Gold and Amstel Radler. They were soothing as we adjusted ourselves in the warmly heated up environment.

Amstel Gold 3,75 & Amstel Radler - 3,25 Eur

MENU 1 (19,95 EUR)

Starter

Having Pea Soup was not very ideal in my impression from a start as I'm not very comfortable eating peas alone but these dutch Peas had totally changed my mindset. Soup was served in Lion Head Porcelain Bowl and it was orange instead of mushy green color. To be honest, the soup had whit my appetite. It tasted as sweet as pumpkin soup with herbs and cream and grab the slices of rye bread by the side and dip in!

Pea-Soup with Rye Bread and Smoked Bacon

Main

Presenting the traditional taste of Dutch with meatballs and mashed potatoes. The dish has a very long history in its cuisine with boiled mashed potatoes in combination of carrots, onions, sauerkraut. It has the choice to be served with smoked sausage or meatball and we chose the latter. Meatball was made up of minced meat was real good in its sauce. 

Combination of Hutspot, zuurkool - en boerenkoolstamppot served with meatball

Dessert

While dessert was Vlaflip - Vanilla custard with yoghurt and syrup. It wasn't too bad just that I had forgotten to snap a picture of it.

MENU 3 (26,80 EUR)

Starter

It took me a while before I actually start eating them as I was kind of shocked to receive the combination as a starter. 3 kind of dutch sausages were cooling and tastes quite differently. We spreaded the paste on the bread added with pickles. Well ~ what's the best / proper way to enjoy them?

Combination of Three Dutch Sausages, Served with Bread, Pickles and Mustard

Main

Pairing of Beef with onion stew was perfect for the night. The main was delighting with its tender cubes of beef. Together with sides like the shredded red cabbages and mashed potatoes, even though the portion may look small but it actually got us filled up easily.

Savoury Beef and Onion Stew with Red Cabbage and Mashed Potato

Another View

Dessert

Ending the meal with a square-cut size brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and generous portion of whipped cream, adorn with the zig zag patterns from the cherry sauce.

Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Cherry Sauce and Whipped Cream

Having dined in The Pantry was an excellent choice with friendly server that took additional steps to service their customers. Moreover as an Asian who had never experienced Dutch Food, I'm very glad that my choice of dinner was wisely chosen. Don't let your taste buds run elsewhere, The Pantry is the good opportunity for Traditional Dutch Food.

Compliments after paying Bill

The Pantry 
Location: Leidsekruisstraat 21 1017 RE Amsterdam The Netherlands
Website

Australia Dairy Co.

Australia Dairy Co. is noted as one of the top eateries in Hong Kong despite being notorious for their impatient and low tolerance service level. For those who have not been here, do not mistaken, perhaps such service treatment we have received is all parts and parcel in their service industry. Do you agree?

Pack with locals as well as tourists in snaky queues, it would take about 15 - 20 minutes to get a seat with the quick turnover time. Being in a big group of 7, we have no choice but to split ourselves into 2 groups / tables.

Australia Dairy Co.

It would be good diners can decide and think through what they like to have while queuing to prevent the discomfort later on when you are seated in the restaurant.

Menu

As once you get into the restaurant and seated, you are expected to give an immediate answer for the order when they approach you and if you are not ready, they will sulk and walk away doing other things.

Interior

This is my 2nd visit here even though I felt that atmosphere was not very ideal and very stressful. In short, I feel like having breakfast and rushing elsewhere to catch a train.

Crampy Area

Anyway, for the easier way out, standard menu set is listed and with limited choices. We picked the easier menu and be amazed that our food was served in less than 3 minutes.

Standard Menu

Macaroni was served in plate instead of bowl with thinly shredded ham and soaked in yellow tasty soup. In fact after eating few bowls of Macaroni with ham in Hong Kong, I would say that their preparation was different from the usual stock we had.

Macaroni with Ham 火腿通粉

Scrambled egg was good but on the oily side. Nevertheless the sunny bright yellow color of the egg had amazed us and we wondered how did they get the color? The toast is quite thick and perfect if you place some egg and eat them together.

牛油方包，西煎双蛋

After trying Yee Shun's milk pudding, I told myself these are the not to miss! Texture was like our Soya Bean Jelly that was in trend in the past years and of course taste was light on the milk. If you ask me to compare both, I will say Australia Dairy Co. do have their own style of preparation.

Pudding - 26 HKD

Set meal is completed with either a cup of hot coffee or tea and of course for a non-coffee lover like me, the most I will go for their milk tea!

Beverage

While my dining kakis did a top up on the beverage and make the cup of ice milk tea with little ice cubes.

Additional 2 HKD for Cold

It's kind of stressful to eat with servers consistently clearing away your empty dishes and with people in the queues keep popping their steps into the restaurant to check for empty seats. There is no luxurious time in enjoying the breakfast and we quickly make our way to the cashier after finishing our meal. Perhaps a wait of 20 minutes in the queue and 10 minutes for food?

Chiller beside the counter

Trip was completed by purchasing a glass of their chilled milk! And paper bag was given to hold the glass bottle.

Paper Bag

Well, it definitely feel better to have a "take away" and finishing up the glass of drink without being pressurized by the crowd. If you asked if I will buy that milk again, I will say I will skip it the next round as there is nothing special about it.

Glass of Milk

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Australia Dairy Co.
Location: G/F, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan  佐敦白加士街47-49號地下

Hing Kee Restaurant 興記菜館

One of our pals was claiming that he had not eaten any authentic Cantonese style Claypot rice since his 1st trip in Hong Kong and during the our last dinner of the trip, we had finally visited a place in Yau Ma Tei to ease all cravings. To be frank, I have never tasted Claypot rice in Hong Kong too, yes! Not even once in any of my trips.

Our search lead us to Temple Street and just like a typical night street, the place was filled of make-shift stalls selling clothing and all kinds of apparatus.

There were large posters near the shop to warn patrons against their imposers. In fact, competition was very fierce as the servers next door came to us and tout, trying to mislead us into their restaurant and even told us they are of the same. Unscrupulous!

Hing Kee Restaurant

Luckily we were told by other patrons that they were not the authentic and we went ahead with Hing Kee Staff and there she brought us to the entrance near the back alley and walking up into a frail wooden stairways that I felt may collapse any time. Hing Kee's Claypot Rice popularity is evident as they have a few shops and it was fully packed.

I could not have imagine that there were about 20 more patrons in that squeezy and rundown dining area. Cartons of food ingredients were stacked leaning against the wall and movements was limited in such way that our back is at close proximity to the wall or the back of the patron. Given this in Singapore, I would say such setup will never be approved by SCDF.

Media Article

Besides claypot rice, they are also serving other Chinese cook dishes. Menu contains 3 languages, Mandarin, English and Japanese.

Aisles were narrow and I felt my life was at their mercy - Beware of service crew carrying big trays of hot and heavy claypot swinging above your head if you were sitting at the aisles just like me.

Another stunning scenario that you will probably not see in Singapore was that these service crews actually placed their whole tray of scalding hot claypot on the floor while waiting for the other crew to distribute around. I wonder what will happen if NEA see this in Singapore?

Menu with Shop locations along the street

While waiting for the pot of rice to be ready we had these oysters cake to fill our stomachs. Though a layer of grease paper was placed at the bottom to adsorb the excess oil, before the oil can be fully absorbed by that piece of paper, they were already down into our hungry stomachs.

Deep Fried Oyster Cake - 70 HKD (Big) 

Forget about the additional calories as these fried oyster cake were worth all, just eat. The ratio of egg and batter used was well proportion and with ingredients like prawns, spring onions and of course oysters. Oyster cake comes in small and big sizes with the smaller ones cost 35 HKD. They were very crispy and if you love oysters, they were quite generous on the servings.

Yummy!

Finally, after about 20-30 minutes of wait, the charcoal cooked clay pot rice was served! Each serving was small and good for sharing between 1-2 pax.

Charcoal Cooked Claypot Rice

The knob-less stainless steel cover was removed, revealing the plain rice with pieces of chicken and chinese style sausage. This is the most authentic flavour of the claypot rice.Though under the charcoal fire, their chicken remain tender and juicy. As for the sausage, it was crunchy and with juices spurting out once you bite on them.

Chicken with Rice Pot 滑鸡腊肠煲仔饭- 39 HKD

To obtain a better claypot rice eating experience, we placed in the desire amount of dark sauce and give them a good consistency taste by stirring.

We could not find any more dishes more appropriate to order but at least ordering the greens will kind of make us feel healthier. These healthier choice were simply stirred fried with minced garlic and were perfect pairing to the pot of rices with its crunchy stems.

Kale 芥蘭 - 30 HKD

With so many of us ordering chicken and sausage claypot rice, I decided to be more adventurous and ordered something out of the ordinary - The Eel claypot rice. It was kind of disappointing with a few pieces of eel and whole pot of rice. Just too boring and wrong choice for me.

Eel Claypot Rice 白鳝煲仔饭 - 63 HKD

When we done with our dinner and down via the narrow stairways, we had a peep into the kitchen. I was speechless by their way of preparation the oyster cake that we had earlier. It was sinfully deep fried and for any healthy souls who caught this sight could most probably feel discomfort by the amount of oil used. Also just by standing there for about 1 minute you will already feel like a walking oyster cake with all the oil mist clinging onto the clothing.

Oyster Cake in Hot Oil

Afterall, it was a good experience for me as we seldom get to see this happening in Singapore. As a whole experience, their rice was skillfully cooked and hearty. However, I'm still not very use to the Cantonese Style of Claypot Rice and find it an average fare. I prefer the few popular ones back home instead.

Hing Kee Restaurant 興記菜館
Location: 15 Temple Street Yau Ma Tei Kowloon Hong Kong

Ippudo Express 一风堂

By now, Ippudo should need no further introduction as they are one of the popular chain ramen stalls in Singapore. Apart from the full scale restaurant they have in the malls, this express setup in the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3 has a concept that caters to diner for quicker dining option without compromising its quality.

Ippudo Express

We had our express order via the counter just before our long haul flight to Europe. I had a hot bowl of Mentai Tonkotsu Ramen. Disposable bowls and chopsticks were used and its very convenient to both diner as well as the business owner. Stock was as flavourful with ramen cooked right to its perfect texture and amount of roe given was absolutely generous. With sesame boasting its fragrance in its soup, I do like about the shreds of black fungus included and also the pieces of half soaked Wakame (Seaweed) in their stock.

Mentai Tonkotsu - $10.90

The guy who was worried that the portion might be too little had his portion upgraded with more Chasu and Ajitama (Japanese Soft Boil Egg). No doubts about their quality and I'm simply in love with the melt-in-your-mouth charsu. The stock was enhanced with a slice of butter and was not too dilute nor thick. Ingredients includes corn kernels as well as shredded scallions.

Miso Butter Tonkotsu - $8.90 + $2 Ajitama + $2 Chasu

For those who will be missing Asia food for a while, Ippudo Express is an excellent choice during your departure to other countries.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Ippudo Express
Location: Changi Airport, Terminal 3 (Departure/Transit Lounge South), 65 Airport Blvd #02-K3 SIngapore 819663