Teck Hin Delicacies

Walking into Ghim Moh Food Centre and there are many stalls with long queues and one of them was none other than Teck Hin Delicacies that provides the heartlanders with comfortable food for breakfast as well as snack time.

Teck Hin Delicacies

Even though with limited 4 items
1) Century Egg & Pork Congee
2) White Bait & Pork Congee
3) Chee Cheong Fun (2 Rolls)
4) Chee Cheong Fun (3 Rolls)

or in fact 3 kinds of food in the menu, these relatively simple food has gained popularity perhaps because of its pocket friendly pricing and comfy meal at about $2.

Century Egg & Pork Congee is very smooth just like what you have in dim sum restaurant. Amount of ingredients was quite alot. Not only that, pork was marinated and tender. Surprisingly the taste of century egg was better than what I had expected as ginger strips was used to reduce the preserved egg taste.

Centry Egg & Pork Congee - $1.80

Century Egg

Steamed Chee Cheong Fun was silky and smooth, coupled with sweet brown sauce and chilli sauce. Recommended!

Chee Cheong Fun - $1.80

It's kind of rare to see economical food around in Hawker Centre nowadays and it is really something simple, down to earth meal that you may want to look for in Ghim Moh!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Teck Hin Delicacies
Location: Ghim Moh Food Centre, Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road #01-51 Singapore 270020

Hambaobao

An interesting name given to a stall that reminds me of the childhood days whereby the word "HamBaoBao" when translated from Mandarin literally refers to Hamburger. I guess during my era, any kid will be very happy to hear about this word.

Hambaobao

I was in fact looking forward to the Ayam Buah Keluak Burger but just too bad that it was sold out during the time of vist and we was given a keychain to wait for our food.

Key Chain

Be prepared to wait a little longer if you are ordering the crispy Pork Belly burger as the pork belly will be cooked base on order basis. The pork belly was well marinated and was definitely tasty in its crispy skin layer. Mustard was added to the pork belly to give a spicy kick while the refreshing cool slices of cucumber strike a good balance to burger. Another highlight was its fluffy light butter grilled burger buns which was deliciously good.

Crispy Pork Belly - $5

The Classic Beef burger was not too bad either with beef patty, cheese, homemade tomato sauce, pickles as well as lettuce. Buns were similar prepared with butter just like any other burgers in the menu,

The Classic Beef - $5

It was good to see young local faces in the hawkers nowadays taking up the challenge working longer hours. Food is rather comforting with innovations of creating burger out of the ordinary and price wise, I would consider pocket friendly.

Fred not if you are caught in the queue and need to ease your hunger quick, there are few other stalls like Top 1 Homemade Noodle, Penang Home Made Beef Ball, Feng Ji Shu Shi Char Kway Teow that you might not want to miss out.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Hambaobao
Location: Beauty World Centre, 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-49 Singapore 588177

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe is a hidden gem tucked away in Hillview District serving authentic Italian cuisine using quality ingredients. Many times when we were having breakfast just at the stretch of shophouses, we spoke about making plans here and finally we are here.

Cacio e Pepe

From words of mouth, we knew that pasta here was something that we should not give a miss and even before entering the restaurant, the number of articles plastered on their glass door had revealed several media reports. You will be surprise that in this quiet area, the 50 pax restaurant during night time is lively. Due to our impromptu decision (as always), we did not make any reservation and was "punished" to take the non reserved seat at the Alfresco area way back into the restaurant.

Before Blue Hours at Alfresco Area

Though it was equip with powerful fan blowing towards us, the weather was still very hot and humid.

Blue Hours at Alfresco Area

While waiting for our order, toasts was efficiently served with vinegar and oil on the wooden board.

Starters

Soup of the day was cream of broccoli with a piece of fried cheese tucked by the side of it. There was moderate taste of greens here luckily and was quite appetizing indeed.

Zuppa Del Giorno - Soup of the Day - $8

Quite a number of pasta item on the menu was recommended by staff on duty and the method of preparation of Linguine al Cartoccio as explained by her had impressed us. Pasta was cooked to al dente perfection with seafood like crayfish, mussel, clams, calamari, prawns and home made marinara sauce and was then placed in a baking bag and baked.

Linguine al Cartoccio - $24

The 2nd part of the preparation (baking) actually brings out the rich flavours of the sea. I came to realise this when the baking paper was opened right in front of my eyes.

Seen the seafood ingredients?

The hitting sound of meat from the kitchen had indeed make the pork loin tender breaking the fibres in the meat.

Scaloppine di Maiaie alla Romana (Pan Fried Pork with Mozzarella) - $24

Besides being a thin slice and tender, it uniqueness comes with the combination of Mozzarella cheese, parma ham and sage accompanied with potatoes and mix salad.

Tender Pork

 We didnt get the chance to try out their pizza as they mentioned that the kitchen could not cope with the efficiency during crowded timing. Thus we ended up ordering desserts before we bid good bye.

Tiramisu - $12

Couple with Cocoa Powder and yummy pillow soft mascapone cheese. Every mouthful of the dessert is to die for!

Tiramisu

 You get a tinge of zesty citrus flavour in between the taste of cheese and cappuccino here.

Another spoonful

 With 3 distinctive texture, you get to enjoy the middle portion of the dessert without soaking up with Cappacino and got a good taste of the spongy madness. Totally Yummy!

Layers of Tiramisu

Service was professional and friendly. Our ice water was promptly topped up even though we were the only customers in the Alfresco area. Too bad that we did not get to try the pizza this time, I guess I will be back for them!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Cacio e Pepe
Location: Bamboo Grove Park, 3 Chu Lin Road Singapore 669890

Sangkaya - Nuts About Coconut

Heard about coconut ice cream? For those who have been to Thailand, having Ice Creams in a coconut bowl is perhaps nothing new to you. With such desserts getting popular nowadays, the cafe in Johor Bahru did not forget about this trendy dessert from its neighbouring country.

Sangkaya

As soon as we entered into the Cafe, the friendly staff greeted us. There is a leading staircase up to the second level, unfortunately they are still working on the dining space upstairs and I guess the place will soon be packed with patrons both lower and upper levels.

Counter

Interior was industrial theme and spacious with ample of seating. There is a corner with bar table that was classified as reserved.

Interior

Coconut has quite a number of benefits, do you know them all?

Benefits of coconut

With 2 scoops of original Coconut flavour ice cream and 1 scoop of Thai Milk Tea Ice Cream served in the coconut reminds me of the time when we visited Bangkok's Chatuchak. Toppings over here are generous in the sense that you are allow to add your on toppings at the side of the counter. We added peanuts and crunch in this case. Making a complete set with additional RM 1.00, we were offered a cup of coconut water.

Coconut Ice Cream + Drink - RM 14.90

Nuts About Coconut
Location: 25, Jalan Austin Height 3, Taman Mount Austin, Johor Bahru

Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe

With new Cafes popping out once in a while in Singapore, it may seem a norm but I was rather surprise to see the increase number of cafes in Johor Bahru during my recent visit there.

Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe

Chaiwalla & Co. is an open air cafe which you cannot find in Singapore with tables and chairs sitting on the open ground sand and cement. Having its unique part with her working space operated out of a container. If you heard of the famous Hiap Joo Bakery that sells traditional baked Banana Cake, Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe is just around the corner.

Enjoy a cup of beverage, either coffee or tea from Chaiwalla. Pies can be grabbed from here too if you decide to have some food to go along with your beverage.

Thai Milk Tea - RM 9.30

We ordered a cup of Thai Milk Tea at RM 9.30 and enjoy this refreshing drink under the hot weather which fits our plan in beating the heat. However if you are keen in toppings like pearls or jelly, they are available at additional cost.

Another View of the Cup

Chaiwalla & Co Container Cafe
Location: Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Changman 常满

We wanted to explore more Dim Sum places in Johor Bahru and we read of Changman. By the time we cleared the jams at the causeway, its already tea time. Besides selling Hong Kong Dim Sum, Changman offers a variety ranging from Chicken Rice to Hor Fun too.

Chang Man

Mistakenly order the Avocado Juice as I thought it was Avocado milkshake and only to find out that they are actually offering a low sugar level Avocado Juice. Juice tasted a little creamy and was light in taste, not too bad though.

Teh C RM 2.00 & Avocado Juice (Low Sugar) - RM 6.00

Looked dry on the external but as the saying goes, do not judge a book by its cover. These carrot cakes were crispy on the outside with a soft texture under the layer. Simply love the Carrot Cake and it went very well with the accompanied chilli.

Deep Fried Carrot Cake (3Pcs)

The Xiao Long Bao was something I looked forward to as they were served differently with each of them sitting on a mini aluminium tray. Be additional careful as the skin was rather thin and with soup bursting out of its case easily.

Xiao Long Bao (3 Pcs)

Besides the XLB, I will also give a vote to their chicken rice set. You can never get a set of chicken rice set with drumstick at this kind of pricing in Singapore.

Chicken Rice (1 Set) - RM 6.00

Poached chicken was yummy and drenched with sauce. Meat was tender and from its skin color, you can tell that kampung chicken was used.

Chicken

Char Siew Buns were soft and packed with sweet chopped Char Siew fillings.

Char Siew Bun (3Pcs)

The green buns were stuffed with yummy golden lava or "Liu Sha" was not too bad but the skin of the buns was kind of thick with buns lacking the oozing power from its fillings. Buns were soft but was not as fluffy.

Changman "Liu Sha" Bun (3 Pcs)

Rice Roll aka "Chee Cheong Fun" was smooth and silky, encasing a few prawns. Generous amount of soy sauce was added to elevate the taste. On top of serving them in a leaf shaped plate, greens were included as a side to make the presentation looks better.

Fresh Prawn Rice Roll

 For extra kick, add some chilli to it.

Fresh Prawn Rice Roll

"Har Kao" aka aka prawn dumplings were quite fragile in the sense that the prawns easily fell out from its translucent "casing".

Har Kao (3Pcs)

How can Har Kao exists without Siew Mai in the Dim Sum Fare? Well, they were never be left out in our orders. Siew Mai has a touch of orange crab roes and the meat was rather springy.

Crab Roe Siew Mai (4Pcs)

Overall it was quite an average fare and spread of food from Changman Dim Sum. I don't mind revisiting with other groups of friends.

Chang Man
Location: 24G, Jalan Bestari 5/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai, Johor Bahru

Vegetarian Villa

Vegetarian Villa in Jurong West perhaps is no stranger to anyone who lives in the vicinity. Having said that, this vegetarian eating place is always full of people despite having both indoor and outdoor seating, which leaves us to sharing table in most of my visits.

Vegetarian Villa

With variety of food listed on the board before entering the restaurant, you roughly get the idea what are the items available for the day and which was being sold out. Other than these daily specials, they have a fix vegetarian Yong Tau Foo Items that is available at all times.

Satay gravy over the plate of Bee Hoon was milky and came with hints of lime flavour. Ingredients like mocked prawns and kang kong was used.

Satay Bee Hoon - $4.30

3 sticks of Satay is given and the texture indeed resemble the softness of a marinated meat. You kind of get the idea they are imitating chicken and mutton satay here, however if you did not take further notice to the food, you may have mistaken them for the real ones instead of mock meat.

Satay

 Prawn Roll was one of the common items we ordered every visit. They were crispy fried and served in its golden's brown color with taro fillings and other items.

Prawn Roll - $5.80

Claypot rice was one of the "hottest" item that we can see on many tables. It comes with a bowl of herbal soup with a portion of sweet corn in it.

Claypot Rice - $5

Black sauce is available at the sauce counter and you can add them to your food if you like. Ingredients include carrots, broccoli, mocked hot dog as well as diced mocked meat.

Claypot Rice with Sweet Black Sauce

They are one of the few vegetarian places that I will very much like to make a return visit for their varieties are appealing and having said that they have been maintaining their popularity of Vegetarian food in Jurong West for a long time.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Vegetarian Villa
Location: Blk 479 Jurong West Street 41 #01-264 Singapore 640479