Taste Paradise

The craving for Peking Duck was so strong that we were all called upon to Taste Paradise on a weekend morning to savour the whole duck down for our branch together with some Dim Sum on the menu.

Taste Paradise

The glistering Roasted Peking duck was presented in front of our eyes before they will cut into smaller pieces and used for dishes.

Roasted Peking Duck Whole - $98

While waiting for the first dish to be served, we munched on the crackers.

Crackers

The servers were efficient and had the roasted Peking duck skin served in a wrap.

Wrapped Up

The crispy roasted skin was served with leek and slathered with a sweet savoury sauce.

Opening up the wrap

Half of the Roast Duck was served on the plate while the remaining half was used for frying together with the Ee Mian Noodles.

Half Roast Duck

The fresh and succulent prawn dumpling were addictive. 

Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Ha Kao’ (4pc) 笋尖虾饺 - $8.30

They look cute and too adorable to be consumed. However, the fillings of Custard with Pine Seeds was not to our liking even though it was not too sweet.

Steamed Custard Bun with Pine Seeds in Piggy Shape 甜心奶黄猪仔包 - $11.04

Frankly speaking, the Steamed Pork Dumplings were not too bad and each tray only comes with 2 Dumplings. 

Steamed Xiao Long Bao 上海小笼包 (3pc) - $6.80

One of the staple dishes that I can not miss out on when it comes to Dim Sum ordering. I'm glad that Taste Paradise offered this delicacy that comes with Black Bean Sauce instead of Black Pepper.

Steamed Chicken Claw with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸凤爪- $6.30

Siew Mai was tasty and succulent. The minced pork was savoury and topped with fish roes and did not carry any porky smell. 

Steamed Pork Dumpling "Siew Mai" 鱼子烧卖

The Congee was above my expectation. The shredded chicken was in thick shredded chunks and the texture of the congee was smooth. 

Shredded Steamed Chicken Congee (per bowl) 水晶鸡丝粥 - $7.80

Their Congee was good but if I were to choose between the Shredded Steam Chicken Congee and this. I will prefer the former because it is more fragrant.

Century Egg with Minced Pork Congee (per bowl) 皮蛋瘦肉粥 - $7.80

The bread texture and crispy exterior were to die for and what's more the Mango in Salad Sauce was sweet and savoury. Such a combination of soft fillings with a crispy texture was heavenly.

Deep Fried Prawn and Mango in Salad Sauce Roll 香芒沙律虾筒 (3pc) - $9.80

The Baked BBQ Honey Pork Buns were lovely. The presentation is similar's to Tim Ho Wan's with a crispy exterior.

Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun 脆皮雪山包 - $4 / Bun

The sweet savoury Honey Pork fillings were addictive, going well with the plain crispy crust.

Char Siew Fillings

The remaining roast duck was used to cook braised Ee Mian. The noodles were fried with beansprouts, and capsicums too.

Roasted Duck Ee Mian 鸭丝闷伊面 - $18

The service rendered was prompt and friendly. I will like to revisit the place for other food again.

Rating: 4 / 5

Taste Paradise
Location: ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, #04-07, Singapore 238801
Website

Restoran Al-Safa

We settled down quickly. Restoran Al-Safa is our place for lunch and besides the Prata Stall that is around, we had chosen to replenish our carbs with rice and dishes instead. The dining environment was bustling with people and quite airy.

Dining Area

We were all hungry after visiting the beautiful Blue Lake nearby and tried our best to order the dishes and rice despite the language barrier. 

Our Lunch

One of the side dishes will be Fried Calamari or the local called it "Sotong". It was well fried to its orange-golden perfection. 

Fried Squid

These Mutton tasted not bad and definitely something that suits our tastebud. It was not too tough and the gravy was not too spicy. 

Mutton

Looking at the variety of dishes available, the Ayam Goreng was on my MUST-HAVE list. The crispy batter as well as its fragrant were enticing.

Ayam Goreng

While lining up in the queue, many patrons were ordering this and we were curious. We could only figure out what it was called once we tried it ourselves. Basically, it was slices of bitter gourd deep-fried with crispy red batter.

Fried Bitter Gourd

The next dish we had was fried egg. The way how these eggs were prepared simply look like those toppings we usually had on the traditional bowls of sliced fish soup.

Fried Egg

We opted for the Biryani rice over white rice and this long-grain rice comes with pickled vegetables (carrots, pineapple, cucumber and onion).

Biryani

It's not quite often that I had non-Chinese mixed rice, I find that their food was decent with a good variety to choose from. It will be perfect if the dishes were served warm but so far most of such dishes were served in room temperature.

Restoran Al-Safa
Location: Jalan Persisiran Seri Alam, Bandar Baru Seri Alam, 81750 Masai, Johor, Malaysia
Website

Tasixi Hong Kong Dim Sum

I had been to Tasixi Hong Kong Dim Sum many years back and had never stepped in there ever since for I feel that they are too commercialised in my opinion with too many of our fellow Singaporeans there occupying the entire place during my visit. My visit to Tasixi recently is totally by chance when we were hungry and lost in that area.

Tasixi Hong Kong Dim Sum

Let's take a look at their menu. They opened from early morning to late afternoon and all claimed that Dim Sum is handmade with generous fillings.

Menu 

Menu

As usual, this ever-popular place is still Singaporean's favourite spot for Dim Sum as we can see a lot of Singaporean Cars parked around its premises. 

Dining Area 

The dining place looks grand and modern filled with Chinese culture with red lanterns hanging from the ceiling, Chinese calligraphy art pieces on the wall and wooden furnishings.

Dining Floor

The staff on duty was efficient, as soon as we sat down, they come with a tray filled with baskets of Dim Sum allowing patrons to pick them. 

Which one will you pick?

They also served Yong Tau Foo in the Dim Sum basket.

How about these?

Like most of the Dim Sum places, the server will strike it on the paper for every plate of Dim Sum served to us.

Ordered Chit

Here's our order for the first round.

• Carrot Cake 腊味萝卜糕，
• Fish Roll in Crispy Skin 酥炸蛋皮鱼卷，
• Salad Prawn 沙律明虾饺,  
• Chicken Feet with Mushroom 冬菇凤爪，
• Siew Mai 港式烧卖， 
• Chicken Feet in Oyster Sauce 豪皇凤爪，
• Har Kau 水晶虾饺，
• Pork Ribs with bean sauce 豉汁排骨

Dim Sum Time!

Subsequently, our orders came swiftly in order.

• Sweet & Sour Roll 酸甜腐竹皮卷，
• Cabbage Roll 白菜卷
• Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉
• Xiao Long Bao 小龙汤包

Our Full Orders without Drinks

While some of us wanted to have vegetables, the cabbage rolls are the closest to what was requested. I thought it was unique as we seldom see such a dish on the table.

Have you tried them before?

Chee Cheong Fun is another staple food that we will not miss out. The Hong Kong Style CCH was a combination of both prawns and Char Siew. They taste decent and was served with chilli paste.

Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉

Xiao Long Baos were served 5 in a tray as we have 5 pax. Each piece was served in an aluminium tray that lets the bun sits well in it.

Xiao Long Bao 小龙汤包

The texture of the Bao's skin was manageable however if you are comparing the soup in the bag and overall the skin is not as delicate and the taste of the soup is decent. 

Let's pick up an XLB

The service provided by Tasixi Hong Kong Dim Sum was not bad. However, besides the pricing that may be attractive in terms of the exchange rate, I still find that there are better Hong Kong Dim Sum in Johor that are worth going back to.

Tasixi Hong Kong Dim Sum
Location: 11, Jalan Camar 1/3, Taman Perling, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Haven Teppanyaki 避风台式铁板烧

I have been craving Teppanyaki for a while and decided to try out Haven Teppanyaki which is located at the corner of the Food Court of JEM's. Apparently, Teppanyaki seems to be a popular choice among diners and we have to wait in a queue before grabbing ourselves a set.

There are 8 combos on the menu to choose from and if you prefer individual items, you can order their Basic Set.

All Combos & Basic Sets are served with black pepper sauce and include white rice, beansprouts, vegetables and soup.

Basics

The chef starts preparing the common dishes like beansprouts and broccoli in large quantities as everyone around the table will be served these items as basic if they are ordering the combos.

Beansprouts & Brocoli 

Beansprouts were fragrant and crunchy, and so was the broccoli. They are good to go with a plain bowl of rice and soup.

Beansprouts & Brocoli

Up next, the chef started off by preparing the seafood with black pepper sauce. The medley of seafood comprised baby Scallops, squid and prawns. The black pepper sauce was not too overpowering and tasted decent with the seafood.

Seafood

Here's the complete Combo 1 with Meat & Seafood. With Combo 1, the diner can choose their choice of meat, beef, lamb or pork. Thin slices of beef with sauce was tender.

Combo 1 - Meat & Seafood - $19

If you are looking for standard Teppanyaki without splurging, this might fit you. For myself, I'm still searching for a place that serves great Teppanyaki after missing the one in Jurong Hill Restaurant for the longest time.

Rating: 3 / 5 

Haven Teppanyaki 避风台式铁板烧
Location: JEM, 40 Jurong Gateway Rd, Singapore 608549

Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸

Each time I pass by this corner of Taman Sentosa, I remind myself that this is one of the places that I will want to try one day and now I can finally strike it off from my list.

Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 

Be spoilt by choices for the number of items to pick up for Yong Tau Foo was simply a wide range.

Items Picked Up

Seeing the staff preparing the items on display, it kind of gives assurance to patrons that the freshness is assured.

Items to pick

Upon picking the items into the bowl and choosing the preferred choice of noodles, the chef will prepare the orders accordingly.

Chef at work

Which do you prefer? Dry with sauce or Yong Tau Foo Soup? I think they are both as good. We had Batang fish that costs RM 19.90 for a serving. The fish was fresh and they have Dragon Grouper, Red Snapper and Seabass too.

Yong Tau Foo Dry

While the Yong Tau Foo we had back home in Singapore is smaller size, Ah Koong's is actually twice bigger. Even though we took a few pieces of it, the meal was stomach filling.

Yong Tau Foo Soup

Yong Tau Foo Soup

They have quite a variety of noodles to choose from, Bee Tai Mak, Mee Pok, Mee Kia, Spinach Noodle, Mee Sua & Glass Noodles.

Noodles

Considering the price of the Yong Tau Foo in Johor Bahru, I would say they are priced similarly to what we had in Singapore. No doubt about its freshness and quality but it will be less likely that we will be back having the same food here.

Ah Koong Restaurant 亚坤纯正西刀鱼丸 
Location: 266, Jalan Sutera, Taman Sentosa, 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Website

Village Grill Cafe Muar

An impromptu lunch at the Village Grill Cafe in Muar as our planned lunch destination was simply too packed on a weekend. We travelled to another location nearby in the lanes away from the bustling place in Muar and settled down with Village Grill for the place seems quieter and airier. By chance, Village Grill was quite reputable and received a handful of good comments in the media.

Village Grill by Chef 4 Brothers

A shock to our order as the expectation of Char Kuey Tiow was different from what we all had in mind. Back home, we would have called this Hor Fun whereby the gravy was generously covering up the noodles. Nonetheless, we had their version of Char Kuey Tiow and the execution was similar to what we called Hor Fun back home. The noodles had Wok Fried flavours and were on the spicy side.

Char Kuey Tiow - RM 8.90

While we would have thought that Nasi Ayam Goreng has chicken within rice and not Nasi Goreng + Ayam Goreng. The dish looks a bit pathetic though but the side vegetables had kind of lifted the presentation a little. The rice was spicy and quite plain with mixed vegetable beans. We were not quite use to the texture of their rice for its a bit on the soggy side.

Nasi Goreng Ayam - RM 8.50

The most enticing dish of all with pretty fried egg encasing the Nasi Goreng. The rice is similar to the portion of the Nasi Goreng Ayam and on the wet side too.

Nasi Goreng Pattaya - RM 7.50

Perhaps the dish that falls within our presentable expectation was Maggie Goreng. Well, at least we had an image of the dish in mind than having served something that is totally out.

The Maggie was fried with chicken, vegetables, tomatoes and egg. If I had known it earlier that it will be a spicy dish, I would have requested to eliminate the use of chilli.

Maggie Goreng - RM 7.50

The quench savour for the day was so scorching hot till our skin feel the pain under the sun. Luckily the Teh O was not too sweet but a pet peeve was that the Lychee tasted on the dry side.

Teh O Laici Sejuk - RM 4

I guess that most of their dishes come spicy by default. Food is decent and environment is spacious.

Village Grill Cafe Muar
Location: 152, Jalan Bakariah, Kampung Parit Setongkat, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia

Kedai Mee Sin Kee (Pontian Wan Tan Mee)

We braved both rain and sun, reaching Pontian finally just to get ourselves a taste of this famous wanton noodles which is highly recommended by the media. 

Kedai Mee Sin Kee

I'm not sure if it's common to order noodles based on the noodles portion instead of Small, Medium or big but I thought Mee Sin Kee had a menu rather unique by offering patrons 1, 1.5 or 2 bundles of noodles costing, 6.70, 8 or 10 respectively for dining in. For those who are taking away, the pricing is cheaper which we thought is the reverse of what is our practice back home for we were charged with additional disposables cost. 

Friendly Hawkers

I had the smallest portion of Wanton Noodles drenched with Tomato sauce. The noodles were springy and went well with the sauce. Char Siew slices were thin and lean.

Wanton Mee - RM 6.50 (01 Bundle Noodle)

While it seems like the colour of the plate determines the portion of the noodles, the rest of the portions of the ingredients like Char Siew, Wanton and fishballs remains the same.  This plate of noodles was accompanied by their chilli sauce. On a side note, we don't get to see such a combination of soup whereby fishballs are found with wantons in Singapore. 

Wanton Mee - RM 8 (1.5 Bundle Noodle)

The soup was tasty and the wantons were delicious. 

Wanton

For the bigger appetite, one of us had ordered the big portion of noodles and it almost filled the plate with sauce kind of going to overflow out.  This was ordered in the black sauce version.

Wanton Mee - RM 10 (2 Bundle Noodle)

The hawkers were undoubtingly friendly like most of the locals. For those who enjoy Otahs, you can grab some Otahs from the stall beside them while waiting for their noodles to be served.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Kedai Mee Sin Kee (Pontian Wan Tan Mee)
Location: 1120, Jalan Bakek Jaya Utama, Kampung Atap, 82000 Pontian, Johor, Malaysia