Dim Sum Haus (Jln Besar)

There are a number of Dim Sum eateries around the area in Jalan Besar and Dim Sum Haus has always been on my list to go for I have not visited the place as I heard good comments from my peers. There are two Dim Sum Haus outlets and the other one is located in Upper Weld Road.

Dim Sum Haus

Let's begin with the Hong Kong Dim Sum Staples, Har Gau and Mini Steam Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf. The Steamed Shrimp Dumpling aka Har Gau was decent and best go with the chilli on the table.

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling “Har Gau”  晶莹鲜虾饺 & 
Mini Steam Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf (2 pcs) 迷你荷叶糯米饭

While the Mini Steam Glutionous Rice in Lotus Leaf comes in 2 packets. The Glutinous Rice was not greasy and was addictive. There was salted egg, braised meat and dried shrimp in the rice, another version of the Chinese "Ba Zhang" aka Dumpling which is served differently, 

Unwrapping the Lotus Leaf 

Delicious Meat Cubes

The Crispy Mee Sua Kueh with Chinese Sausage (3 pcs) 香脆腊味面线糕 was special. It has bits of Chinese Sausage with fragrant dried shrimp in it and was evenly deep-fried in its rectangular shape. 

Yummy Dim Sum Spread

Love its well-baked crispy and flaky texture with its molten lava custard. Yummy!

Baked Salted Egg Custard Bun (3pcs) 脆顶流沙包

The Black Truffle Rice Roll sounds interesting! This item is offered on their Seasonal Menu from Oct to December 2023. The Rice Roll texture was more chewy than the conventional ones we had and tossing these Rice Roll with the Black Truffle Sauce elevates the plain roll with additional aroma.

Black Truffle Rice Roll 黑松肠粉

Teriyaki Siew Mai is also one of the items on their Seasonal Menu and caught my attention immediately as it was eye-pleasing. It was served in a stick of 2 like meatballs. Siew Mai was coated with Teriyaki Sauce and topped with Egg Roes. It tasted a tad on the salty side of the Teriyaki Sauce.

Teriyaki Siew Mai 照烧鱼子烧卖

Pretty interesting to see this from a Dim Sum place with a Halloween Special. What a lovely creation in celebration of the upcoming Halloween. The Halloween Set costs $16.80 while Ala Carte item cost $6 each.

The texture of the Xiao Long Bao was decent and the essence of the XLB was well encased within the skillful wrapup by the XLB Chef. The soup was tasty and yummy.

Halloween Set (Cheesy Xiao Long Bao, Steamed Pumpkin Mochi with Red Beans,
Pumpkin Sago Dessert)- $16.80

What's the fillings inside of the little pumpkins on the Dim Sum Tray? It's the traditional Red Beans paste wrapped with Steamed Pumpkin Mochi. The texture was sticky and sweetness of the paste was acceptable.

Steamed Pumpkin Mochi with Red Beans 南瓜红豆麻

The drink did give us the Halloween feel with the skull and its red eye sockets.

Pumpkin Sago Dessert 南瓜西米露

Having visited a few dim sum eateries in the same area, I would say that Dim Sum Haus will be my preferred choice of Dim Sum Place as the service is friendly and the variety is kind of surprising ~ in this case they have Dim Sum made for the occasion like Halloween. 

Thank you Dim Sum Haus & PR Salon for the invitation.

Dim Sum Haus
Location: 57 Jln Besar, Singapore 208809

Cai Ji Fishball Noodle

 After getting our Laksa at the nearby Coffeeshop, the gluttony us went around the hawker center scouting for more food. We notice the long queue and the attractive fishball noodles on their signboard with the sole fish included.

I guessed the illustration had us at first sight! Hahaha!

Cai Ji Fishball Noodle

Upon receiving the bowl of Fishball Noodle, we were busy, "ransacking" the noodles hoping to get a sight of the sole fish but could not find any. The ingredients of fishball noodles are different from the conventional Fishball Noodles we had. 

Fishabll Noodles Dry 

Apart from having the usual ingredients like lean meat, fish cakes, and fishballs, they include a prawn, braised mushrooms, fried wantons and even special meatballs. This is something who appeals to me as I'm someone who always think that fishball noodles are boring with just noodle with fishballs. 

Fish Ball Noodle - $6 (Big)

The fishball lacked the springyness and bounciness. However, the handmade minced meatballs are my favourite items from the bowl and that's where the solefish is found!

Meat Ball

Overall, the bowl of Fishball Noodle tasted above average but not as outstanding as I thought. If you ask if is it worth the time being in that long queue, I would say if the queue is short, I may purchase again.

The stall was helmed by a couple and the menu was very straightforward with either a big bowl or a small bowl of fishball noodles. The queue could have been shortened if the process of preparation had been improvised.

Ingredients

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Cai Ji Fishball Noodle
Location: Block 93 Lor 4 Toa Payoh, #01-59, Singapore 310093

Typhoon Cafe

While looking around for more Taiwanese Cuisine, we decided to head to Typhoon Cafe which is conveniently located in Plaza Singapura.

Cafe Setting

The environment was clean and well decorated with friendly staff around. It served as a good place for casual meals and special occasions too. 

Typhoon Cafe

The Taiwan Lu Rou Rice aka Braised Pork Rice is a classic Taiwanese dish and also Taiwanese comfort food. It is made up of braised ground pork served over a fragrant bowl of steamed rice topped with a braised egg.

Taiwan Lu Rou Rice  臺式滷肉飯 - $13.80

The Lu Rou provided a good portion of fatty meat, however, it's not oily.

A spoonful of Lu Rou Rice

The Signature Taiwanese Mee Sua is comprised of Fried Jitters and fresh oysters. It is a big bowl and good for sharing if you are ordering other sides too. 

Signature Taiwanese Oyster Mee Sua 招牌蠔仔麵線- $14.80

Those who enjoy drinks rich in antioxidants will prefer this mixture of summer berries. It tasted on the sweeter side for me however with the mint leaves, it was refreshing. The brown sugar Milk tea is not too bad, the sweetness level is accepted. 

Summer Berries Rhapsody & Brown Sugar Milk Tea - $8.50 & $6.90

The Taiwanese XL Chicken Chop was served pipe hot with a savoury dip. Its crispy texture was good, however, it kind of lacked the spice and fragrance.

Taiwanese XL Chicken Chop 台式 XL 雞排 - $11.80

 

The thick slice of Pork Belly meat was well braised and sandwiched in between the fluffy soft bun with vegetables and cucumber. 

Typhoon Momofuku Bun 百福五花扣肉包

They also have a good variety of desserts to order. I don't mind to be back again for that. 

Rating: 3 / 5

Typhoon Cafe
Location: 68 Orchard Road #04-63/67 Singapore 238839
Website

Chef Frankie's Cuisine 星叶海鲜小厨 [Closed]

While one of us had his TikTok scrolled to our local influencer introducing Chef Frankie's Cuisine, we headed down to try some of their recommended dishes.

Chef Frankie's Cuisine 星叶海鲜小厨

While we expect Cze Char Stall to feature main streamed dishes in their menu, Chef Frankie's Cuisine had theirs standing among others with some unique dishes like their Teochew Chai Poh Kway Teow, Steamed Baby Squid and Duck Wrap etc.

Menu

Let's think about what we should order now!

Menu

The first dish on our table looks presentable with the attractive colour combination, and savoury-looking pieces of pork ribs topped with almond flakes. Each piece was deep-fried to golden brown and coated with black truffle and sesame sauce. We find that the pork ribs tasted more of Sesame sauce than the Black Truffle Aroma. 

Black Truffle & Sesame Sauce Pork Ribs 黑松露芝麻酱排骨 - $14

We had the Green Dragon Vegetables stir-fried with Shimeiji Mushrooms. Pretty decent and can be improved with the burst of garlic fragrance.

Green Dragon Vegetables - $12

The preparation kind of reminds me of Bei Jing Duck in wrap however this is using Smoked Duck and a scale-down version with sausage and beancurd as wrap. The skin was soft and tasted savoury with the sweet refreshing salad cream sandwiching the meat. 

Signature Duck Wrap 星叶鸭方 - $15

Since Chef Frankie is known for his 35 years of experience in Teochew Cuisine, let's try out this Wild Red Grouper cooked in Teochew style. The ingredients like mushroom, tomato, plums, tofu and preserved vegetables had pretty much brought out the flavours of the Teochew Style of Steamed Fish, however, the Red Grouper was kind of overcooked and the meat was not on the tender side. Disappointing.

Wild Red Grouper - $48

While this so-called Traditional Fried Mee Tai Mak was our carb filler and was one of their Chef's Recommendations on the menu, sad to say that this dish did not appeal to us. It was lacklustre with miserable ingredients that did not really bring up the taste. The dish is kind of trying very hard to gain some points with the toppings of crispy pork lards and fried silverfish. Don't waste your calories on this, try others on the menu.

Traditional Fried Mee Tai Mak 家乡煲仔米台目 - $8 (Small)

The Chai Poh Kway Teow was actually the starring the traditional Teochew dish that made us travel down to Chef Frankie's Cuisine. I have tried the popular Chye Poh Kway Teow from Chin Lee Restaurant.

Not many restaurants will serve such a traditional Teochew dish as it requires a proper way to have the dish cooked resulting in the Kway Teow plastered together like a pancake with the ingredients crisp on the outside. 

Teochew Chai Poh Kway Teow 菜脯果条 - $14

Ingredients were pretty simple with Kai Lan, Egg, Chai Poh and Prawns. It only comes in one size and overall this dish is not stated in the menu. Overall, we find that this Teochew Chai Poh Kway Teow was pretty decent to us without strong "Wok Hei".

Clamping altogether

There were more misses than hits. While this intake of calories makes me feel wasted, I do not think I will be back for other dishes.

Rating: 3 / 5

Chef Frankie's Cuisine 星叶海鲜小厨
Location:  Blk 429, Jurong West Ave 1, Singapore 640429

Wow Wow West

Whenever we talk about ABC Brickworks Food Center, Wow Wow West will always be in the list of "To Eat". Ever since my job had relocated, the chances of visiting this Food Center gets slimmer. Nonetheless, as times passed by, we still remember Wow Wow West with its Western Food.

I always think that this stall has a good teamwork and system to handle the incoming crowd during the peak hours from taking orders and preparation of food.

Stall of Wow Wow West

Each plate of servings comes with thick-cut fries, a generous portion of coleslaw and Baked Beans.

The pork chop was juicy and flavourful, covered with black pepper sauce. It had some crispy charred edges and no doubt its pork, the meat was quite tender.

Pork Chop - $8

The Chicken Chop portion was generous for the price paid. It was well-marinated and ladled with an abundance of black pepper sauce over it. The crispy charred edges were delighting and addictive.

Chicken Chop - $8 

While underneath the crispy skin, we get to have some succulent slab of chicken chop that tasted so inviting.

Charred and yummy Chicken Chop

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Posted on 12 February 2014

Wow Wow West is my all time favourite western food stall during lunch in one of those days while I'm working in Bukit Merah Area. They were known for its value for money serving of western food which will just beat its competitor in ABC Brickworks Food Centre hands down.

Wild Wild West Stall

 During lunch hours, the plates and plates of attention-catching western food that comes with enormous portion is a scene stealer in the hawker, especially when the aroma hits you when the helpers serve were serving to the designated tables.

The chicken was well-marinated with Western herbs and coated with black pepper and brown sauce.  Do not be deceived by the picture below, there is actually another slab of chicken under the top piece of chicken chop. Besides having a big filling piece of chicken, what i like best is its coleslaw. The milky fragrant and crunchy bite is soothing to the throat.

While the baked beans were more towards the ordinary taste, we had noticed its fries was of better grade when we packed the food home. As I was staying about an hour journey away from Bukit Merah, their fries did not turn out to be soggy when I reach home which I thought is good.

Chicken Chop - $6

The sausages were another starring items on its menu besides their Chicken Chop, Chicken Cutlet and Fish and chips. The glossy-looking sausage which is about 20cm in length was meaty and burst of cheese once you sink your teeth into it.

Cheesy Pork Sausage - $3

There were 2 Wow Wow West in Bukit Merah Area, one is located in 85 Redhill market while the other is in Brickworks.

All in all, I will recommend this place for western food lovers for its pocket-friendly and value-for-money portion.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Wow Wow West
Location: ABC Brickworks Food Centre, Blk 6 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-133, Singapore 150006

Feng Ji Shu Shi Char Kway Teow 豐記熟食炒粿條

As we passed by the Food Center, the constant "Cling Clanging" noise and aroma from the stall of Feng Ji Shu Shi had kind of attracted us to the stall. No doubt that there are many selections in the Food Center, CKT is still one of our selected dishes to have.

They are still considered one of the better ones in the vicinity. A good mixture of Yellow Noodles and Kway Teow in sweet dark sauce with chinese sausage, beansprouts, vegetables and blood cockles. They definitely taste with "Wok Hei"!

Where is your favourite plate of CKT?

Fried Kway Teow

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Posted in 21 May 2015

Tucked in the old corner of Beauty World Centre Hawker Center, there is this stall selling Char Kway Teow which was recommended through word of mouth. Not many open-air hawker centres can be seen in Singapore nowadays and the old infrastructure of the building has brought back some old memories. Having dined there was like a time warp back into the 80s, especially when the tables and chairs couldn't match up to those modern-looking ones as compared to our neighbourhood hawker centres.

Stall Front

It is believed that Feng ji Shu Shi produces one of the best char kway Teow in its area. Having said that, look at the plate of char kway teow in the picture below. I would say that the taste of the black sauce was sweeter than the average stall, generously coated all over the yellow mee and kway teow. There was an abundance of cockles and a comfortable amount of sliced sausages considering the price I'm paying for that plate. It was moist and not too wet. Business was good as I could hear the non-stop clanging noise made by the friction of the wok against the pan all the way at the other corner. The only issue that I could not get use is their beansprouts as the taste of them was rather raw. Other than that, I find that the plate of char kway teow is one of the must try if you are in Beauty World Hawker Centre.

Char Kway Teow - $3

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Feng Ji Shu Shi Char Kway Teow 豐記熟食炒粿條
Location: Beauty World Centre, 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-45 Singapore 588177

Tong Sheng Bak Kut Teh 同勝肉骨茶

We have not been visiting Teban Gardens for long since Tong Sheng Bak Kut Teh stopped its operations until recently while we were having Ah Hua Teochew Fish Ball Noodles that we realised Tong Sheng Bak Kut Teh is back at its original location and serving more delicacies in their menu!

Menu

Menu

For someone who prefers the Herbal Version of Bak Kut Teh. Tong Sheng's is herby and on a sweeter side. It comes with a few pieces of ribs, button mushrooms, pork liver, stomach, intestine, beancurd skin and meatball. The soup is refillable.

Herbal Bak Kut Teh Soup 药材肉骨茶汤 (Small) - $7.50

The Dry Version Bak Kut Teh has been the crowd's favourite. Its sweet and savoury sauce with the mixture of pork, chilli, cuttlefish and cuts of lady's fingers in the clay pot was laudable. 

Dry Bak Kut Teh (Small) 干肉骨茶 - 8.50 

We ordered the Hakka Tofu as we were tempted by this order from the table next to us. The big beancurd was generously spread with minced meat soaked with some mushroom and sauce. It was simply delicious!

Hakka Tofu 客家豆腐 - $8

It tasted so good alone! Pair with a bowl of white rice will be perfect!

Eat the Tofu

A pet peeve is that, we were all very thirsty after the meal. 

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Posted on 30 April 2022

After numerous visits to Tong Sheng Bak Kut Teh, I finally have the pictures taken and blog these.

What did we order today?

With additional ingredients topping up the small pot of Bak Kut Teh, it sums up to $10. The Malaysian Style Herbal Bak Kut Teh was decently filled with Herby flavours. The soup has a bittersweet taste coupled with the subtle and not overpowering herbs. Ingredients in the claypot were well washed and they consist of the typical ingredients like sliced button mushrooms, mixed innards, pork, Yuba and vegetables. Like most Bak Kut Teh places, soup is refillable upon request. 

Herbal Bak Kut Teh Soup - $6.50 (Small)  added You Tiao $1.50 and Yuba $2 

We missed the vinegar style of Pork Trotter for the longest time! The dish was served bubbling-hot in the claypot and with a giant piece of ginger in the middle of the pot. The taste was to our liking and flavourful.

Vinegar Pig Trotter - $7.50 (Small)

Dry Bak Kut Teh is one of their signature dishes too. A mixture of pig innards and meat with dried chilli, strips of cuttlefish as well as lady's fingers. Ingredients were aplenty and this dish goes very well with the bowls of plain white rice we have. 

Dry Bak Kut Teh - $7.50 (Small)

The sweet sauce coats the meat with some cuttlefish sticking onto it. The taste was delectable.

Enjoying the Dry Version of BKT

Besides selling the usual Bak Kut Teh, you can explore some of the items on the menu too for they have some items like Signature Grouper and Assam Fish Head.

Menu

Though already ordering soup dishes,  we still opened the fridge to support our local products in bottles like these.

Herbal Tea - $5 (2 Bottles)

Do you have any recommended Herbal types of Bak Kut Teh in the Western part of Singapore to recommend? Besides Heng 起肉骨茶, Tong Sheng should be one of the better ones there in the Western area.

Rating: 3.25 / 5 

Tong Sheng Bak Kut Teh 同勝肉骨茶
Location: 416 Pandan Garden #01-125 Singapore 600416