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Friday, October 27, 2023

Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh 大吉肉骨茶 [Closed]

Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh is located in a coffee shop near West Coast Plaza and within walking distance from West Coast Food Center. No doubt that its only a small stall in the coffee shop, I'm quite surprise by the number of dishes they offered on their menu.

Stall of Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh

Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh offers the Klang Style of Herbal Bak Kut Teh with a mixture of pork ribs, belly, enoki mushrooms, Tau Ki (aka beancurd skin), vegetables, button mushrooms, and lettuce. The sweet nature of pork complemented the earthy and slightly bitter herbal taste.

Chef preparing Herbal Bak Kut Teh's Order

Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 - $6.50 / $12

Braised Pork Trotter was bone-falling tender and big with generous portions. 

Braised Pork Trotter 卤猪脚 - $5.50

The Black Vinegar Pork Trotter is often known as the confinement dish. This dish is less often found on the hawkers' menus. Black Vinegar Pork Trotter always gives a distinctive and unforgettable flavour profile. The tender meat in combination with the flavourful and tangy sauce with the fatty nature of the pork is indeed awesome. Love the dish with the hint of sourness!

Black Vinegar Pork Trotter 猪脚醋 - $5.50

The quick-handed guy who manned the stall alone and managed the orders in a breeze. Salute him that he can actually whip up so many kinds of dishes on the menu being a one-man show. Besides that, he is friendly and never fails to smile.

The man behind Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh

Here's what we ordered for our meal! Let's start our scrumptious meal!

Our Order

Love this popular Chinese dish known for its tender chicken and delicious sauce that is perfect to pair with our rice bowl. This Drunken Ginger Chicken brings the warmth of ginger with the boldness of alcohol.

Drunken Ginger Chicken 黄酒鸡 - $5.50

One of the sides I must have in my Bak Kut Teh Meal is this Fried Fritter aka Bak Kut Teh. I would use this crispy You Tiao and soak them in my soup!

You Tiao 油条 - $1.50

Soak up the essence from the herbal Bak Kut Teh Soup with a cut of the fried fritters. This is so yummy!

You Tiao in Bak Kut Teh

While there is the soup version of Bak Kut Tehm these Sweet and savoury tones of the meat served in the earthen claypot will be the Dry Pot Bak Kut Teh on the Menu. It has hints of spiciness and meat was abundantly coated in the sauce. However, we felt that the final touch of the dish could be livened up if they do include the shredded dried cuttlefish in it.

Dry Pot Bak Kut Teh 干锅肉骨茶 - $5

The curry chicken was aromatic, creamy and rich in flavour. It featured tender pieces of chicken and potato chunks within. The harmonious mix of flavours and texture was delightful. It goes well with our bowl of white rice. Do note that they

Curry Chicken 咖喱鸡 - $5.50

Not a lot of places have this on their menu too. The fried porridge has an umami taste and contains some burnt taste from the claypot. The pot lards also elevate the taste of it.

Fried Porridge 炒粥 - $4

Thank you Lao Niang Agency and Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh for the invitation.

Tua Keat Bak Kut Teh 大吉肉骨茶
Location: 
721 Clementi West Street 2, Singapore 120721

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Monki 台灣小吃部

After going to so many Taiwanese cafes, we are back at Monki again. Here's our repeated orders for their beverages and luckily, there was no price hike in the food we had ordered.

Osmanthus Plum Juice 桂花乌梅汁, Monki Milk Tea (Iced) 猴奶茶 - $5 Each
 
We ordered the Mix Mee Sua with Big Intestine and Oyster. There is definitely improvement with their taste for it was more savoury and stronger in taste with hints of bonito. Oysters were plump and fresh. Definitely better than most of the Taiwanese Cafes now.

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

Their Taiwan Sausage is authentic and tastes different from what we are having from the supermart. Love its charred flavour and juiciness as we sink our teeth into the meat.

Taiwan Sausage 烤台湾香肠 - $5

We also had this favourite street food in Taiwan. The taste of Salt & Pepper Chicken was flavourful and crispy. 

Taiwan Fried Salt & Pepper Chicken 炸盐酥鸡 - $6

I'm glad that this return trip to Monki had given me more confidence in the tastes of their food and I will want to be back again for Taiwanese fare.



Posted 28th January 2022

Monki 台灣小吃部 was previously at Holland Village and they have relocated to The Star Vista. Perhaps due to the restrictions in travelling, the urge and the constant search for Taiwanese Food seem unstoppable. We joined the queue outside Monki and waited for our turn to dine in.

Monki 台灣小吃部
Monki 台灣小吃部


Picture on Wall

While in the queue, we get to see the address signage on the wall. If you take notice of it, such style exists in Taiwan.

Signage on Wall

It's a disappointment as quite a number of items was sold out when we were there. Eventually, we ordered the Peach Milk drink from the can after learning that their Taiwanese Milk Tea sold out.

Canned Drink - $3.20

The Century Egg has nothing special in particular. A normal appetizer paired with spring onions and strips of ginger drizzled with some sweet black sauce.

Taiwan Century Egg 台湾皮蛋 - $2

We are glad that the sides' portion is not that big and it's good for sharing without overeating. The popcorn chicken was well flavored and addictive. Its suitable for snacking if you want to have just some bites over drinks.

Taiwan Fried Popcorn Chicken 盐酥鸡 - $6

The braised meat rice was served in a stainless steel bowl coupled with yummy braised pork that has a substantial amount of both fatty and lean meat. The braised meat was sweet and tantalizing. 

Taiwan Braised Pork Rice 台湾卤肉饭 - $9

The bowl comes with braised eggs, preserved vegetables, pickles and some greens. 

Delicious Braised Pork on the Rice

The Plum Juice was on the bitter side no doubt sugar has been added.

Osmanthus Plum Juice 桂花乌梅汁 - $5

It's hard not ordering a bowl of Mee Sua whenever I visit a Taiwanese 小吃 place. The Mee Sua was decent accompanied by a smooth texture filled with generous slices of big intestines and these are cooked till soft without having any gamey taste.

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

We topped up the bowl of Mee Sua with Oysters. Overall, I find that the Mee Sua can be better if the taste is stronger.

Additional Oysters

The milky taste of Yam Snow Flake Dessert is topped with colourful marshmallows and Atap Seeds drizzled with sweet condensed milk. It's refreshing but I still prefer the traditional flavours of a Snow Flake Dessert without having fanciful toppings.

Yam Snow Flake Dessert 芋头雪花冰 - $8

Comparing the Taiwanese food places that we had gone to, I will still prefer the oriental taste of their staple food like Braised Pork Rice and Mee Sua. Nonetheless, I will still want to go make a return visit hoping that I can try the rest of the items that were sold out during this visit.


Posted on June 2022

We were looking for additional food after dinner nearby as our dinner was not satisfying. A return trip to Monki for Taiwanese Drinks and food since there were a lot of items sold out when we visited Monki. At least on this trip, I get to try out their house Milk Tea. 

Grass Jelly Milk Tea 仙草侯奶茶,
Monki Milk Tea (Iced) 猴奶茶,
Soya Bean Milk (Iced) 冰豆浆  - $6, $5, $2

We ordered the Century egg as an appetizer again to share among ourselves.

Taiwan Century Egg 台湾皮蛋 - $2

Likewise, the double mix Mee Sua is also a repeated order for this visit. The standard still remain the same. 

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

Besides the drink, the only difference in the food order is that we had ordered the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette for sharing. As this style of preparation is totally different from what we have in Singapore, not many of us can get used to the taste. Its sticky starch with egg, oysters and lettuce accompanied by the thick sweet sauce drenching them is a good reminiscent of what I had in the night market of Taiwan.

Taiwanese Oyster Omelette 台式蚵仔煎 - $10

Rating: 3 / 5

Monki 台灣小吃部
Location:
The Star Vista, 1, #01-41 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

De Soon

We are slowly exploring into the industrial canteens for food that have not been discovered by me. By word of mouth, we were introduced to De Soon in Buroh Soon under the Coffeeshop of Kim San Leng.

Stall of De Soon

We ordered the Braised Pork Trotter and was surprised by the serving portion. 

Braised Pork Trotter 卤猪脚 - $5.50

Braised Meat was braised till tender and disintegrated quickly from the Bone. Love its good ratio of fats and meat without getting too greasy. The gelatinous portion from the pork trotter is addictive too.

Braised Gravy for your rice?

We ordered their Herbal Bak Kut Teh and 3 big ribs were served. Considering the price that we are paying, it's value for money. The herbal soup was not too strong but definitely passed its grades.

Herbal Bak Kut Teh 药材肉骨茶 - $5.50

The Mixed Pig Organ Soup was surprisingly good. The soup was appetizing with Chinese celery, preserved vegetables and a generous amount of ingredients like belly, liver and meatballs.

Mixed Pig Organ Soup 猪杂汤 

Since there are two stalls, we will be back for other dishes.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

De Shun
Location:
West Connect Building, 10 Buroh Street, #01-08 Singapore 627564

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Hong Wen Mutton Soup (Bukit Timah Food Centre)

 If you love the chinese style of Mutton Soup, you would most probably hear of Hong Wen Mutton Soup as they have been long in the trade. Having visited Hong Wen Mutton Soup Stall in Beauty World Centre, this is the first time I'm patronizing this stall from Bukit Timah Centre

Hong Wen Mutton Soup

Like the Beauty World Centre, Hong Wen's Mutton was bone-falling tender and the soup was of herby taste. I bought the portion at $5.50 per bowl without rice.

Mutton with lots of Coriander

A handful of Coriander and ginger strips were added to remove the nature of Mutton's Gamey taste.

Mutton

The soup, however, lacked the sweetness and richness as compared to the one in Beauty World Centre. Perhaps that's the reason why wolfberries could not be found in my bowl of soup. Comparing the two stalls, I will definitely give my votes to the one in Beauty World Centre.

Mutton


Rating: 3 / 5

Hong Wen Mutton Soup 
Location:
Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre, 51 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, #02-160, Singapore 588215

Monday, October 23, 2023

96 Oriental Broth [Media Invite]

If you are in Toa Payoh, you may want to check out this Speciality Hot Pot hidden among the industrial for your dinner. You can enjoy quality hotpot without burning a hole in your wallet.

Stall of 96 Oriental Broth
Stall of 96 Oriental Broth

We ordered the Prosperity Ribeye set with a variety of items like Iberian Pork, Lala, Scallop, Peppercorn Prawn Paste, Fried Yam, Cheese Tofu, Money Bag, Fish Paste Taukee, Fresh Handmade Meatball, Pork and Prawn Kiao with 96 Oriental Broth and Mala Level 1 to match our base. 

Our Orders
Our Orders

Do note that they have only 2 broths available. However, you can also customize the level of spiciness in the Mala if you are looking for something spicier.

Not to worry about dipping sauces, just head over to the tables in front of the stall to grab their free flow of homemade sauces. 

96 Oriental Broth and Mala Level 1
96 Oriental Broth and Mala Level 1

We love their homemade ingredients such as the fresh handmade meatballs. They have special items like Money Bag and Fish Paste Taukee which i seldom see.

Our Spread of Food
Our Spread of Food

We had their prawn paste too. Scrap them down into the broth according to the portion that you like!

Prawn Paste
Prawn Paste

Do add on their Iberico Pork too. They are thinly sliced and you can do your shabu shabu.

Dipping into Mala
Dipping into Mala

We enjoyed every thin pieces of the Iberico Pork in the broth.

Iberico Pork
Iberico Pork

I'm glad that the prawns are fresh and succulent.

Prawns
Prawns

Thank you Lao Niang Agency and 96 Oriental Broth for the Invitation

96 Oriental Broth
Location:
9 Toa Payoh Industrial Park, #01-1209 Singapore 319061

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Jun Yuan House of Fish (Clementi) [Closed]

 While searching for Fish Soup in the West, we read that this is one of the popular fish soup stalls. Jun Yuan House of Fish had opened their first outlet in Old Airport Road since 2014 and won the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2021. The original recipe belongs to their grandparents and now it's helmed by the 2nd generation.

Stall of Jun Yuan House of Fish in Clementi

We noticed that the queue was non-stop during the peak hours and the uncle was unsparingly cooking/preparing orders non-stop.

Preparation of Fish Soup

The soup was clear and decent with fresh fish slices.

Batang Fish Soup with Rice - $6.50

We also have the sliced black grouper fish soup with noodles.

Sliced Black Grouper Fish Soup with Noodles - $6.50

Overall, I'm not sure what's the hype but I will like to make a return to try out their herbal seafood soup.

Rating: 3 / 5

Jun Yuan House of Fish (Clementi)
Location: 
450 Clementi Ave 3, #01-271, Singapore 120450

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Shi Nian

 We all heard a fair bid about Shi Nian's Pig Leg Rice when they gave out free bowls of Pig Leg Rice and Pig Trotter Rice. Shi Nian is a Heritage Brand of Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo.

Shi Nian

The bespoke Pig Leg Rice that people have been talking about! I'm sold upon my first mouthful of it! The bowl of rice was topped with the braised pig leg and drizzled with their in-house braising sauce. The bowl of Pig Leg Rice comes with salted vegetables and a slice of prawn cake.

While most of us will be concerned about the greasiness, I'm glad that Shi Nian's version was not oily and meat was tender and boasted some gelatinous and thick layer of skin with some acceptable fats with meat. Incredible!

Pig Leg Rice - $5.90

The Large Intestine was satisfying! The skin was silky and there was no bitter aftertaste. What's good is that every piece of it was uniformly braised and soft in texture. 

Large Intestine - $5

These are well-cleaned and delectable. Doused them into the chilli sauce for an additional kick. 

Well Cleaned Intestines

The words of mouth that I received for Shi Nian is justified. I do not mind making a return for their other dishes on the menu too.

Rating: 4 / 5

Shi Nian
Location:
Bukit Timah Food Center, 51 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 588215