Yellow light Thai Food: Some hard to find Thai here

With Eastcoastlife

Miang Karm (Betel Nut leaf wrapped condiments) $8

Humans are creatures of habit. But habits are not bad, they are used by our brain to automate certain processes so that you don't have to waste time and extra energy to make certain decisions. When it comes to food, we also form habits of ordering certain foods when we eat so that we don't have to waste too much brain power.At least for me, whenever I eat Thai Food, I always end up ordering the same stuff. It saves the hassle of having to risk ordering something you are not going to like. Same goes with Northern Indian, Japanese and so on.

But every now and again, you might want to venture out to try something new. Well, if you are in such a mood, then you might find something like Miang Karm a bit more adventurous.

In Thailand, this dish is actually available from the Supermarket where all the condiments and the Betel Nut leaves are packed in styrofoam trays with gladwrap. All you need to do is to make a little pouch from the leaf and put in all the condiments and pop it in your mouth. This dish is not readily available in Thai restaurants here but one restaurant that does sell it is Yellow Light Thai Food. I really enjoy this dish as a starter, it is refreshing and the combination of the fried coconut and the tangy sauce gives it a nice zing to start your meal. 4.25/5


Fried Salted Egg Yolk Ball $3 each

Yellow Light is actually a Thai Restaurant started by a Penang lady of Thai descent around 30 years ago. It called "Yellow Light" because it did not have a signboard, so the regulars all recognized the place by the yellow light that was hanging outside. Even though the restaurant did not originate from Thailand, the owners work very hard at making sure the food is as authentic as it gets.

Aside from the Miang Karm, I also tried their Fried Salted Egg Yolk Ball which I must admit, I have not come across even though I spent two years living in Bangkok. It is essentially a salted egg yolk wrapped with a paste made from minced pork and deep fried. Certainly something new to try if you haven't come across it before. 3.5/5


Belachan Fried Rice $12

For those who like the pungent smell of dry Belachan, you would like this dish. I especially like the sweet pork belly that they have as one of the condiments which go very well with the savoury rice and dried shrimps. 4/5


Tom Yum Soup $12

I felt the Tom Yum soup lacked a certain kick that day. It is unfortunate since I feel that the owners here really do emphasize a lot on authenticity and they make a lot of effort and passion goes into the dishes since the owner happens to be the chef as well. The soup just lacks that sourish ooomph that day. 3.75/5


Green Curry Chicken $12

Their focus on authenticity can easily be seen in the extra effort they put in to procure the small pea sized brinjals that are always seen when you eat Green Curry in Thailand. The green curry is good but again lacks the special something to get you to order that extra portion of rice. 3.5/5

Conclusion

Nice little family run Thai restaurant. The chef owner puts a lot of effort into making the food authentic and so you can find some things here that is not found in other Thai Restaurants in Singapore. However, it is a constant debate over whether to keep the food authentic or to modify it to suit the local taste. All the effort of getting stuff like baby brinjal might just go to waste because Singaporeans don't appreciate them at all. If you are looking for Thai food that is a little different from elsewhere, this might be a place you would want to check out.

Yellow Light Thai Food
95 East Coast Road
Singapore 428793
11.30am to 2.30pm
6pm to 10pm
Closed Mondays
6345 7324

This was an invited review

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Cafe Oliv Revisited: An ieat Team Review

Reviewed by Holydrummer with Pics from Cactuskit and Wahcow

With the additional mouths of smart, liverpool, champagne, taukwa,wahcow maiden, mr. & mrs sumosumo, jems & jemster, cactusprincess, holybro & holybunny

Have you ever fancied feasting on French escargots, Chinese 'guo-tie' and Italian pasta - all at the same time? Weird cravings, I hear you say. Or if you are tired of the run-of-the-mill chicken chop from the hawker centre stall, join the club. Question is, where can you go for exquisite western cuisine that is a cut above the rest, yet decently-priced? Look no further - At Cafe Oliv, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Executive Chef-Owner Kevin Heng presents a range of unique offerings from his rejuvenated menu that allows him to better express his culinary flair. With hints of 'Eastern' influences in his new dishes, one would ask what on earth is he really cooking - Western? East-Meets-West? Fusion?

In what was arguably the heaviest weekend degustation - a whopping 20-course - we guinea pigs gathered for a nice Saturday brunch to explore Cafe Oliv's new food experiments and to find out the answer.

First up, Salads and Appetisers:


Oliv Avocado Quail Eggs Mesclun Frisee French Dressing $10.90
Photo by Cactuskit

Presentation wise, this is a colourful beauty. Avocado by nature has a creamy & buttery texture; Combining thick slices of these together with the quail eggs, they lend weight to alternating textures between the crunchy mesclun greens and the juicy cherry tomatoes & olives, making this a full-bodied salad. 4/5

Gratin Oliv Herb Butter Yolk Cheese Monray Escargot $9.90 (half a dozen)
Photo by Cactuskit

Fans of escargot can also rejoice. The snails come conveniently de-shelled and are surprisingly quite plump and tender, packing in a bit of crunch. Served on a bed of blanched Chinese spinach, some of us found the choice of greens rather amusing initially. Mismatch? Perhaps. But I thought it provided a good contrast by cushioning the saltiness of the accompanying sauce around the escargots and added a somewhat fusion-istic presentation. Bound to be a crowd favourite, you can't go wrong with this oven-baked dish with bechemel sauce & melted cheese oozing all over. 4/5


Oliv Fusion Stuffing "Guo Tie" Streaky Pork Dumpling $7.90 (8 pieces)

Photo by Cactuskit

Drawing inspiration from his Chinese kitchen staff, this Northern Chinese staple was re-invented with an additional twist in cooking technique. Instead of just the usual pan-frying, the "Guo Tie" were then braised with stock and the pan jus was left to reduce until it was totally absorbed into the dumplings, sealing in all the flavours. The intended effect was to create a "Guo Tie" in the style of a "tang bao", a la "xiao long bao" - where there is soup within waiting to burst out. It was indeed juicy enough at first bite, though the base could be seared longer & finished with a crispier skin. 4.25/5

P.S: Before we move on, don't forget to ask for Oliv's two homemade sauces - Honey Mustard & Thai Mayonnaise to accompany your meal. They go well with anything at all, and our moderator 'sumosumo' dabbed the dumpling with the honey mustard - "Fantastic!"


Oliv Quesadilla with Seafood $11.90

Photo by Wahcow

The Quesadilla stood out with its paper-thin tortilla skin - it is like an ultra crispy thin-crust pizza packed with chokefuls of filling bursting at the seams. You can select from a choice of 5 types of ingredients. Uncle Smart especially enjoyed this dish! 4.25/5

Photo by Cactuskit

Look at that! Can't resist sinking your teeth & experiencing that 'first crunch' yeah? You'd be glad to know that Cafe Oliv also serves a variety of thin-crust pizzas including the new Wild Mushroom Anchovies Margarita Pizza @ $12.90 - good for two to three.


Chargrilled Bratwurst Snail & Spicy Italian Sausages with Rosti Potato $14.90
Photo by Wahcow

Rosti is considered the national dish of Switzerland and pairing the German Bratwurst & Italian Sausage with Swiss Rosti reflects a delightful culinary mishmash akin to the neighbouring cultures prevalent in Switzerland. In Singapore, I shall christen this "Rosti Prata".

For Oliv's "Rosti Prata" - Russet Burbank potatoes were grated & pan-fried, with bacon left to saute first then tossed in to infuse flavour into the potato prata. Succulent sausages on top of Rosti - an impeccable match and a hit with the kakis! 4.5/5

Oliv Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel, Potato & Pilaf Rice $11.90

Photo by Cactuskit

This is as good'ol hearty as beef stew can get. Chunks of tender beef shin and root vegetables are stewed for a good few hours and served with steaming hot pilaf rice. The shin contains more tendons and less fat which is ideal for stewing. This dish is my personal favourite here and I love to have this stew especially on a chilly cold rainy day. It never fails to warm not only my stomach, but my heart too. 4.5/5

If you are not a fan of beef, try Oliv's Black Pepper Pesto Chicken with Rosemary Sauce ($11.90) One whole boneless chicken thigh is marinated overnight with paprika, rosemary and french mustard - Kevin adds in a good measure of ground black pepper to spice things up. I could appreciate the crisp & charred bits outside, while leaving the meat inside still moist and tender. 4/5. If you're looking for a meaner and crunchier alternative, also excellent is the Parmesan Cheese Chicken Cutlet Coriander Dill Cream @ $11.90. 4.25/5 They may seem like simple culifare (pardon the pun), but they can satisfy the simplest of coq cravings.


Char-Grilled Honey Glazed Pork Belly Ribs with Barbeque Sauce ($16.90 for half slab, $26.90 for full slab)

Photo by Cactuskit

Saving the best for the last, this star dish here is so good, it is worth raving about one more time, even if it has been featured before here. This unique recipe combines a special technique with a secret homemade BBQ marinade to provide that melt-in-the-mouth texture:

Instead of basting, the soft-bone ribs are first steamed for 3 hours with the BBQ sauce & left to rest, absorbing & trapping all the moisture in the meat - most of the fat is also removed in the process. Then, more of that special concoction is coated onto the meat just before chargrilling it, to give it added oomph and flavour. The result? A perfectly lean and tender slab. I especially loved the charred and slightly crispy crust and don't miss out on the sides where you can really suck the flavour out of the soft bones. Heaven! All of the kakis gave their stamp of approval. 4.5/5

Conclusion

Western? East-Meets-West? Fusion? Ultimately, you define it & decide for yourself. Whatever it is, Cafe Oliv's revamped menu is bound to please any palate with its brand-new offerings while retaining the old favourites.

Besides the huge variety of starters and entrees, it even contains a 3-step DIY Pasta section where you can select from 3 types of pasta, 7 types of sauces & 11 types of ingredients.

What do all these mean? It means you will definitely be spoilt for choice!

National Day Special Promotion for ieatishootipost.sg readers only!

Good news for you all! Up till the end of August only, Cafe Oliv is pleased to offer its guests 10% discount off the total bill when you quote 'ieatishootipost.sg'. It's that simple - Just mention the blog and you will be entitled to the exclusive discount. That means NO GST and NO Service Charge!

Visit www.cafeoliv.com for more info.

Cafe Oliv
220, East Coast Road
(Near Church of the Holy Family, Katong)
6-344-3114
Open daily from 11:30am - 11pm

What to do next?

Read the previous Cafe Oliv review here

Go down the road and have a nice cup of kopi with nostalgia at Chin Mee Chin

Cross the road to satisfy your Durian craving at Ah Loon's

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Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee: Eat it before it goes!

Bad news!

The building that houses the coffeeshop where Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee is housed will be undergoing renovation to convert it to a hotel. So our Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee uncle is forced to vacate and has up till now not been able to find a suitable stall to migrate to. Uncle Alex said he might even be thinking of calling it a day since his right shoulder is giving him so much problems.

That means that the stall which I consider to be one of the top 3 Hokkien Mees in Singapore may soon become just nostalgia! So if you are a fan of HKM, you have only up till 24 August (last day) to eat here before they close for an indefinite period of time.

BTW, if you know of any suitable coffeeshop in the East, please do write in and let me know. His criteria is that it should have space for carparking, be located somewhere around the East and preferably not be under HDB.

Postscript:

Alex and his family would like to thank all their customers for their support all these years. He will be taking a short break and when they settle in their new stall, they will announce it on this blog. So watch this space.

Update 16 Aug 2008

Just had the HKM today. Very shiok. I am upping is rating to 4.6/5 If only he brought back the boiled pork belly....

Updated 18 Sep 2008

They are now at 1 Joo Chiat Place! Read the latest update here.

Updated 25 Jun 2009

They are back at their old address!

Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee
396 East Coast Road
11.30am to 9.30pm
Closed on Mondays

Read my last post on Lor 29 HKM here

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Bee Bee Carrot Cake: Why do we expect them to make their own carrot cakes?

I have always thought that the best carrot cake are those where they actually steam their own carrot cake before frying. But I had a different thought the other day. How come we don't expect Char Kway Teow sellers to make their own Kway Teow, but we demand that from Carrot Cake sellers? It is true that traditionally they did steam it themselves, but it is one of those things that can actually be outsourced. So nowadays a lot of people actually take short cuts because it makes sense for their business and so we can't really fault them.

Anyway this carrot cake is the favourite of two of our makan kakis who live around Marine Terrace, viz Cactuskit and Holydrummer. So it is on their recommendation that I spent a precious Saturday morning (one of only a few throughout the year) trying them out.

Marine Terrace Food Centre is incredibly packed and I was told it is impossible to get a whole table to oneself. A lot of the times, you have to share tables with your neighbours. Indeed, there was hardly an empty seat as all the seats are actually taken! On the other hand, I found that people actually take the opportunity to talk to each other as well since they are forced to sit together. So this problem might not be totally bad afterall.

Anyway there was a 30 minute wait for the Carrot Cake which I found was pretty ordinary. BUT Cactuskit insists that it was a bad day for them and that they are usually better. OK lah I believe you, but that day's carrot cake only gets a 3.75/5.

Conclusion

So are you a Marine Terracer? Is this carrot cake really that great?

Bee Bee Carrot Cake
Marine Terrace Food Centre
Open from 7am to around 1pm

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Ah Loon & Ah Teck Durian Stall: Let's give this D88 a name!

D88

I have made it my goal to document as many cultivars of durian as possible so that they can all be nicely cataloged on this blog. So with around a week left before this durian season ends, I am posting this to remind you that you only have around one week left to get your durian fix.

Here are another 2 cultivars that I managed to come across. The first one is the D88 which surprisingly does not have a name like "Hong Xia" or "Mao Shan Wang". Now, I could be wrong, so if you know the name of this cultivar do let us know. If not, why don't we all come up with a name for it?

Just look at that beautiful, luscious, golden yellow flesh! Doesn't it lure you like a sotong (squid) to the light? The taste of it wasn't as good that day because, as Ah Loon explains, it was not the right time of the harvest. The flesh was a little fibrous and it wasn't as sweet. However, I can just imagine what it must taste like at the peak of the season! 3.5/5


Tawa

The Tawa is a oblong shaped durian with flesh that is pale yellow, less creamy and more watery and very pungent. Quite similar in flavour to the XO. 4.25/5

Conclusion

So what do you think is a good name for the D88?

Update 5 Aug 2008

Had a good D88 today. Nice and creamy, soft and pungent. Like a cross between XO and Hong Xia with a milder flavour. 4/5

Ah Loon and Ah Teck Durian
231 East Coast Road
97514828






What to do next?

Check out the other durian breeds.
Check out what durians our forummers are eating.
Trying to find something to eat before durians? Try these

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Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice: Surprisingly good

It is human nature to side with the underdog. So when it comes to chicken rice, not many people would go with the big players like Boon Tong Kee, citing that they are too commercial, lacks the personal touch etc etc.

With over 20 chicken rice stalls already blogged, this site would really not be complete without one of Singapore's largest chain of chicken rice stalls. So it was only a matter of time before I blogged BTK. I have had this chicken rice several times already before I started by blogging, but never really thought much of it. (Didn't analyse food as much then as I do nowadays) However, on the insistence of Holydrummer who swears by this chicken rice (the East Coast branch), I decided to blog it sooner rather than the later.



The overall experience was surprisingly good. BTK was able to put a whole chicken rice package together that resulted in satisfying chicken rice experience. From the rice to the chicken to the chilli sauce, I thought that even though not one item actually stood out, they were all competent and worked well in harmony. The several items that I really appreicated though were the pickles that come with the chicken. Though not traditional served with chicken rice, I thought they added a little bit of a zing to the whole experience and I especially enjoyed it. The other item was the minced ginger which they provided. It was also a little on the sweet side and very fragrant. One of the best ginger sauces that I have come across.

Conclusion

So there you have it, I am surprised that I actually enjoyed it so much. Maybe its because I usually like things a little on the sweet side and so the pickles and ginger did it for me. I am sure there are going to be lots of supporters and detractors of this chain. Whatever it may be, one thing is quite safe to say. If you have overseas visitors and want to introduce them to chicken rice, BTK is a good place to consider since you are assured of reasonably good chicken rice in a modern and clean environment. It's a "soft landing" to test their level of tolerance before bringing them to the hardcore, roadside, eat with your fingers, "D" rated type stalls.

Boon Tong Kee (Katong)
199 East Coast Road
(Opp Holy Family Church)
Open for lunch till 10pm daily

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The Ieat Durian Degustation II: Ah Loon and Ah Teck's Boutique Durian Stall

The pictures say it all. When it comes to Durians, we Singaporeans will throw any manner of decorum to the wind. It is one of the few times that you can actually eat with your hands, get durian all over your face, and talk with your mouth full without mom telling you off. This is especially so when mom is also in the thick of things.

Yes, when it comes to durians, it is the fruit that is the main focus and nothing else matters. No one bothers that the tables are not cleaned, that you can throw the seeds into a dirty plastic box and it is permissible to stuff a whole durian segment in your mouth because you got to use your hands to open the durian. Do it with a chicken drumstick and everyone will be staring at you!

So it is when over 80 durian kakis gathered outside a provision shop to enjoy the fruit together. From Neurosurgeons to students, retirees to property developers, there are no social barriers when it comes to durian. The only criterion for admission is that you love the fruit.

The degustation session covered 5 varieties of durians that evening. We started with D24, then move on to Hong Xia, Black Pearl, XO, Golden Phoenix and finished up with the prized Mao Shan Wang. The characteristics of most of these have already been covered in my previous posts, so I will only highlight the Black Pearl which was voted best durian for the night.


The Black Pearl

The Black Pearl is easily recognizable by its elongated Rugby Ball shape which is something close to the heart of this ex-Saint/Rafflesian.



The flesh is is greyish white and most of them have little "pearls" of black in the flesh. The shape of the segments are also elongated and looks very much like those fried fish cakes. The texture is pastey and the aroma is only mildly pungent. However it is distinctly sweet with a taste that I find as difficult to describe as the colour Red.



The small size of the segment is offset by the tiny shrivelled seeds, so you still get quite a nice mouthful of flesh. I am told that is it best eaten by popping the whole segment into your mouth, spitting the seed out and then spend the next few minutes savouring the taste while swallowing a little at a time. 4.5/5

Conclusion

I think all our durian kakis went home very full and very satisfied that night and woke up this morning with Durian breath! Don't forget to drink lots of water everyone!


Ah Loon showing off the characteristic star shape pattern of the Mao Shan Wang

Ah Loon and Ah Teck Durian
231 East Coast Road
97514828





Acknowledgements

Thanks to Sumosumo, Holydrummer, Holybro, Holybunny and Cactuskit for helping to organize the event!

Photos by Cactuskit and Ieat

Read about the other breeds of Durians here



Remember to vote today! Click here

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Twe Kee Chicken Rice: Mom and Pop still doing it the traditional way.

With ieatjr


Tucked in a small corner coffeeshop in the East Coast is an elderly couple who are still making chicken rice the same way they have been for 30 years. If you have ever wondered what chicken rice tasted like in the old days, you better get here quick, cos these good old mom and pop shops are getting rarer nowadays.

So just what makes a particular chicken rice "retro" and what makes it "modern"? Well, for one thing, the traditional way of preparing the rice is to fry the grains in garlic and ginger first before boiling the rice in chicken broth. Not many people do it nowadays and certainly the large chains will not be able to do it because of the volume of rice they have to dish out. So the only place to find such rice is either at home if you are fortunate enough to have a Hainanese Grandma OR you have to look for other people's Hainanese Grandma to cook it for you. In case you do not have Hainanese friends or if your Hainanese friends are sort of half Hainanese, quarter Teochew and quarter Cantonese, then can I suggest that you come to this stall where you can find a purebred Hainanese couple.



Another thing that makes this a "retro" chicken rice is the way they cook their chicken. Traditionally, Hainanese do not soak the chicken in cold water after cooking. Trust me, I know. I have a Hainanese MIL who has refused to soak the chicken in cold water for the 20 years that I have known her. Now, soaking the chicken in cold water quickly stops the cooking process which results in nice crunchy skin but at the expense of losing all that nice chickeny juices. If you don't soak the chicken then it takes a lot more skill and experience in order to get the timing just right so that the chicken flesh is still tender.

Now, for those who like chicken with a strong chicken taste, this one is just right for you. The flesh is still amazingly tender but of course the skin is not as crunchy as if it was soaked in ice water. I am sort of quite undecided whether this is the one for me but I know that the traditionalists will love it. 4/5



As I mentioned before, this is one of the few places where they fry the grains first before cooking the rice. They also make a point of not adding the chicken oil into the rice so the rice is not so oily. I am sort of wishing they would as I think it would have made the rice even more shiok! 4.25/5

Conclusion

I must make it a point to find and blog a few more of these mom and pop shops before they all disappear!

Twe Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
Coffeeshop at the jn of Jago close
Open 6.30am to 4pm
Closed Tuesday
Recommended and gently persuaded to blog this place by Cactuskit and supported by Smart in the forum
You can read their comments here



Where to go next?

Another place you can find traditional "non-soaked" chicken is Yet Con
The other place that still fries the grains first is Thien Kee
Read about other chicken rice stalls by clicking the "Chicken Rice" label - 21 stalls blogged and counting!
Join the Forum and see where our forummers are eating chicken rice! Click Here
Have a read of the other mom and pop shops!



Remember to vote today! Click here

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Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice: Best Value for Money Chicken Rice

With ieatjr

Half Chicken $13

Holydrummer has been telling me about this chicken rice since the early days of the blog but I never really got down to Katong Centre to try it. However, lately I have been going through a chicken rice phase, (you all go through phases too right?) and I really felt I needed to sink my teeth into some nice, fat and succulent chicken thigh.

Incidentally, when I say chicken thigh, do you think of the drumstick? You do realize that, anatomically speaking, the drumstick is not technically the thigh right? The drumstick is actually the part below the knee whereas the hind quarters ie the most fleshy part of the chicken is the real thigh. Don't believe me? Check out a bird's anatomy properly!

Anyway, I realize why I don't really like Kampung Chicken. In the normal chicken, the drumstick is usually fat and tender, but in a Kampung Chicken, the drumstick is really tough! So the only really succulent part of the Kampung Chicken is the thigh. Anyway, enough ranting about Kampung Chickens, if you want a well endowed chicken, this is one place where you will find some.


No such thing as Anorexia here!

The Lao Ban Niang here tells me that they use only chickens that are over two kg in weight. So you can expect chicken that you can fill your mouth with. What makes this place unique is that instead of just having the coriander over the chicken, they give this nice concoction of fried garlic, chillies, shredded carrot and radish garnish. Also every plate of chicken rice comes with a serving of their soup-of-the-day which happens to be watercress soup when I visited them. On top of that, you get a free flow serving of 2 different types of Achar. So for $4, you can a four course meal! Which is why this stall gets my vote for Best Value Chicken rice!



The only thing I would complain about here is the rice. They use yellow ginger to colour the rice, so it comes out a eerie yellow colour, as if you have just spilled highlighter ink onto your rice. The texture and flavour is not great but acceptable. If only the rice had been good, this place would have scored much higher. 4/5

Conclusion

Best value for money Chicken Rice! I had half a chicken, 2 rice, 2 plates of achar and a big bowl of watercress soup with pork bones and chicken mid joint for just $14! Mind you, half a chicken here is equivalent to a whole Kampung Chicken!

Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice
865 Mountbatten Road #B1-85/87
Katong Shopping Centre Stall 3
Katong Gourmet Centre
10am to 8pm daily
Mr Goh 97896073

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Cafe Oliv: Three Mini Burgers, All in a Row

Burger Trio: $14.90

Now this is what I call a balanced meal. You have your Beef, your Pork and your Fish all on the one plate.

Cafe Oliv's Burger Trio is best for people who:

1. Can't make up their minds what to eat
2. Want their Burgers in manageable portions
3. Love to buy a dish to share with their friends
4. Prefer to taste different things rather than stuffing a hungry stomach

Three Burgers means three reviews, so here we go:

Starting with the Beef. This is 2 slices of tenderloin beef, with bacon, cheese and lettuce in a tennis ball sized bun. Though I love beef, tenderloin is not my favourite cut as it lacks a beefy flavour. But, I know lots of ladies who love it because it is tender and has less fat. Personally, I would prefer a nice thick hamburger pattie instead. 3.75/5


Kong Bak Burger

Next up is the Kong Bak. I actually quite like this one. The Kong Bak was braised till it is tender, well caramelised with just a hint of the five spices. The Kong Bak is much better than many of the Kong Bak from franchised Kong Bak Pau outlets. Worth spending some calories on this one. 4.25/5


Black Cod with Shitake Mushrooms

I have left the best course for last. The Teriyaki Cod Fish with Shitake Mushrooms burger is worth the trip and I wouldn't mind having all three as Cod Fish burgers. They use Canadian Black Cod here so the flesh is oily and smooth and it was fried till there was a crust of caramel on the flesh. It was really juicy and the combination of the Shitake, Teriyaki sauce and salad really worked. Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind a full sized Cod Fish Burger! 4.5/5

Conclusion

The concept of the mini burger has been tried elsewhere but I think this is the first time that it has come in three different flavors. Personally it would have been perfect if they provided a juicy burger pattie instead of tenderloin, but I think the tenderloin would appeal to a lot of ladies out there.

Cafe Oliv
220 East Coast Road
63443114
11.30am to 12mn daily
Sunday: 8am to 12mn

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Paradize on Earth: I found Paradize...and it's a Steamboat!

With SCS Butter, Happi Mummi and ieatFamily


I never used to like Steamboats. To me, dunking pieces of raw meat into chicken broth was not as exciting as a good plate of fragrant Hokkien Mee. I mean, all the boiled pieces of meat tasted the same. It's not shiok like a good bowl of laksa, if you know what I mean. And the soup was like a hodgepodge of everything. I just could not understand what was the big deal with Steamboats.

But then along came the Buffet Steamboat with Hotplates which served beef bulgolgi and lots of side dishes like fried chicken wings and other stuff which I quite like. It was then that I suddenly began to appreciate the social aspects of having a Steamboat. It's like a bonding session where friends gather round a steaming bowl of soup to clear their sinuses.....

It was only when I ate my first Shabu Shabu that I began to appreciate how tasty a piece of boiled meat can be. After that, I was well and truly hooked.




So far, all the buffet Steamboats I have been to were pretty much the same deal, which is why I got excited when I found out about this one through Camemberu's blog. There are quite a few things that make this one stand out from the rest. First, they have a special satay soup base which reminds me a bit of the Lok Lok in Malacca. I was also very impressed with the size and quality of the prawns they dished out. For $17.50, they provide very good sized grey prawns rather than the usual small tiger prawns found in many other places. The thinly sliced pork belly is also very shiok when cooked in the satay sauce. Rather then helping yourself to all the ingredients, you order the stuff from the menu and they are brought to your table. As a result, all the ingredients are neat and fresh.

The only drawback to the place is the fact that they only provide one sauce. But the sauce they gave is quite unique and goes well with the meats. The only other grouse I have is that the ala carte sliced beef at $13 per portion really looked very very good. The next table had ordered it and the meat was well marbled and served on a block of ice to keep the fats firm until just before you cook it. But alas, it is not included in our buffet set. Darn, it felt like we were sitting in Economy watching what others in First Class were eating.



Of special mention is the Yang Chow Fried Rice which is free flow for the buffet. Each plate is freshly fried and has enough wok hei flavor. We felt it was a fried rice that we would gladly have ordered at a restaurant.

Conclusion

Overall, very good value for money. Though it is a few dollars more than other places, the quality of ingredients and service really makes up for the price difference. This is the first place I would think of going when I feel like having steamboat.

Paradize on Earth
200 Tanjung Katong Road
6345 9272
11am to 3pm,6pm to 11pm
$17.80 Dinner ,$15.80 Lunch
Sat and Sunday add $1
Kids above 3 half price

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