bloocheese's Profile

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a media tasting of their CNY menu. Prior to this invite, I'd never stepped into Dian Xiao Er. So I was looking forward to this tasting!The special chinese new year offering consisted of Traditional Yu ShengShark’s Fin with Crab Meat and Conpoy Signature Herbal Roast Duck with Ten Wonders SauceSautéed Baby Lobsters with Pumpkin SauceProsperous Braised TrottersSteamed PomfretLuxurious Abalone Treasure PotDouble-Boiled Chilled HashimaThe Shark's Fin with crab meat and conpoy was very lightly flavoured, and choc a bloc full of shark's fin and crab meat goodness. It was quite a delight to start the meal proper after havin had the traditional yu sheng. The texture of the soup was thick but yet silky. Not the usual starchy goop you get at some restaurants. The Signature Herbal Roast Duck is simply out of this world! Call me late to the game, but I'd never had this previously and it was such a privilege to try all three sauces (Angelica Herb, Ten Wonders, Wild Ginseng) that one can usually order the roast duck with. Of the three, the fragrant but light Angelica Herb stole my heart. It was tasty, but didn't detract my palate from the beautifully done duck. The latter two sauces would suit palates looking for a more intense flavour. Eating the Prosperous Braised Trotters left me feeling truly prosperous! It was stewed until every sinewy tendon was melt-in-your-mouth, but still held its shape well. The flavour was also very balanced, not too spicy, not too sweet. The skin, the tendons, the flesh had me sold.I've never eaten a treasure pot, so it was more like a treasure hunt for me! Shitake mushrooms, abalone, sea cucumber, dried oysters, and fish maw. I felt so spoiled for choice, and decided to get my chopsticks on every one of them. It felt so extravagant, so luxurious to eat all of them in one dish.I left very impressed, and have been back 3 times! While I was at the tasting, it was mentioned to me that their duck is their signature, and I am a sworn fan! Thank you for inviting me, I am now a convert.…Read More

Located in the block of apartments right next to Calrose Garden, this little cafe was a surprise with its happy lights and cosy atmosphere. We were looking for a cafe that was open late as it was already 9:15pm. Rang the cafe up to get directions and the owner informed us that the dinner kitchen was closing at 9:30pm, but that she would hold the kitchen open a little later to accommodate us. Had a snack of the smoked salmon salad ($10) while my girlfriend had their creme brûlée. The salmon salad was huge and generous in both smoked salmon and their yummy balsamic dressing. It was the perfect snack to satisfy my late night craving. My girlfriend loved the creme brûlée. You can smell the sugar caramelising as they do it on the counter in front of you. In fact all their desserts looked beautifully executed. The next table ordered honey chicken wings. That was a sight!! The honey trickling from each wing!!! I'll be back to try the wings! Tip: if you're going for a late dinner, let them know and they'll be super kind to hold it open a little later …Read More