Yixing Xuan Teahouse 怡心軒 located along Tanjong Pagar Road, a few units from 2D1N Soju Bang is a teahouse that specialises in conducting tea appreciation and tea tasting classes. In addition, they serve food and dim sum too.

As we happened to be in the area on a Friday evening at around 715pm, I suggested this place. However, when we stared through the glass of the 2 units of the tea house, we were shocked to see that there was no one! It was empty, not a single customer. Should we enter? How come there was no one on a Friday and also considering that the past few eateries we walked past was filled to the brim especially 2D1N Soju Bang which had a long stretching queue.

After standing outside for what must have been a good 5 minutes, we decided to enter.

As mentioned earlier, we were the only one. There's another unit next door which was empty too. The teahouse had an Oriental theme decoration with Chinese music being played softly in the background. It provided a good ambience for a chat and unwind away from the fast paced life.

The activities board full of tea appreciation and tasting that was conducted for students, exchange students, foreigners and organisations.

A wide range of tea pots and tea leaves available.

The White Tea was classified under special Chinese tea together with the likes of Pu-er, Jasmine and Oolong tea. To be frank I have never heard of White Tea before. Nor have I seen such tea leaves (so much for a foodie).The White Tea (refillable) had a fragrant subtle flavour and was slightly sweet. It seemed to be accompanied by a grassy after-taste. Best for you to try this yourself. The best part is that this is refillable; sit down relax and enjoy the tea.. Also, of all the teas, this has the least caffeine.

Regular Chinese Tea was well, average (note: this is not refillable).The Carrot Cake was soft, smooth and flavourful. It was steamed and was not oil or salty. Topped with shallots and dice spring onions, it was so savoury. At $3, this is well worth the price. We were told that they made the dim sum themselves (not factory made). The Chicken Feet was decent and was well marinated. The Fried Rice was surprisingly good with generous amount of ingredients. Suitable for sharing with two person. It was well fried and not overly oily.Yixing Xuan's Special Pancake was indeed special. It is a dessert and will be served at the end of the meal. The appearance of this dish reminded me of Bak Kua (BBQ Pork Slices). Outside, the pastry mixed with green tea was incredibly crispy. Inside (in between the layer of pastry), it was filled with warm melted red bean paste. The sweetness of the red bean paste was just right. A must try.

If you want to learn more about tea and the authentic Chinese tea experience, this is the place. Moreover, Yixing Xuan Teahouse is not only a place for tea lovers, but also THE place for food lovers! I am quite impressed with the quality of food and dim sum and the fact that it is so value for money. If I pass by this area again, I am definitely coming back for more! Last but not least, all prices are in NETT! No plus plus (gst, service charge).

ps: if you are wondering, we were the only customers throughout our meal. Quite a number of people did peep through the glass and none entered.

http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/10/yixing-xuan-teahouse-tanjong-pagar.html

The Landing Point Afternoon High Tea Buffet was something which we wanted to try for sometime. We had heard so much about its three tier high tea set. Noticed the piano at the side? A pianist started playing the piano at around 330pm providing soothing background music which set the tone for the relaxing afternoon. Comfy yet cozy sofa seats to chill out while enjoying the view. It over looks Marina Bay Sands. Elegant, dignified table setting. Beverage (Tea & Coffee) Menu

The Landing Point's Afternoon High Tea Buffet cost $49++ per person on weekdays and weekends from 3pm to 530pm. If you would like a sparkling wine to go along with your high tea, it is $69++. For a child, it would be $25++. Currently, UOB cardholders would be able to enjoy a 15% discount. So do remember to use this card if you have it.

There's 20 varieties of TWG Tea to enjoy while indulging in the high tea and enjoying the beautiful view of Marina Bay. Plain Scone

Plain Scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam. There was also Raisin Scone. The Scones were average; they were not buttery enough.Festive three-tiered high tea set

The main star was the three-tiered high tea set which is refillable. As we visited during the Christmas period, their normal three-tier high tea set was replaced with the Festive three-tiered high tea set.Top Tier

The top tier consisted of mainly sweet items - Crème Brulee, Christmas Cake, Christmas Cookies and Christmas Pie.Second Tier

The second tier which consisted of savoury items was our favourite - Lobster Tarts, Biscuit with Cheese and Fig, Truffle Egg Sandwich, Smoked Salmon Sandwich, Turkey Sandwich, Smoked Duck Sandwich and Cucumber Tomato Sandwich. We refilled this tier several times and did not refill the other tiers.Front to back (Lobster Tarts, Biscuit with Cheese and Fig, Truffle Egg Sandwich, Smoked Salmon Sandwich)

Our top 3 items were the (order of preference) Lobster Tarts, Truffle Egg Sandwich and Smoked Duck Sandwich. We constantly ate these 3 items and got refills for them as they were real good. Other than that, the rest were mediocre.Last Tier

The last (third) tier also consisted of sweet items - Pistachio Cake with Chocolate, Christmas Fruit Cake, Raspberry and Cream, and Macarons. The bitter sweet Chocolate Macaron was easily the best among all the items in this tier.

Most of the items in the first and third tier was too sweet.Refills

The refills were placed at the back of our seats. The staff would make it a point to constantly provide refills for customers. However, service was a little on the slower end. They seemed under staffed and could not cope with the crowd. As you can see from the above photo, the popular items which was constantly being refilled was the food items in the second tier.Left to Right: Fullerton Express Tea, Fruit Mountain

There was way too many selections of TWG teas to try and could only try 2 different tea. For the first tea, I went for something light; the Fullerton Express Tea which was specially commissioned from TWG Tea by the Fullerton Group. It was a light, refreshing and fragrant tea. The second tea I tried was the Fruit Mountain which was a black tea. It was stronger in taste with a delicate sweetness to it.

As you may have already figure out, other than the Teas, the food was average. We ate mainly the Lobster Tart, Truffle Egg Sandwich and Smoked Duck Sandwich only. The price was on the higher end. But the ambience was excellent - Quiet, cozy with a great view. Perfect for a date or to just chill out and chat.A summary video on the Afternoon High Tea Buffet which I posted on Instagram.

http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/12/the-landing-point-afternoon-high-tea.html

Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles 華記大蝦麵 has reopened again!!

If you are a prawn noodle fanatic, you would have probably hear of Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles 華記大蝦麵. I heard so much about it that I knew I had to give it a try one day. Previously, I made two trips to Pek Kio Food Centre (where this stall is located) for this. However, on both occasions the stall was closed indefinitely as the owner had went for an eye operation. A few weeks ago, I heard that the stall had reopened! Hence, I made another trip down just for this. Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles 華記大蝦麵 specialises in serving prawn noodles. The Prawn Noodles were available in $3, $5, $8 and $10. Big (Jumbo) prawns are served for the $8 and $10 versions.

When I got there at 930am on a weekday, I was surprised to see a short queue of just 6 person in front of me. I have read so much about the slow moving queue and mentally prepared to wait patiently. Thankfully, two persons in front of me dropped off. Hence, I just had to waited for around 20 minutes (4 person in front) before it was my turn. Prawn Noodles $10

I ordered the $10 Prawn Noodles with Mee Pok. It came with a packet of tissue paper. The jumbo prawns were served separately in a metal dish. Mee Pok (dry)

The owners were very generous with the fried shallots and pork lard. As a result, the Mee Pok (dry) was so tasty. In addition, the beansprouts at the bottom added a nice crunch. I understand that the owners fried the shallots and pork lard themselves as they wanted to ensure quality was not compromised. Jumbo Prawns

Three jumbo prawns were served together with the soup in a metal dish. Jumbo Prawns

One reason why the queue was so slow moving was because the owner only prepares the prawns when customers orders to ensure that the prawns remained fresh. He would then proceed and deshell the middle portion of the prawn. Moreover, slice it partially in the middle to devein it. Jumbo Prawns

The star of the dish (i.e. the prawns) did not disappoint. They were oh-so extremely huge, fresh and succulent. Superb!

The soup was unique too. Besides being tasty and full of essence of the prawns, it was accompanied with a hint of sweet, spicy and garlic flavour. It was so good that I drank the whole bowl and brought the empty bowl requesting for a refill. I am sure they did not add any MSG in it as I did not feel thirsty after drinking two bowls of soup.

I left feeling satisfied and happy. Glad that I finally tried Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles.As I was leaving, I was shocked to see that the queue had stretched to more than 10 persons long. I wonder how long they would need to wait.

http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/12/wah-kee-big-prawn-noodles-pek-kio-food.html

Uncle Tetsu 徹思叔叔起司蛋糕 has opened its first outlet in Singapore!! If you have not heard of this brand, this is a very famous and popular brand - for using premium Japanese dairy ingredients to produce Japanese style cheesecake. Uncle Tetsu originated from Kyushu, Japan and has been in operation since 1990s. It has outlets in Japan, China (e.g. Shanghai) and Taiwan (e.g. Taipei). In Taipei and Shanghai, it is so popular that there are perpetual queues and customers are limited to a purchase of 1 box each. The spongy cheesecake $9.90 was incredibly soft, light and fluffy. It kind of melts in the mouth. In addition, it did not taste too cheesy and was not dry. I am not even a fan of cheesecake and would only take one bite of most cheesecake just to test the flavour. But for Uncle Tetsu's Cheese Cake, I must totally love it! Shiok! A must try!

I wonder if queues will start to form for this too.

Blogpost: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2014/01/uncle-tetsus-cheese-cake-ion-orchard.html

Most of us would have probably eaten at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 before. But did you know that Din Tai Fung first started out selling only oil?

Din Tai Fung was founded by a man called Bingyi Yang. He opened a shop in Taiwan called Din Tai Fung and sold cooking oil. In the 1980s, when the business went down hill, he and his wife decided to use half of the shop to sell steamed dumplings. Their steamed dumplings were so good that they eventually stopped selling oil and ventured into a full fledge restaurant.

Today, Din Tai Fung is an award winning chain of restaurant with branches in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Thailand. In Hong Kong, several of its branches are awarded one Michelin star.Din Tai Fung was brought into Singapore after Breadtalk Group won the franchise rights. The group also won the franchise rights to operate Din Tai Fung in Thailand. Currently, there are 14 Din Tai Fung branches in Singapore.

I visited the Din Tai Fung branch at Raffles City Shopping Centre (which is just next to City Hall MRT station) on a Saturday evening. As usual, there was a crowd waiting outside the restaurant waiting for their numbers to be called (this is a norm during weekdays too).

For those who have never been to Din Tai Fung, here's a tip. There is no need to queue, instead you should approach the counter, inform the service staff how many person you have and get the order form (with the queue number written on it) from the staff. After that you can fill in the form, according to the dishes you would like to order. You should also ask what is the estimated waiting time. If the waiting time is long, you can consider walking around before coming back to check if your queue number has been called.Although the restaurant had a considerably large sitting capacity, the place was full. We waited half an hour before our queue number was called. Simple, clean yet classy ambience. In addition, I like their open kitchen concept. Its great to see how the chef prepare our food! In another corner of the restaurant, the place had a classy oriental feel. Its great that they had Chilli, Vinegar, Soya Sauce, pepper and toothpicks on every table. It makes it so convenient for customers and at the same time, free up some bandwidth for the serving staff to concentrate on other things. Win-win situation. Crystal Jade use to provide these at every table too. However during a recent visit to their Plaza Singapura outlet, I noticed that they had removed them.The ginger slices immersed in vinegar is a must have when having their Xiao Long Baos! The Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing $3.50 was superb! It is my favourite appetiser at Din Tai Fung! Whenever I patronise Din Tai Fung, I am definitely order this! It's made of seaweed, beansprouts, strips of spicy bean curd and rice vermicelli. The ingredients are then mixed and tossed in their special vinegar dressing. It's very refreshing and addictive as each ingredient gives a different texture and flavour. A must order. The Steam Pork Dumplings aka Xiao Long Baos (XLB) $6.80 (6 pcs) are one of Din Tai Fung's signature dishes. The XLB were filled with pork fillings and rich and tasty juice. Although the skin of the XLB was wafer thin, it was able to hold the juice. Each piece of XLB is wrapped with a minimum of 18 exquisite folds. Do handle the XLB with delicate care to avoid breaking the skin. In addition, be caution not to scald your mouth when the hot juice ooze out. The XLB are best eaten with ginger slices and vinegar. The Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs $10.80 is another of my favourite dish! It was executed perfectly. You would be amazed to find out that the it consisted of just rice fried with shrimps, eggs and spring onions.

The shrimps were fresh with sweet succulent flesh. Each grain of rice was well coated with flavour from the egg, spring onions and shrimps. In addition, they did not stick to one another and was not lumpy. Kudos to the chef for his skills (heat control, timing and frying). The partner ordered the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket $11. The beef soup was incredibly rich and well flavoured. However, the beef meat was disappointing. Several big chunks of beef meat were given. Although the meat were well flavoured, they were too tough and chewy. To put it simply, it was hard biting through the meat. Moreover, certain pieces had a thick layer of fat on it.

What I thought was amazing was that Din Tai Fung has so many branches in Singapore. Yet, somehow they manage to maintain the consistency of the food across all their branches. No matter which branch you patronise, the food taste the same! Not an easy feat to achieve. Although the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket was a let down, the rest of the dishes were perfect! I will certainly be back for more!

Do note that Din Tai Fung does not accept reservations. Please click here to view the locations of the other 13 Din Tai Fung outlets.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/04/din-tai-fung-raffles-city-shopping.html