[York Hotel] Penang Hawkers' Fare 2016
Good news for all! This year, York Hotel Singapore is back to celebrate the 30th Anniversary for their renowned Penang Hawkers' Fare Buffet, held at their White Rose Cafe, Level 1.They brought in 12 stalls this year and 3 sessions throughout 2016:
- March 11 to March 27, 2016
- Sept 2 to Sept 18, 2016
- Dec 16 to Jan 1st, 2017
Response was really good and NO RESERVATIONS entertained, walk-in-only. Lunch 12noon to 2.30pm / Dinner 6.30pm to 10pm.Weekday Priced at $29++ Adult / $20++ Child below 12 / Weekends Priced at $33++ Adult / $20++ Child below 12
If any of you interested to learn how to make their prawn noodles, assam laksa and ban chang kueh, last chance on 19 March 2016. Limited seats, call 68301156 to register now.
Here were some highlights from their Penang hawkers' fare buffet:
(1) Penang Assam Laksa- Assam laksa, the best item I had that night. A bowl of thick bee hoon (rice noodles), soaked in pipin' hot broth made from fish and tamarind. Sourish, full of flavours, so SHIOK! Topped with pineapple slices, chilli buddy, shredded cucumber, torch ginger and complete with a small spoonful of prawn paste. I can have this everyday! Rating 5/5
(2) Prawn Noodles- This bowl of "hae mee" (prawn noodles) wasn't as impressive as the laksa but was definitely comfort food. As told by the hawker chef, broth was made from piles of prawn heads, pork ribs and shells to obtain this robust consistency but I wished the taste was much stronger. Prawns given were really tiny, pork slices too dry but the rewarding part? Lotsa crispy pork lard! Rating 3/5
(3) Lor Bak- A snack resembling our local fried prawn fritters (五香虾饼), this Penang version came with only 4 items; deep fried prawn, sweet potato, tau gua (fried beancurd) and handmade five-spiced meat roll. I love the meat rolls most while the other three were rather common. They were well marinated with good amount of chinese spices, not overpowering, while the meat was firm and juicy. Rating 3/5
(4) Penang Rojak- This interesting plate of "chinese salad" caught my attention because of the ingredients used. Instead of the usual tau pok (fried beancurd skin) and dough fritters we had in our rojak, Penang version had jambu and green mango in it. Love the crunchiness of the fruits mixed in with the thick flavourful rojak sauce (prawn paste) and fragrant grounded peanuts. Not everybody could accept the pungent smell of prawn paste but I can and I quite like it. Rating 4/5
(5) Char Kway Teow- Longest queues were found infront of this char kway teow stall. Everyone patiently waited, just to get their hands on this Penang's renowned char kway teow. A small plate of fried flat rice noodles in soya sauce, loaded with bean sprouts, spring onions, cockles, egg and prawn. Fragrant, savoury, semi sweet and least oily! It's a waste that my plate of CKT doesn't carry that smokey "wok hei" taste otherwise it would be perfect! Rating 4/5
(6) Kway Teow- An ordinary looking bowl of dry kway teow with fishballs and shredded chicken. But the base sauce for tossing the kway teow was so yum! A mixture of Penang sweet sauce, dark soya sauce plus sesame oil, these sauces' combination seems so simple yet delicious and satisfying. Rating 3/5
(7) Pasembur- This year's new item. A mixture of shredded cucumber pile, potato chunks, fried beancurd, Egg slice and thin crispy dough biscuits. Special? Yes, the sauce! The orange-coloured sauce on top was made from sweet potato! Sweet and slight grainy, interesting fusion taste when consume with the ingredients. Rating 3/5
(8) Ban Chang Kueh- Crispy, sweet, buttery, loaded with lotsa grounded peanuts, so yummy so IRRESISTABLE! Nuff said Rating 5/5
(9) Chendol- Personally, I felt this chendol wasn't as authentic as those I tried before, especially these greeny pandan jellies (If you know what I meant). Kidney beans were nicely done and not mushy, the thick caramelized gula melaka was a highlight too but I prefer the portion to be more. Rating 4/5Other stalls' delicacies include Nasi Lemak with Nonya Chicken Kapitan which had very fragrant coconut rice and nicely done ikan billis chilli, Oyster omelette which lack crispiness, Cuttlefish Kangkong and dessert Ice Kacang.

** The whole dining experience was really good, especially when dine with good friends. On site situation was crowded, even on a weekday Tuesday night, but all customers were really discipline and queued politely. Despite the long queues and busy nights, the hawkers cooking at individual stations were all smiles throughout. They were also kind enough to tell us more about the food recipes when asked upon. Thumbs up! Although each dish came in small portions but you could queue again for your favourite choices, it's buffet!!
For the price of $29++ on weekdays and $33++ on weekends, this deal was definitely worth! Hurry down before this fare ends on 27 March 2016. **

York Hotel Singapore
📍21 Mount Elizabeth Singapore 228516
Tel: 67370511
Open daily.
http://www.yorkhotel.com.sg
Nearest MRT station: Orchard
Exit to Far East Plaza, walk across the big carpark from Goodwood Park Hotel and you will see destination, York Hotel.
 

[Portico Prime]Portico Prime, sister arm of Portico, took over the space at Dempsey hill which used to be The Prime Society, serving modern european cuisines.
My man and I had their 3-course Festive set lunch priced at $48++ per pax and we enjoyed it.
Starters:
(1) Bread and butter- The highlight here was the seaweed butter. Consume together with the sundried tomato bread, it's was yum! A great start to my festive lunch. Rating 4/5.
(2) Jerusalem Artichoke Soup- Parmesan and sesame tuile; crispy, savoury with fragrance from the roasted sesame. Blue swimmer crab croquette was packed with firm crabmeat, deep fried till crispy. Seafood freshness was clearly presently in every bite into the crabmeat. My only complain? Too small piece! A bite of croquette with a mouthful of artichoke soup, it was so rich, sinful and delicious. Rating 4/5.
(3) Smoked Salmon Mousseline- The most pretty dish of all courses. Salmon mousse was creamy and texture real smooth. Served chilled and it's like eating salmon gelato. Before I forked it, I was quite worried that there might be overwhelming "fishy" taste which I'm afraid of but the pickled radish and shallots helped in reducing it. The crispy pumpernickel crumbs and salmon roe also helps in bringing up some crunchiness and lesser the mushy. The most love part were the thin salmon skin crisps! Rating 3.5/5.
Mains:
(4) Roasted Pork Belly with Crackling- Meat was marinated till flavourful, taste of chinese spices was pretty strong but was slight salty for me, still it was delicious. Pork was paired with sherry pork sauce, with hints of sweetness and light alcohol aftertaste. Unfortunately the pork belly skin wasn't crackling otherwise it would have scored higher with my tastebuds. Pumpkin purée that was supposed to carry ginger scent wasn't distinctive at all. Rating 4/5.
(5) Roulade of Turkey with wild mushrooms- This turkey dish surprised me with wild mushroom hidden inside the meat roulade. Mushroom taste was rather strong, It actually helped to reduce the overpowering thyme marinates found on the meat. Together with the poultry jus and brandy cranberries, the overall taste was more well-balanced. Roasted seasoned potatoes with herbs tasted great too and I don't mind having them alone as a starter or snack. Rating 3/5.
Desserts:
(6) Max Felchlin 64% Chocolate and hazelnut mousse- Dessert!!! A girl's best friend Marron ice cream was bery sweet with strong nutty aftertaste. What won me over was the homemade prune and armagnac jam, it worked so well with the chocolate hazelnut mousse! Weird marriage but tasted good! Rating 4/5.

*** A classy restaurant with nice ambience and attentive servers. No complains at all for their good service. Food and plating were definitely of high standards. When you're there, you might want to take their alfresco seatings overseeing Portico's own herbs garden, very relaxing and great if drinking a glass or two. Suitable for dating, friends gathering or after-work get together ***

Portico Prime
10 Dempsey Road #01-20
Singapore 247700
Tel: 64747427
www.portico.sg
Tuesday to Sunday
Lunch 11.30am to 3pm.
Dinner 6pm to 10.30pm Weekdays & till 11.30pm on Weekends.
(Closed on Monday)

Montana Singapore[New] Montana Brew Bar at POMO had changed their name to Montana Singapore and currently doing 3 different concepts under 1 roof:
(A) Montana (waffles)
(B) South bronx (burgers)
(C) Fabulous dough (donuts & milkshakes)
They now moved to a bigger shop space, with revamped new menu and improved recipes. Their sister arm, Nookie yogurt, on ground floor previously was forever gone. Currently occupied by their new South Bronx burger joint. Montana and Fabulous dough shares the same premises on level 2.
My foodie friends and I tried out their new cold brew, a few waffles and pastas. My opinions were:
(1) Yuzu-infused Coconut Cold Brew $6.50- The cold brew smells really good with Yuzu fragrance but the zesty taste from Yuzu was too overpowering we almost can't taste the coffee. Blend was smooth but texture too diluted. Rating 2/5
(2) Jalapeño Mac & Cheese Waffles $12- A version 3.0 of Mac & Cheese waffles was reborn! New with more macaroni mixed-in in the waffle mixture, making the entire waffle more filling than before. Love the spiciness from the jalapeño but overall lack exterior crispiness and it's too mushy inside. Rating 3.5/5
(3) Assam Crab Waffles $18- A unique traditional meet modern fusion waffle. This spiced waffle was soft, chewy, and you could taste lemongrass bits in the dough. Chef was quite generous with the portion of crabmeat chunks scattered on top. Assam purée wasn't spicy probably because the sweetness from the canned pineapple cubes mellowed it down. Rating 3/5
(4) Bulgogi Beef Waffles $16- Chef cleverly made Korean style waffles filled with rice, cabbage and kimchi to pair with the juicy bulgogi beef. Break the poached egg and trust me, the beef tasted more tender with the yolky flow. A clever twist compared to boring plain waffles we had elsewhere. Rating 3.5/5
(5) Truffle Egg Fettucine $16- Al dente fettucine tossed in a pool of savoury cream sauce base. Love the generous amount of mushroom given and the mild lingering truffle smell whenever I fork up the pasta. Although the egg was slightly overdone but it's still my most loved dish for the night. Simple yet savoury. Rating 4.5/5
(6) Vodka Crab Penne $16- Sourish tomato based pasta which I don't really fancy. Penne was indeed al dente but we totally can't taste any vodka in this dish. Crabmeat were minimal too. Skip this.

*I do love Montana's new modern fusion ideas in cafe food but my personal view, there's definitely room for improvement in taste. There's yet to be a dish where we really WOW nor remember after we leave the place. Staff attitude were definitely good. They were very attentive to our tables and requests were made right *
Montana Singapore
POMO Mall #02-25
1 Selegie Road
Singapore 188306
Mon-Thur 11am to 10pm
Fri 11am to 11pm
Sat-Sun 9am to 11pm

[136 Hong Kong Street Fishhead Steamboat]
This popular fish head steamboat stall has moved from Hongkong street to Maxwell and again now to Toa Payoh hood. Well, it's definitely a good news for me because now it's only 3mins walk from my mummy's house.
The relocation of this stall didn't affect them abit. Business were still as good, they have the longest queue and most crowd compared to the 3 other stalls surrounding the Kim Keat Palm food centre and wet market.
The following were the dishes we tried:
(1) Sweet & Sour Pork 咕咾肉 $9.00- Pork cubes deep fried till crispy. Thereafter stir-fried with tangy sweet and sour sauce, accompanied by onion slices and capsicums. A common yet popular item you will see on the tables at cze char stall.
(2) Chinese Spinach with 3 types of Eggs 三蛋苋菜 $10.00- The greens not overly cooked, stems still have the crunch. But the broth was terrible, eggy taste wasn't present. Totally no difference from a "hor fun" gravy!!
(3) Signature Crispy Chicken with Special Sauce 招牌特制酱脆鸡 $9.00- This special sauce is sweet, tastes like sweet soya or marmite sauce. The chilli buddies didn't spark up any spiciness (white elephants) but did beautified the dish abit. Chicken stripes were very crispy and I can't stop munching them! A great snack choice if watching soccer.
(4) Claypot "Mee Tai Mak" (Rice noodles) 沙煲老鼠粉 $5.00- This pot of noodles may look ugly but the taste will proof you wrong! Cooked in savory broth with dark soya, mixed in the raw egg and it's heaven! Smooth texture in every mouthful, the added egg made the mee tai mak so 滑! Other ingredients include tender pork slices, fresh prawns, fishcake slices and greens. Not forgetting to mention my love for the "wok hei" aftertaste, it was so yum! A must try item here.
(5) Fried Egg with Preserved Radish 菜脯蛋 $7.00- This eggy dish was pan fried till slight crispy on the edges. An ordinary homecooked dish that my mummy prepares for me whenever I had porridge. The version here was abit bland and not much of preserved radish inside. Tastes least than ordinary so I would suggest you skip this.
(6) Claypot Assam Curry Fish Head 沙煲亞叁咖喱鱼头$26.00- The aroma from the curry spices can be smelt from far. The sizzling gravy in the claypot was calling my spoon! I then covered my whole plate of rice with the curry gravy, pipin' hot, so oomph!
The fishhead- Which part would you go for first? Eyes? Stomach? For me, it's definitely the fish cheeks. The flesh of the cheeks were the most delicate and tender. Thereafter I will go for the fish stomach. The fish was very fresh and meat really firm. The veggies that comes with it were too little in portions, wished there were more beancurd skins to soaked up all the gravy!

•
•
Verdict: Dining experience here at 136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head Steamboat was quite an enjoyable one except for the bad attitude/ services rendered by the staff. They were not attentive, slow responsive and talked to us rudely. The chefs should also step up on the cooking speed as waiting time was more than 45mins. But still, I will come again for their fish head steamboat as it was supposed to be their strengths.

📍 136 Hong Kong Street Fishhead Steamboat
Blk 19 Toa Payoh Lorong 7
Coffeeshop
Singapore 310019
Open daily from 5pm to 11.30pm

[East 8]Named after a street in New York City, East 8 New York Fusion Tapas + Bar land their feet in Singapore 3 years ago. Popular with lotsa their own cocktail creations, most of the customers here, drinks. Situated at a unit just beneath Grand Park Hotel, location was an advantage for hotel guests/ tourists to patronize other than our own locals.
Heard news that they were ending their business so came to give our last support.
(1) Kimchi Apple Salad $15.00- Rocket leaves given were too much, causing bitter aftertaste while kimchi apple cubes, cherry tomatoes & bacon paired together were pitifully little. The dressing served were too minimal to get the leaves soaked. Proportions of the ingredients wasn't right and I felt like eating a bowl of grass.
(2) Kimchi Potatoes $14.00- I always loved roasted potatoes with skin on and glad this dish had it all. Roasted potato cubes, loads with kimchi, then covered with thick, melted triple cheese on top. So cheesy with tingling sourish moments from the kimchi, it was an interesting delicious combi.
(3) Yuzu Miso Scallops $16.00- Scallops were very thinly sliced, drizzled with yuzu miso dressing and topped with salmon roe. Scallop was soft & slight mushy, texture improved with salmon roe popping inside our mouth. Yuzu zest wasn't distinctive but surprisingly the dressing ends with a liquor aftertaste (or izzit just me?).
(4) Wings n Kicks $13.00- Chicken mid wings tossed in chilli lime lemongrass sauce. The crispy, zesty lemongrass infused skin was a to-die-for. A western dish infused with Thai elements, I like! Savoury & great with a beer or two.
(5) Molten Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Lava Cake $15.00- A great marriage between two rich flavours, Peanut butter & dark chocolate. My love was to the slightly burnt sides (sticking to the pan), together with the center molten peanut butter and almond nuts, it was HEAVEN! French vanilla ice cream given was too small to mention, not even a full scoop and tasted too milky. Well, lava can do without this ice cream lah.Verdict: Nice ambience for gatherings with friends or colleagues. Hidden in a dim cosy corner, it's definitely a great drinking place (too bad I don't drink). Food wise, pretty decent but yet to wow. Prices abit steep for the small portion tapas meant for 下酒菜 but the great service rendered balances off bit of my heartpain-purse. Nevertheless, still sad to know that they are going into history as hotel is undergoing major renovation. Hope to see them again around soon.

East 8
Grand Park Hotel
10 Coleman Street
#01-21/22
S179809
Tel: 6338 8289