A shot of the crazy queue just to show off how popular Andong Zzimdak is on a Friday night. They even had to stop the queue at just 8 plus because they're almost out of chicken. The restaurant is pretty small and cozy, and would be perfect for a small gathering of friends to enjoy some yummy braised chicken.
As the name of the restaurant suggest, this place is famous for their Andong Jjimdak, which literally translate into steamed chicken of Andong, for jjim means steamed or braised and dak means chicken in Korean.Hot Citron Tea - $2.50

If you're dining at a Korean restaurant, it definitely has to be either criton tea or barley tea, right? And I'm definitely team citron. Very reasonably priced at just $2.50 for a standard mug sized, the tea wasn't overly sweet or thick but brewed just nice with the right amount of yuzu peel bits for those who loves to munch of them. And there was so much food for 6 of us, I can't even....Chicken Karaage - $9.90

Well, who says you can't make yummy fried chicken when you're supposed to be selling jjimdak? These fried chicken bites, although a little 'off' because they're Japanese (karaage, yeah?), were still worth my tummy space. Fragrant with a slight savoury taste, the battered skin was fried still crisp while the insides still tender. How can one possibly resist a piece of piping hot, boneless fried chicken? Spicy Dokboki - $9.90

Although the tteok wasn't the softest and chewiest I can find, it was still quite enjoyable as the gravy was indeed spicy enough, as compared to some other places which serve the gravy sweet. It would be perfect if the tteok was cooked softer, which I reckon can be done easily by just leaving it to cook for just a tad longer before serving. Mini Seafood Pancake - $9.90

Chewy and packed full of seafood (I tasted shrimps and squids), I like how it comes in very manageable (almost) bite size and each bite gives you as much seafood as the pancake batter itself. Boneless Jjimdak (Large) - $59.90 [Medium at $49.90]

Even though there is a chili icon next to the dish (as compared to 3 chili for Mayak Jjimdak, the supposedly spicy one) and there's this huge piece of red chili staring at you in the picture, I find this not spicy at all, just a comfortable savoury braised flavour. Will definitely return to try the Mayak Jjimdak another day.

The chicken bits are served boneless with skin and pretty tender and well braised. My first try of the glass noodles was an NG as it wasn't well mixed in the gravy, hence extremely chewy, like rubber. After mixing it well into the gravy and giving it ample time to soak up the moisture (and flavour) of the gravy, it became so much softer while still retaining its QQ (chewy) texture.

So a small note to everyone, remember to mix the glass noodles into the gravy before you eat them! Seafood Jjimdak (Medium) - $52.90 [Large at $65.90]

Similar to the boneless jjimdak but with prawns, mussles, squids and boney chicken parts. I find that the chicken in this jjimdak is significantly less tender than those in the boneless chicken, most probably due to the chicken parts. The mussels (my favourite shellfish), though on the small side, were still pretty fresh and chewy. The prawns were also pretty big and fresh, but peeling them when they're drenched in gravy is really not something enjoyable and nobody went for them until M took it upon himself to peel all the prawns for us.

For full detailed review, visit http://molly-mia.blogspot.sg/2015/10/mias-review-andong-zzimdak-media-tasting.html

It was a pretty rocky experience for us, but thank goodness for the patience of their staff, everything still turned out pretty okay. And the issue was, BEEF. Fellow non beef-eater beware, if you ever patronise Hoshino Coffee, the only mains you can eat, are the pastas. Only the pastas (and sandwiches, if you consider that as a main dish too) and nothing else, for all their omu rice, doria, and curry rice contains beef.

And Hoshino Coffee does not entertain any kind of special orders to have any form of changes to their dishes, which came as our second problem of the night, for YS was pretty insistent on having their Salmon with Wasabi Cream Sauce Spaghetti, without wasabi. The chef, or should I say kitchen staff, was really apologetic as he kept repeating that Hoshino cannot entertain special orders, as their chefs are all trained to only follow the intended recipes for their dishes, and any changes might just ruin the taste of the dish.

Well, Hoshino Coffee, I truly commend your staff for his utmost patience with us, but not your inflexibility with regards to special orders. Perhaps it's the chef's pride, but you cannot expect everyone's taste to go the same direction. If wasabi is as good as poison to our taste buds, then obviously Salmon with Cream Sauce will be more delicious than Salmon with Wasabi Cream Sauce to us, don't you think so?

Anyway, YS finally gotten a KO from the staff and she eventually settled for something else....Iced Sakura Latte with Ice Cream - $9.30

Frankly speaking, $9.30 for this is really expensive! But look, it's so pretty how can you possibly resist it? That piece of flower garnish at the tip of the ice cream is acutely sour, so if you're not a fan of sourish food, do not attempt to eat it.

Otherwise, I'll say this drink is something worth trying, for sakura flavour is really not very common in Singapore, but the price tag doesn't really make it a good re-purchase. I'm a little 'cheated' by the word latte, thinking that it's going to be some sakura infused coffee, but it really turned out as a yummy sweet milky drink with pretty pink flakes all over.R's Matcha Latte - $9

Frankly speaking I was really surprised by how small it was. It was, well, really tiny for a $9 drink.YS's Hoshino Blended Coffee - $5.30

This is just so adorable, with that cute tiny tin of creamer at the side. But it's flavour was a little lacking for my liking, for it comes with the sour aftertaste, I'll say pretty typical of Japanese coffee, which I really dislike.Mentaiko Shrimp & Japanese Herb Obha - $15.50

If you're not a fan of the mentaiko flavour, this might get too strong for you to handle, because there really is a generous blob of mentaiko served along with the pasta, along with 5 huge fat juicy shrimps. The pretty generous garnish of shredded seaweed, katsuobushi (dried fish flakes) and spring onions helped to add a stronger taste to the flavourful pasta. So, this pasta may look pretty light on the flavour but it actually packs a punch.YS's Lobster Bisque Soup Spaghetti - $16

Even though named the lobster bisque soup spaghetti, expect prawns/shrimps in your pasta instead of real lobster meat. The lobster for this pasta is all 'dissolved' in the bisque used to whip this up. This pasta looks as heavily flavourful as it looks. I just stole a teeny weeny sip of the gravy and it was really very tasty and flavourful. Might be my next try-out if I drop by Hoshino again!

And then for R's food for the night, I didn't get to try any. So, pictures for your viewing only!R's Clam Chowder - $6.50R's Shrimp, Avocado & Egg Toast - $9.80

And that night, R seemed to be on a hungry streak and he suggested desserts after gobbling down the sandwiches and soup (served with a pretty thick slice of toast).

Being pretty full, YS and I decided to share one. Oh well, there's always space for dessert, yeah?Our Chocolate Fondant with Ice Cream - $9.80

The chocolate lava cake is rich and moist at the cake layer, with the truly molten centre of yummy gooey chocolate sauce. Simply decadent! But, as the taste can really get pretty rich and heavy, it's really best to find a dessert buddy for sharing.

Well, same enjoyment with half the calories, why not?R's Pancake Souffle Style - $9.80

Didn't get to try it because I was too full by then, but it looks so so so fluffy, I'm gonna dieeee....

Located at the heart of Jalan Besar, and conveniently right opposite Jalan Besar Plaza (Fret not, drivers! There's ample parking spaces! Per entry in the evenings too!), Wan He Lou is actually quite easily accessible on foot from both Lavender and Farrer Park MRT Stations. The restaurant management advised that Farrer Park will be a more straightforward (hence, 'safer') choice, but we actually strolled back to Lavender Station very easily in about 15 minutes' time.We were actually the first to arrive, on the dot at 11am sharp when they open, and just went on a crazy phototaking spree! A feature wall of the photographs taken when our local artistes visited the restaurant.And I love these bird-cage lanterns so much!

Okay, let's get on to the food, shall we?Fresh Vegetable Juice - $3.50

I know, this vibrant shade of green with almost half the glass of 'pulpy remains' aren't exactly the most appealing drink you'll find. But believe me, this is the yummiest green drink you can ever find. Oyhz loved it so much, she went for a second one!

A yummy blend of pineapples, sour plums and cai xin, you'll actually taste the pineapples and sour plums in spite of the strong green colour. A really icy refreshing drink that tickled my tastebuds and boosted my appetite. Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg (S) - $11.90Each piece of the lotus is sliced till nearly paper thin, deep fried till golden brown and then generously coated in salted egg. If you're a fan of both fried lotus chips AND salted egg yolk flavour, you definitely have to order this! This dish is more of a light snack instead of a main dish and I strongly recommend that you try to finish it up as soon as it gets served, for as the dish gets cold, it loses some of its crispiness as well. Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork (S) - $14.90If you're still a stranger to kurobuta, it's actually Japanese for Black (kuro) Pork (buta). The main reason why kurobuta is much more 'raved' and popular as compared to their pink counterparts is due to the fact that the meat is actually much more tender and has very much less of the commonly hated (in individuals who doesn't enjoy eating pork) 'pork smell'.

I really love this dish, even though I myself is also a pork-hater, for the meat is really tender and it has a savoury-sweet flavour, a perfect dish to go with a bowl of piping hot rice! Qing Long Cai / Green Dragon Vegetable with Dried Shrimps (S) - $9.90I know, $9.90 for such a small servings of vegetables sounds kind of pricey. But this is actually not just any vegetables you can find in the supermarket. These Qing Long Cai are specially brought in from Cameron Highlands, and grown in limited sunlight by having them covered in nylon nettings after their first cut at about 6th week's growth.

They look a lot like garlic chives, but is crunchier, sweeter and more succulent in taste. It does have a mild 'typical chive smell', but I didn't taste the distintive 'chive taste' as I ate these greens. Perhaps the dried shrimps have masked the dreaded 'chive taste', or it's just how the Qing Long Cai is supposed to be. Nontheless, the addition of dried shrimps really complemented this dish really well. The strong salty flavour of the dried shrimps really brought out the crisp sweetness of the greens and the perfect combination of both sweet and savoury taste just made this vegetable a must try of the restaurant.Hokkaido Scallop with Hawthorne Sauce & Asparagus (S) - $20.90 Yup, there's 5 big fat Hokaiddo scallops you see there, drenched generously in sweet hawthorne sauce spiced up with cut chilli. I abosolutely loved the asparagus (yes, an asparagus-lover here). Unlike many other restaurants, which tend to mix young and old asparagus together, this entire plate only has young, tender asparagus that was cooked till just the right time to keep its soft crunch and natural sweetness, yet absorb enough of the hawthorne sauce's flavour. Sounds complicated, eh? Well, you just have to try them out for yourselves.

And finally, how can we miss out Wan He Lou's specialty? Signature Lobster Porridge - $29.90 onwards (serves 2)

According to the restaurant's management, each order, which serves 2, comes with 1 lobster (halved).And the first thing that the server did while serving us the porridge was to remove all the lobsters from the hot porridge onto separate plates so as to prevent the lobsters from getting overcooked. And as you can see, the porridge is in Teochew style with the rice still maintaining their grain forms and all the essence from the lobster locked into the thick, flavourful soup. I know the Cantonese congee is commonly more popular than the Teochew muay due to the perception that the congee is more flavourful and rich, having to cook the rice with all the ingredients for long hours. But tell you what, having been fed Teochew muay since young, I really do appreciate a good one when I find one.

This is definitely not those 'short-cut' kind at the hawker centres with just hot tasty soup poured over ready cooked rice and served straight away with the rice still tasteless and hard (at least it didn't taste like so to my tastebuds), but really cooked in the flavourful soup until the grains further soften, which allows flavour to develop not just in the soup but also in the rice itself. This is the kind of Teochew muay my mother and grandma has been cooking for me since young! But of course with only ikan billis or a few pieces of dried scallops, duh.(The lobster is too big for my bowl... T.T)

The soup is simply awesome! This just has to be the best comforting food you can ever find that is rich yet not overpowering, and enhanced with the fresh sweetness of the lobster roe that complements the overall savoury flavour of the porridge. The soup was so delicious, that we kept refilling our bowls with the soup and leaving lots of the grains behind. The lobster was also fresh and well done, the meat thick and chewy from the freshness.

An award winning dish indeed!To end the food tasting, the restaurant management also served us some desserts, Beancurd & Lychee pudding with Ice Cream, to refresh our tastebuds.

Just recently, during yet another team's dinner with D, YN and A, we very last minute headed down to J's Restaurant (discussion was all on Straits Cafe vs Badoque) for a pre-planned 'impromptu' dinner. I wanted to take a picture of the restaurant, but it was full house! Didn't want to snap pictures of innocent diners, so that's all I have of the restaurant interior. The restaurant is not exactly very small, yet not exactly very spacious so reservation in advance is really recommended. With a strong Latin-American influence, there's also an addition of a more refined modern European cuisine. J's menu not only caters for Vegetarians and also removed pork/lard and alcohol for Muslims. A great choice for gatherings with individuals of different dietary requirement!

And now, let's get on with the food, shall we?Poppers - $17

Breaded jalapeno peppers stuffed with mozzarella, fried till golden brown. Served with salsa sauce and guacamole sauce.

I was hoping that I can get some spicy kick from this appetizer, but it was more of a sour shock instead. A little way too vinegary sour for my liking, though generously stuffed with cheese that was melted till molten in the process of frying till crispy golden brown.

I didn't eat with much sauce, because out of the two I'll prefer the salsa sauce and I really need no more sourish tangy taste added to this poppers.

Caution: The molten cheese are scalding hot. Bite into these poppers with care!Chipotle Meatballs - $17

Brasied beef meatballs in spicy chipotle and tomato sauce, served with crispy corn tortilla chips.

I can't comment on this, for I do not take beef. It did look delicious, though.Paella - $39 (for 2 servings)

A traditional Saffron rice dish, with marinated chicken, salmon and tilapia.

One of my favourite food, 'Spanish fried rice'. The rice was cooked till pretty hard, yet drenched in flavourful savoury moistness, and topped up with generous amount of chicken, salmon and tilapia. At just $39 for 2 pax, as compared to $28 for 1 pax, this is a definite steal!Fatijas (Chicken) - $29

Grilled chicken breast with sauteed onions, capsicums, cabbage and mushroom, served with warm tortillas and an array of sauces.

Of course, you don't expect grilled chicken breast to be juicy and tender. But they're still nothing short of being flavourful and tasty. Mushrooms seemed a little sparse as I hardly ate any, but they're obviously (as you can see from the picture) very generous with not just the chicken but also the onions and capsicums. I guess the correct way is to wrap the dish in the tortilla and eat it as a self made wrap with your preferred sauce(s), and so I did. I find that the meat itself is flavourful enough and there's really no need to add on any sauces to further complicate the taste.

However, D was literally piling her serving plate with both the salsa and guacamole sauces. So I guess, to each it's own? Churros with Bananas & Mangoes - $12

Churros, served with salted caramel bananas, fresh mangoes and coconut infused mascarpone sabayon.

The churros are pretty well done, served piping hot right out of the fryer. The outside, dusted in icing sugar and drizzled with yummy chocolate, was crispy and the insides were soft, fluffy and slightly moist.

However, I'm not feeling much for the jar of bananas, mangoes, coconut mascarpone cream though. It was way too creamy and heavy on the tastebuds, and I got pretty sick of it even before I could dig out the salted caramel bananas. Gave up on it after mouthful and mouthful of coconut mascarpone cream with bits of mangoes inside.

Other than D, who tends to like richer, creamy and more flavourful food, none of us really like the jar of mascarpone sabayon.

Would have enjoyed this dessert a lot more if it's served with a pot of rich chocolate dip instead!

For full review, visit http://molly-mia.blogspot.sg/2015/07/mias-food-trail-review-penang-culture.html

Penang Lor Bak - $7.95Well, I was expecting a pot of braised pork, and was surprised when it turned out as ngor hiang! Crispy on the outside with savoury and flavourful minced chicken meat inside, the lack of pork didn't effect its taste at all. Pairing up with a good dip of chili, this is just the dish to go for if you're not a fan of the distinctive 'pork smell' like me. Bronze BBQ Platter - $18.90

I'll find the satay, albeit flavourful, is a little too tough and dry (I took the mutton) and the squid a little too rubbery.

The disappointment of being slightly overcooked aside, the taste still packs a punch. The sambal, though not exceptionally spicy, is still strong enough to give a comfortable spiciness as you chew, with a slight hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. Penang Assam Laksa - $7.95

I'm not a fan of assam laksa at all, for I don't appreciate the sourness of the dish. But I love the extremely chewy (QQ) noodle that resembles the mouse tail noodles, which apparently is a characteristic of the dish.

I so want to fish out the noodles and dunk them in the prawn mee soup! HAHA!Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee - $8.95

Once again, I was expecting something close to our popular local delights, Hokkien Prawn Mee, but was surprised to see a bowl of prawn rice noodle soup.

Needless to say, the kway tiao (rice noodle) was soft and smooth, and the broth flavourful with the sweetness of the prawn heads and chicken bones that were used to boil it. With a quick mix in of the chili paste, this yummy bowl of prawn mee is complete!Black Pepper Mantis Prawn - $10.95

After munching down a few pieces of it, I still couldn't really tell that they're mantis prawn. But who really cares when the taste is absolutely heavenly? The battered, fried pieces of the mantis prawns were then tossed in a savoury black pepper sauce that is so delicious! This will totally go well with a bowl of rice, I'll tell you.Premium Crab Meat & Salted Egg Fried Kway Tiao - $14.99

As mentioned in my food trail post, this is my favourite dish at Penang Culture for the day. Those crispy fried bits you see covering all over the kway tiao are actually fried salted egg bits, which added to much texture and flavour to the savoury, soft and slightly chewy fried kway tiao that's tossed in generous serving of seafood. Coconut Milkshake - $6.95

I'm not a fan of coconut, but this drink is still pretty okay for me. It's more towards the refreshing taste of a coconut water than the heavy creamy texture of milkshakes in general. Rambutan Juice - $4.95

This is like a less acutely sweet version of the rambutan cocktail blended up with ice and served to you as it is. A really good choice, even if you're not really a big fan of rambutans.