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chefquak
This is chefquak . French, Japanese, Teochew are my favorite cuisines..
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chefquak  Level 4
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So-so Perankan Food  OK Mar 02, 2016   
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Categories : Peranakan / Nonya

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2016/03/02/so-so-perankan-food-dulukala-peranakan-restaurant-beauty-world-centre-on-29feb2016/

had another expiring groupon to use, and went with sis & bil to dulukala peranakan restaurant at beauty word centre on 29.1.2016. ^^
we had 5 peranakan dishes
i had a S$80 groupon voucher. we ordered 5 dishes including the S$25.90 assam fish head. it came to S$83.70 including service no GST, so effectively about S$51.50 (S$47.80 for S$80 voucher). :-)
restaurant was simply furnished, just some display & framed sketches.
they had a classic nonya silver belt. this one has 4 tingkat layers on interlocking rings.
assam fish head was ok. fish was fresh, quite meaty. assam was ok, we still finished all the gravy, but it was not like specially tasty, just average, so-so really.
overall the dish fell far short in terms of shiokness c/w the thai style fish head at forture, the zi char at old holland road.
the sotong hitam was quite poor. it was artificially sweet – sugar…a small serving for S$13.90. my first impression was we got a small serving because of groupon discount?? but i didn’t think so as except for this & the small serving of chap chai, the other dishes seemed ok.
i would say this was quite poor dish. the very nice unique squid ink flavour was absent.
the ayam buah keluak did not resemble anything like the restuarant photo (which looked wonderful!)
chicken itself was very so-so, dry, but the serving was substantial & the gravy was quite excellent, didn’t feel so at first taste but it gets into you. like the dish overall though it is easy to have the chicken a lot more tender.
the chap chai also did not resemble the restaurant menu photo.
a very small serving. taste was pretty good with the tau jeon.
the lady fingers with ikan bilis was tasty. i must try cooking some dishes with ikan bilis.
the simple ikan bilis bee hoon (very ex at S$4) we had recently at ayer rajah food centre also very tasty.
overall with the groupon discounts, S$51.50 for 5 dishes including fish head was quite good price.
still it didn’t give me the same satisfaction of a good S$10 curry rice for 2pax like that at hoower food court in haig road; or a
good nasi padang like that at sinar pagi nasi padang at geylang serai food centre.
on balance, ok to try but for myself don’t think i would want to take this again.

 

 

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Feb 29, 2016 

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 4  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 4

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Nice Music OK Food  OK Nov 23, 2015   
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Categories : American | Bars/Lounges | Live Sports Broadcast | Steaks and Grills | Kids-Friendly

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/23/nice-music-ok-food-georges-beach-club-on-21nov2015/
a friend arranged a night out to georges beach club on 21.11.2015. ^^
7 of us went for dinner & drinks. another friend could only make it later for drinks.
many of us came here for the first time. it’s a family place right by east coast park fronting the sea, cosy & pleasant not really chic (not really sports bar type).
songs by the resident group la chicago for oldies like us. ^^
menu is the regular bar/diners menu.
we had a dozen pork & chicken satay, & added another dozen later.
satay was good, small but tasty.
& a georges platter.
chicken wins were ok, like any.
the ribs were like louisiana ribs, great taste & fork tender. though i felt it was just slightly sweet, the overall taste was great.
the sausage was not so popular among my friends, and what showed as lamb rendang on the menu tasted like oxtail to me. it was good though also not that popular with my friends.
the prawn tempura was more like ebi furai (“fry”), not a tempura batter, but nice actually.
calamari was good though not chewy, rubbery. competent bar food i guess.
the bbq ribs were the best food for me this evening so we added an order of 1/2ribs.
looking at the menu now maybe should have ordered the full ribs.
the lead singer has a quite powerful voice. we like the oldies. a relaxing & fun evening. few of us though adjourning to a friend’s place to watch nadal vs djokovic match at 10pm so we left quite early.
bill was about S$31pax nett for food & drinks. my friends don't drink much but price was quite ok too.

 

 

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 21, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $31

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 3

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OK Only Quick 3pax Lunch  OK Nov 18, 2015   
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Categories : Coffeeshop | Zi Char

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/18/ok-only-quick-3pax-lunch-two-chefs-commonwealth-crescent-on-18nov2015/
went with sis & b-i-l to two chefs @ commonwealth crescent for a quick lunch today on 18.11.2015. :-)
my last post on two chefs was 2 years ago, no change in opinion..haha!it was 11.35am. they were open, no customer yet. we were the first. :-)we ordered a see hum (cockles).
cockles were tiny! & the serving very small for S$7. inflation la..usd going up? whatever…
for me the best dish was this S$5.50 san lo hor fun.
really flavourful, the real meaning of wok hae, good serving of sliced snakehead too. ^^
the S$15 black bean sauce 松鱼头 was good.
fish head was fresh. sauce was good. but fish head was so very tiny leh…super tiny…eh…never see before..haha!
but really no comparison with 香港街珍记 – Hong Kong Street Chun Kee, just 1 level up at the market next door
the sauce at chun kee has a nice tangy lime taste, & it’s like 2x the size.
& even the zi char stall hong man ji delights 鴻满记小吃 at mei ling market & food centre sells a good S$13 hk steamed song fish head 港蒸松鱼头.
lunch came to S$27.50. not ex but then servings really tiny. so for me only the san lo hor fun consider good (but then it was not always consistent!). the song fish head & cockles were just ok only…
& lastly, the old lady server had a poor service attitude. haughty, unfriendly, told us curtly there was no sliced fish beehoon soup here, the S$5.50 hor fun was very small, & looked very fed-up when we didn't order a larger portion.
& interestingly, the young fella who took the bill was quite courteous, maybe he's the boss..
i think no chance i will come here again for the song fish head la when hk street chun kee is one step away.

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 18, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $9

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 1  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 1

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Kind of Below Expectations OK Nov 09, 2015   
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Categories : Japanese | Sushi/Sashimi

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/09/kind-of-below-expectations-ginzawa-on-8nov2015/
celebrating an occasion. had 5pax family dinner at ginzawa at palais renaissance on 8.11.2015. ^^
this the same restaurant as sushi kuu previously. there is no change of ownership so it is just a rebranding.
i called & they told me that they serve the donburi items like chirashi don bara chirashi don, wagyu don etc on the set lunch menu for dinner, at the same price but w/o the set, just the donburi + soup.
there was also a S$130 set menu for 2 & omakase priced at S$80, S$120 etc.
we decided not to take the set or omakase, and ordered 2 chirashi don, 2 wagyu don & a A5 saga wagyu sukiyaki.
the S$45 chirashi don looked impressive as in the photos on the menu (& above photos). there was a botan ebi, a bit of uni, akami? (lean toro), tai, maguro, hamachi, salmon belly, hotate, tamago on a huge portion of sushi rice.
first look was great but in actual fact the sashimi cuts & quantity were very much inferior & pales in comparison to those at mikuni & kuriya dining.
mikuni’s chirashi don, also S$45 after 50% feed at raffles discounts, by comparison has 2 chutoro,heaps more uni, & 2 pieces for every quality sashimi cut.
& kuriya dining’s S$62 chirashi sushi zen set, a much larger set than mikuni’s is also top quality with more than double what ginzawa served.
the wagyu for the wagyu don was tasty but the sauce was superfluous & only serve to kill the taste.
& the slices were really thin. it was doable, but nothing great at S$50. i would take the S$88 uni ikura wagyu gon at kuriya dining anytime c/w this.
the S$50 A5 saga wagyu sukiyaki was very poor (completely thumbs down!). beef was overcooked, very small serving & thin, hardly much to eat.
just compare this with mikuni’s kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki konabe. that is S$24 after 50% feed at raffles discounts, less than 1/2 the price of ginzawa! & beef are thick slices & sweet & tasty, the beef & the entire dish & experience is miles ahead of ginzawa.
overall, i would say that ginzawa’s chirashi don was one of the better ones, but totally pales by comparison with mikuni & kuriya dining.
the wagyu don was ok but not worth eating at S$50. i must go try sumiya’s S$30 wagyu don lunch set but i suspect it would be much better.
as for the S$50 wagyu sukiyaki, forget about it.

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 08, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $55

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 4  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 2

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Quick Dinner after Movie OK Nov 08, 2015   
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Categories : Shanghainese | Dim Sum | Noodles

see my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/07/quick-dinner-after-movie-crystal-jade-lamian-xiaolongbao-great-world-city-on-7nov2015/
went with wife to watch the movie “spectre” at gv grand on 7.11.2015.
after movie, we a bit “sian” to go zion road food centre, anyway not much to eat there also (don’t think much of zion road char kuay teow even though it is PM’s favourite), & didn’t feel like driving elsewhere for makan, so went down one floor to crystal jade lamian xioalongbao for a quick bite…luckily just waited 5mins at around 9pm.
we ordered xiaolongbao小笼包, saliva chicken 口水鸡 & beef brisket noodles 牛腩面.
somehow this evening the same dishes didn’t seem as shiok as that at hollandv.
beef brisket noodles 牛腩面. the noodles were very good al dente & 爽口& the sauce & flavours were good too.
the briskets were quite tasty, but both the briskets & overall taste of the beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 was NOT as good as that at SICC, i think quite a bit NOT as good, not just marginally.also both this beef brisket noodles 牛腩面 & SICC’s & in fact all the beef brisket noodles in singapore do not use the 崩沙腩 which i love in hong kong’s 牛腩面, the belly cuts they used in the hong kong beef brisket noodles.
they have layers of collagen 胶 made them very flavourful & gelatinous when braised.
these were the cut of briskets which my friend bought in chinatown market, which i also did after learning from her.
she brought her fabulous 清汤牛腩 to my place for a for a homecooked 16pax 17-course dinner on 26.8.2015.^^
the saliva chicken 口水鸡 always quite good at the hollandv outlet that we usually go.
here it was ok too but somehow this evening like not as shiok as expected.
just not the same 口感 mouth-feel.
always love the xiaolongbao小笼包!
you can see the soup inside the xiaolongbao小笼包. it was very tasty & flavourful as always, the skin thin & the fillings very tasty.
we ordered a second tray of xiaolongbao小笼包.
dinner was S$34nett for 2pax after DBS card 10% discounts.
somehow the food this evening just did not feel so shiok, don’t know why.

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 5 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 07, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $17

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 4

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