see my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/02/03/ok-zi-char-dinner-seng-kee-on-1feb2015/
a friend bought 4pax dinner at seng kee black chicken herbal soup, 467 Changi Road. i was here maybe 3yrs back, also a dinner treat from the same friend. ^^

seng kee occupies 2 corner units + one intermediate terrace unit along the terrace shop units adjacent to jalan masjid.

we had a steamed red snapper 1/2 fish head. it was very nice. fish was sweet & tasty. i liked this dish best. ^^

the steamed baby squid was ok, nothing special. somehow the good teochew cold cooked baby squid was a lot sweeter & tastier, but i don’t get to eat that much these days. maybe still can get at teochew porridge stalls.

i liked both the vegetables. the spinach was very good, and the soup with wolfberries & egg was very tasty. same with the sambal potato leaves. loved it.

unfortunately the main event, crab beehoon, one of my favourite dishes, was quite poor. the beehoon did not have any rich infusion of crab flavours. just compare this with the very nice crab beehoon at ming kee on 23.3.2014. or house of steamed fish or golden spoon (though it seemed that golden spoon standard has also dropped substantially??).

there were lots of beehoon, but they tasted like any fried beehoon & not the best ones at that in terms of wok hae, but no hint of crab or shellfish flavours at all! where was the stock?

the crab itself was quit ok. a good, tasty crab, but not really special or outstanding.

the steamed minced pork salted fish was edible, but strangely felt like there was quite a bit of starch in the minced pork. also the pork was well, quite porky (not flavourful but porky). honestly my helper does this a lot better at home.

anyway my friends who frequent seng kee every week gave their feedback to the server & the restaurant did not charge this dish.

the 臭豆 – petai was ok, quite a competent preparation but not a favourite dish for me.

the otah was pretty good for me (again otah not my favourite dish) but my friends who were here quite a lot thought it was poor.

the 4pax dinner came to S$140 or S$35pax. i thought it was quite ok in fact for the food we had, though the main event was the crab beehoon & that was a bit of a let down.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/02/02/good-wagyu-yakiniku-dinner-at-azmaya-coffeecakes-at-laurent-on-23jan2015/
had coffee & cakes at lauraent bernard chocolatier on 23.1.22015, after 4pax dinner at omakaseya azmaya.
they were famous for their chocolate soufle & also lava cake. both were very good.

i liked the soufle a bit better. the lava cake was very good too, excellent lava & combination of texture & flavours.

i am not sure though taste wise it was actually better than my own chocolate lava cake (however i have not made lava cake for a while & the more recent couple times did not come out that well in terms of producing the lava texture…i must really try again this…)…

maybe i will try the chocolate soufle too…i tried the grand marnier soufle once..it was ok but maybe a chocolate flavoured one maybe more the taste for my wife & i.

the flat white was ok, but didn’t feel any better than that at asseemly coffee or at wheedler’s yard. and i still feel that the flat white at chye seng huat & at dutch colony at pasarbella were better.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/01/22/daughter-bought-excellent-family-dinner-concetto-by-saveur-on-18jan2015/
daughter wanted to buy 4pax family dinner again & brought us to this happening place concetto by saveur at The Cathay on 18.1.2015.

i must say i am very pleasantly surprised, far exceeding my expectations. ^^

we had a reservation were there early at 6pm & were among the first few customers, but the place filled up quite quickly.

we ordered 2 appetisers & 4 mains/pastas to share. i liked everyone of them! ^^

the caesar salad was very good, not too creamy, nice bacon tips & overall flavours especially enhanced by the grilled octopus.

the chilled capellini, crab & shrimp tartare, lobster foam & ikura lagi best. i can have this all by myself, excellent lobster foam, wonderful flavours, texture & looks.

funghi risotto was very good, a good restaurant standard, intense aroma and taste.

i like the crab risotto even better than the funghi.

& i am usually not so hot on duck confit but this was good, nice crispy skin & tender, soft meat, not sinewy which was often with braised meat & some duck confit, the reason braises are not my favourite. i liked also the pesto tagliatelle, though pesto can be overpowering if taken much, but this was an excellent accompanying portion.

the kurobuta pork cheek with gnocchi was another pleasing dish. i liked the tender & flavourful pork & also the gnocchi.

we had a dark chocolate tart to share. nice too. deconstructed.

the bill for 4pax include 1 glass of wine (S$6) was $107 about S$27pax nett, a perfect family evening out, nice food & ambience.

food was mostly better or as good as petite menu, which my daughter said was now closed, and some chef had gone on to start portico a new eatery. i guess that would be our next family go to place to try out.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/01/19/irresistible-curry-chicken-noodles-ah-heng-on-19jan2015/
went downtown to do some chores on 19.1.2015.

could not resist dropping by hong lim food centre to eat ah heng curry chicken noodles. ^^

i was lucky there was no queue at about 3.20pm. this my favourite hawker food. used to be bakuteh but these days i don’t take that much & bakuteh is so easily done at home.

not that i eat curry chicken noodles often either. the last time i took ah heng curry chicken noodles was on 16.9.2013. but of course i had heng kee’s curry chicken noodle not so long ago on 7.11.2014.

of the two, i still prefer ah heng. for me, even the food photos for ah heng looked more appealing.

i took the S$6 large noodle with chicken thigh (鸡尾). i mean the chicken was really tender & sweet, better than some chicken rice stalls. i can do the chicken pretty well actually (in my own curry chicken noodles), but there is just no comparing the curry! it is sweet, tasty, flavourful, spicy.

just as well this place not near my house. got to drive, park & pay ERP somehow just to get here.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/01/18/ok-post-movie-dinner-shokudo-orchard-cineleisure-on-16jan2015/
went with friends to watch “the theory of everything” at orchard cineleisure on 16.1.2015. it’s a movie about the lives of stephen & jane hawkings.

really nice movie – wonderful script, acting, direction. i liked it very much! ^^

after movie, we decided to have a quick dinner at shokudo (食堂or canteen in japanese) at level 2.

we ordered 4 dishes to share for 4pax as we only wanted a light meal, and one friend had to leave shortly. later we added a parfait for remaining 3 of us to share.

we had the unagi tofu salad. somehow we were chatting & missed the wafu 和风 dressing (a vinaigrette) or ponzu sauce until we almost finished. the salad was actually quite nice with the dressing.^^

the saba don was quite tasty. saba was tasty & tender & the don (rice) was nice.

the ebi (prawn) mantaiko aloo olio looked anaemic when it came. my friends added the grated cheese & red chilli pepper & it looked a bit more appetising. the truffle flavours were actually quite nice.

we had a fried egg tofu with some cheese flavours topped with mentaiko. pretty ok. felt like the tako balls type preparation.

i always like the parfait in japan & also sun with moon. this was good good, with yuzu sorbet. mochi, green tea jelly & cornflakes…didn’t see any chestnut? anyway i liked this best.

the food was ok. the bill S$66 also about right for the food we had. it was a fun time with friends – movie, makan & chat.