See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/07/17/satisfaction-guaranteed-teochew-muay-ye-shanghai-on-16jul2015/
when i was queueing for shi le yuan 实叻圆糜 the other day, the guy in front of me said ye shanghai was cheaper & had a larger spread, and he only came to shi le yuan because ye shanghai was closed that day.

so i came with my sis & b-i-l to try out ye shanghai on 16.7.2015. it’s not bad!^^ we came at 1030am so no queue, but also not all dishes were ready.

we ordered total 10 dishes. it came to only S$20.60. so the man was right, a bit cheaper than shi le yuan, more variety of dishes just as good but not really better. maybe the veg dishes were better here.

there was no ngoh soon (small treadfin) & mullet 乌鱼 they only served those in the evening. we ordered the “kee her” fish. i thought it was very good actually taken with tau jeon, good proxy to mullet 乌鱼.

the big intestines was good very well cleaned, nice texture, slightly milder lor 鲁 taste, i quite like it.  the kong bak belly pork too. nice big intestines.

veg here very nice. the brinjal was every tasty. pig’s skin was very good. just like the ng ah sio one we had recently at rangoon road, no fat, all collagen.

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 was very good too. somewhat different from shi le yuan but equally good.

only dish not great was the steamed egg. not much taste, maybe that was to be expected of a steamed egg with nothing in it.

peanuts nothing to talk about.

spinach was very good, tasty!

tau kee was the usual.

cabbage was very good, very sweet & tasty. we had a second order.

so after the 10 dishes, sis went to order 2 more, cabbage for S$1.and pomfret for S$4. pomfret was good too. i didn’t mind it but maybe i prefer the kee her more.

so we had 10 dishes (top & above) for S$20.60. then greedy added 2 more dishes so total S$25.60 including 3 porridge. really good meal & totally satisfying with or w/o the additional 2 dishes.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/07/14/just-average-bakuteh-ng-ah-sio-on-11jul2015/
we were at civil service club at tessensohn road on 11.7.2015. it was closed to 4pm. 4 of us decided to go ng ah sio at rangoon road nearby to have bakuteh.

i have not come to this ng ah sio for the longest time, maybe 10 years, but i have been to ng ah sio at chui huay lim a few times & my experience there was good.

the prime ribs were expensive, 2 pieces for S$8.50. soup was good, one friend said ng ah sio always too peppery. i thought so too, but found it quite ok this time. but i am more the rib person than soup person. we ordered 2 bowls prime ribs + 1 bowl spare ribs to share among 4pax.

one friend was especially impressed with the ribs which were fork tender falling off the bones. for me i prefer a firmer texture like i used to enjoy at rong cheng 榕城 in sin min

(though i hardly go there now as it is so easy to make my own bakuteh at home). i guess it is personal preference thingy.

everyone loved the pig skin, no fat, all collagen, or so we had ourselves believed.^^ peanuts etc were usual. i don’t normally take extra dishes when i eat bakuteh since i mostly go for the ribs.

you char kueh was soft as i expected. usually “lau hong” pre-cut in a bowl. nothing much to say about the veg. mee sua ok i guess, can replace rice for less carbs. ^^ o

verall it was just average for me. for S$8.50, i can do my own bakuteh (using 1/2kg fresh indonesian pork ribs from sheng shiong or 1kg of frozen ribs from chinatown market) at home as it is the easiest thing to make. there are so many good bakuteh places in singapore. for the more recent ones i been to, i still like rong cheng bakuteh best, & song fa bakuteh & also ng ah sio at chui huay lim. last time i went to lao ah tee bakuteh at boon keng i did not like it so much.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/07/14/gold-authentic-thai-food-thai-gold-food-on-10jul2015/
had a good 2pax thai dinner with wife at thai gold food on 10.7.2015.

place was small with indoor & outdoor sitting. we were seated 7pm. soon a queue formed.

calamansi was sour & not too sweet, S$1.50 a glass so quite ok. i prefer the more intense lemon but this was quite refreshing.

we ordered the S$10 tom yam goong (prawns). there were 6 fresh prawns, soup was good. of course not to be compared with patara which cost 2.5x more, but i liked this better than the clear tomyam talay at nakhon @ amk which i had recently.

we liked the S$10 green curry chicken. this the “dry” curry version. it was very flavourful & the chicken was tender. i prefer though the soupy green curry at nakhon @ amk where i finished up all the curries.^^

the S$10 bbq pork was a recommended dish. it was good.

the total bill came to S$34. the dishes were slightly more expensive than nakhon @ amk. they were more satisfying for me though, it really depend on dishs preference & what we ordered. e.g. i prefer the red tomyam to the clear version.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/07/04/good-thai-food-good-value-nakhon-amk-on-3jul2015/
a friend arranged lunch at nakhon @ AMK on 3.7.2015.^^

it’s nice & airy at corner of blk 529 AMK ave 10. there were tables orderly set at a cover extended area w/o encroaching on the walkway. my friend was there 10mins early to get a table. i was there at 11.55am.

nakhon starts lunch at 12pm. a queue started to build up almost immediately. by the time we finished lunch, queue was 10+ long.

my friend ordered 4 dishes. we ordered a red ruby to share afterwards. the pandan chicken was not bad for S$6. lots of sauces, i only used the sweet thai chilli for the pandan chicken.

my friend love the clear tom yam talay (seafood). his whole family like this dish. for me, i prefer the red tom yam. the prawn was ok, so maybe next time i will order tom yam gung. cannot really compare this S$6 soup with patara’s which cost nearly 5x more. for S$6, more than ok i think.

i just loved the green curry. beef was fine, not tough, not the tenderised artificial texture, quite ok. i drank most of the curry.^^

red ruby was S$3. ordinary, which is good i guess. i think this is really good authentic thai food. may not be the restaurant or fine thai kind of food, but it is s authentic as any thai street, comfort food or small restaurant/shop food.

and the price is very reasonable, which accounts for the constant queue. well above average food at very good value prices. will be back soon!

See my full review & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/07/01/great-food-ambience-kith-cafe-park-mall-on-30jun2015/
we had a 15pax dinner at kith cafe @ park mall on 30.6.2015. kith does all day breakfast (till 5pm) and seems like a good coffee place too.

i didn’t know if kith meant anything in particular, but after googling i found out that kith was like kin or kindred or – acquaintances, friends, neighbors, or the like; persons living in thesame general locality and forming a more or less cohesive group.

a cafe for friends – good name!

we ordered some calamari & 2 pizza to share, and each ordered our own pasta dish. calamari was good. squid was very slightly tough, batter was good.

gong bao chicken pizza was better than i expected. we all liked the thin crust pizza. no sticky sauce, taste was not too sweet & combined quite well with the pizza.

parma ham pizza was competent also. pretty ok.

pizza not particularly my favourite but it is an excellent dish for communal dining & i do enjoy a slice of good pizza (i shared 1/2 gong bao chicken & 1/2 parma ham pizza with a friend) to start the dinner.

the spaghetti alio olio was good! good helping, very flavourful, good garlic flavours & lots of shiitake mushrooms. I shared 1/2 of it with a friend who shared 1/2 of my squid ink pasta. not a usual dish i would order as i like meat or seafood.

the linguine gamberini (garlic prawn) looked good. i will order that next time.

carbonara. looked ok. somehow looked a bit like hokkien mee. egg was mixed in the pasta. i think it would taste good as most pasta here were good. though i am more used to the look/colour of carbonara at alfresco gusto.

i had a try of the bolognese, and the tomato sauce was good. meat sauce/ragout preparation not my favourite but this was good.

did not try the vongole. it looked fine. they said vongole is a test of italian chef. the lala (littleneck) clams have a distinctive shellfish taste & if the linguine is done al dente the combination is quite excellent. my own vongole linguine here.

the veal spinach tortellini looked interesting. & looked yummy! i must try that next time.

my friend the proprietor ordered the day’s special, a squid ink spaghetti with seafood alio olio. i tasted. it was good.

i liked my own squid ink sauce pasta better though. it was more intense & flavourful, though my immediate reaction was it was a bit salty. my own squid ink seafood spaghetti here.

the friend who shared 1/2 my squid ink thought it was very salty, and that the alio olio was also salty. i was good with the alio olio, & salt does bring out the flavours (though too much would kill it).

my friend the proprietor ordered 2 more pizza – a duck & mushroom ragout & a special – with sausage. duck ragout was good & had some meat pieces.

i liked the sausage special pizza a bit more, sausage very flavourful.

it was really enjoyable evening. company was super fun, outdoor ambience was cool & nice open space, & food was great. i will probably come back with my family.