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chefquak
This is chefquak . French, Japanese, Teochew are my favorite cuisines..
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The Best Crab Beehoon Soup Smile Nov 20, 2015   
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Categories : Zi Char

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/20/the-best-crab-beehoon-soup-uncle-leong-jurong-east-on-17nov2015/
bought S$200 groupon voucher & 5 of us went to uncle leong seafood jurong east for crabby dinner on 17.11.2015. ^^
all my friends agreed this the best crab beehoon soup we had for years!
2 of us were there slightly earlier at 6.45pm. the crowd came in later & place was quite well patronised, not sure if it was because of the groupon deals.
we managed to get 2x1kg sri lankan crabs. ^^
at first the lady server said may not have 1kg (only bigger) but she went anyway to check & i went over also, and she got the 2x1kg crabs.
they had display shelves.
we decided on 1 crab beehoon soup. i asked about the dry crab beehoon but seemed that it was not a popular order. we picked the golden sand crab + 1 deep-fried mantou 馒头 (or buns).
crabs were S$63/k. we ordered 4 other dishes – a 3eggs spinach, spicy minced pork tofu (锅仔豆腐), sea cucumber seafood pot and a pumpkin prawns.
the crab beehoon soup was pure heaven!!! ^^
so intense, smooth, sweet, and the crab was firm & “solid” (there was actually a clause on the online menu saying they do not guarantee that the crabs are “solid”).
for me, heaven was a long time coming.
last time i had crab beehoon soup was december 2014 at mama kong. no comparisons really!
& before that, maybe fast backwards 15 years? at melben toa payoh ave 8.
the other dishes we ordered turned out to be good, very good to excellent too.
the spicy minced pork tofu (锅仔豆腐) belonged to the just “good” category. a very competent dish actually, can’t really criticise it, but the spicy chilli not the type i like & not so matching food.
this 3 eggs spinach was quite excellent.
one of the best tasting i had. spinach was crunchy not overcooked & you could taste the 3 eggs distinct flavours quite well.
& this was a really, really good sea cucumber seafood treasure pot.
the sea cucumber, prawns, fish, razor clams, scallops etc were all very fresh & the broth was really delicate, smooth but super tasty, par excellence!
for me, this dish can rank with what top chinese restaurants here can deliver.
the pumpkin prawns was very competent dish. prawns were fresh, same preparations basically deep-fried. only difference with wasabi, salted egg etc was the sauce.
for me, the golden sand crab was very good too. this was their signature dish.
the crab though same 1kg, somehow had smaller claws, still good but overall the crab beehoon soup trumped this.
deep-fried mantou 馒头 (or buns) to dip in the creamy sauce.
dinner came to S$234, so with the groupon voucher discount (S$119.80 for S$200), it was S$154 for 5pax, 6 excellent dishes with 2x1kg crab dishes & a really “right up there” sea cucumber seafood treasure pot. about S$31pax nett.
i must add that the service & attitude (almost entire army of chinese servers) were really good. i gave them a sizable tip when leaving.
we all enjoyed the dinner & company tremendously.
i bought another voucher when i got back.

 

 
crabby dinner

crabby dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 17, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $31

Other Ratings:
Taste
 5  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 4  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 5

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Categories : Vietnamese | Burgers and Sandwiches | Noodles

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/18/nice-vietnamese-pho-cold-beehoon-lunch-saigon-baguette-on-17nov2015/
arranged with mei mei to have lunch at saigon baguette at central on 17.11.2015. ^^
i was first at saigon baguette at 12pm, but by 1230pm most tables were taken up.
a small, cosy, pleasant ambience.
they had a lunch set comprising a main, a side & drink at S$14.90. it included mains like the beef combo pho at S$9.90 & the vietnamese grilled pork at S$10.50. the drinks were like S$2.50 & S$3 etc, so the S$14.90 set was pretty ok.
i ordered a vietnamese drip coffee. they said they do inside & served me a black coffee like at coffeeshop. i asked for sugar on the side. coffee was nicely flavoured not sour so i did not add any & took it black.
the pho (& the garnishes) were good. soup was excellent, a very delicate, light, fragrant sweetness. i thought the serving of ingredients were small for S$9.90 dish. overall quite a light, enjoyable dish. we didn't want too much carbs also.we ordered 1 side for each set.the rice rolls were good, and quite nice with the sauce. skin was thin & smooth, prawn was fresh, competent la.deep-fried chicken wings were a bit dry. just the chicken wings alone, my helper does it much better (& sometimes i do also myself). what was interesting was the caramelised garlic. we usually take with thai sweet chilli at home. the caramelised garlic was no better (in fact i still prefer thai sweet chilli dip) but maybe i will try that a t home - chopped garlic & honey? caramelised.
the mildly sweet fish sauce condiments that came with the dry beehoon was very good. but actually also not better than my own la...the spring rolls & the grilled pork which was basically i guess home-made pork balls like the beef balls were good especially with the chilli on the table.but really my own vietnamese chargrilled pork neck cold beehoon + condiments still better la...
food was good, nothing really special.
comparing the pho, i would prefer the S$9.50 combo pho at mrs pho (it had briskets!).
likewise comparing the vietnamese grilled pork dry cold beehoon also, mrs pho's was better!
the S$14.90 lunch was quite good value.
the ala carte prices were ok for the food.
anyway, great lunch with mei mei.

 

 

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 17, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $15

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

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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.

 

 

 
 
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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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Categories : European | Restaurant | Fine Dining

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/16/good-but-expensive-dinner-stellar-at-1-altitude-on-9nov2015/
celebrating an occasion & went with wife for dinner at stellar at 1-altitude on 9.11.2015. ^^
there was a roof top bar like at me @ oue & also at zafferano (1-altitude is much higher floor).
marina skyline, the panoramic view were of course fabulous.
we were deciding between the regular S$95++ 3-course menu (full portion) or the 6,7,8-course autumn gastronomic (1/2 portions). wife decided to have the 3-course & i was advised that if i took the S$120++ 6-course menu alone i would have 2 desserts.
so we both took the 3-course. wife had 2 appetizers & i ordered a dessert.
we were served only 1 amuse bouche. so we missed the mushroom tea which other reviewers raved about.
this amuse bouche was ok but forgettable.
how i missed the incredible mushroom tea amuse bouche we enjoyed at jaan previously.
wife ordered the oysters. there were 4 in 1 order.
again it was ok but not those very creamy ones. we had better S$3 oysters at tess bar & of course the superb ones at prime society (only S$2.50ea after palate 50% discounts).
i ordered the diver scallops carbonara style.
the scallops were wonderful, large, plump, tasty, & still have the slightly gummy sashimi bite. i loved the scallops.
but as an entire dish with the carbonara sauce, it was simply outclassed by the excellent scallops at the disgruntled chef 100gourmet dinner we had recently (above photo).
i decided to create a dish myself with my usual pan-seared scallops using a prawn vegetable veloute. my scallops were very good but not really comparable, however my veloute was excellent & the overall experience was much better, though just as outclassed by the scallop dish at the disgruntled chef 100gourmet.
wife ordered the gazpacho in 2 styles.
the cold soup was light, refreshing, tasty.
this was such a wonderful soup, i went home & recreate one myself, and a pretty good one at that. not quite stellar’s top standard, but pretty good la.
we ordered the king crab, uni, sakura ebi pasta & the rack of lamb.
the pasta was tasty & i liked it.
wife though was not impressed. somehow the uni sauce tasted cheesy (same saltiness?). it was good but not great.
i went back & recreated a very tasty prawn capellini myself in the same style.
the lamb rack was i guess above average.
there was a nice array of sauces & dips, mustard, bearnaise etc& a butter which was very nice with the lamb.
the sides were good.
but actually for the lamb, though it was ok, it was also quite mediocre. there are countless restaurants here that does this better, and much better!
i would prefer my own pistachi crusted lamb to this.
overall, food was good, ambience was fabulous.
the dinner though was quite underwhelming for the price, quite below our expectations. purely on the matter of food enjoyment, we had much better at cheaper places like foc & tess bar.
wife was saying basically we were paying for the view. i guess we were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 09, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $110

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

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Nice Quick Dinner  Smile Nov 14, 2015   
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Categories : Teochew | Seafood | Steamboat/Hot Pot | Kids-Friendly

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2015/11/14/nice-quick-dinner-bk-forture-seafood-old-holland-roa-don-14nov2015/
wife wanted to have dinner at bk forture seafood at old holland road this evening on 14.11.2015.^^
i was worried that the place would be crowded on a saturday evening & hard to park. this place is quite popular with foreigners,
the last time we came with our daughter & basically ordered the same food.
we waited quite a while for the food as there were a few tables of foreigners having their weekend family food outing.
this evening though the corner coffeeshop smok’inn frogz kitchen & bar bar black sheep were quite empty. i found parking along the road. we ordered the thai style fish head & a small hor fun & waited only 5mins for food to be served.
the hor fun this evening was very good!
very good wok hae (aroma). the hor fun itself had very good flavours. there were not much ingredients & the prawns were not the freshest but was good overall. there were couple times i ta pao (take out) home but the hor fun was not great. tonight it was good.
the thai style curry fish head here is the best!
fish head was very fresh. the curry was slight tangy & very tasty.
it’s certainly much better than the similar priced nonya fish head at keng eng kee.
this is a curry fish head i really enjoy. for this evening it was easy & quick & shiok!

 

 
 
Table Wait Time: 0 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 14, 2015 

Spending per head: Approximately $15

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

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