Saffron’s Cafetaria is an Indian fast food restaurant that serves many Indian dishes including their famous
Chicken Nasi Biryani.

Owned by Madam Kadder Beevi founded in 1995 also known as Madam Bee by her employees.

I managed to get her permission to take some snapshots of her restaurant.They also provide buffet catering services known as Bee Catering Services.

Now they have even taken over the next door shop with additional seating areas for customers.

There are many good Nasi Biryani outlets in Singapore and I have just found one that really soothe my palate none other than the Nasi Biryani from Saffron’s Cafetaria. Opened 24 hours daily.The authentic well cooked long grain basmati rice with a buttery fragrant and charcoal cooked taste. No need to travel to Arab Street for Biryani anymore.

Served with a generous portion of chicken meat topped with the non too strong saffron taste rice.

This Chicken Biryani Rice is served with a small amount of Archar (Pickles).Though the colour of the rempah seemed hot, the delicate handful of spices is not too spicy hot and has a good aromatic blending of flavours.I was early for lunch arriving at 11.15 am otherwise you may have to queue and the stretch of queue can take up to almost three shops long at peak hours.

For this take away I paid S$6.50.

Chef Kingsley founder of King’s Roast at Balestier Food Centre started his first business outlet on 6th October this year.His culinary skills and working experience were achieved from various attachments with well known restaurants such as Tung Lok Group of Restaurants , Hansen Korean Family Restaurant and The Sentosa Resort & Spa. Chef Kingley is also the Culinary Consultant for Oriental Buds. He also conduct cooking classes for both local and expatriates.He invested a special combi oven costing almost $30K frequently used by upscale hotels and restaurants to prepare his roasted dishes. His cooking techniques are innovative yet maintaining the traditional taste.OpenRicers had the opportunity to taste some of his delectable dishes such as Roasted Duck, Roasted Chicken, Roasted Char Siew, Roasted Pork, Deep Fried Tofu , Seasonal Vegetable and Dumpling Soup.

To go along with the various dishes we had the option to choose either chicken rice, noodles or hor fun for this sumptuous dinner. I chose hor fun.Roasted Duck (half portion) Priced: $20
The roasted duck meat was succulent. A widget is placed as a monitoring probe to check on the cooking temperature of the meat thus maintaining the moisture of the roasted duck.Roasted Chicken (half portion) Priced: $12
The chicken meat juicy and can be served as an appetizer even without the aromatic chicken rice.Char Siew and Roasted Pork Platter were priced at $10 each.

The Hongkong Char Siew was savory and sweet without the meat being charred.

The Roasted Pork (Sio Bak) has a lovely texture yet with a gentle aroma and wonderfully perfect crackling, the skin was extra crispy and melt in the mouth.My favourite and “must try” dish was the Deep Fried Tofu priced at $3.00 per plate.

Served with sliced cucumber and special made chilli sauce which taste similar to the Thai chilli sauce. A tinge of sweetness and yet mild spicy was a good combination to go along with the crispy crusted tofu.

These aromatic tofu (bean curd) cubes have a distinct, rich and hearty flavour with a golden brown colour yet firm and meaty texture.
These custardy soft tofu are deep fried so that the skin is crispy.A meal is definitely incomplete without some leafy vegetables to promote nutritional diversity.

We were served with a plate of blanched baby spinach. Priced S$3.00 per portion.

The special sauce added to enhanced the taste of the vegetables and garnished with a generous amount of deep fried shallots is irresistible.The different types of chillies and condiments that were available to complement the dishes were specially prepared and are secret recipes from Chef Kingsley.The usual photo taking session to wrapped up the evening.Another great tasting session with a variety of different roasted meat dishes to soothe our taste buds.

Recovering from flu I decided to opt for something light and nothing would make my day better than a bowl of hot “Ting Zai Zhou” also known as “Lychee Boat Congee” from Imperial Nan Bei Restaurant, Tampines.

There are a wide range of Cantonese congee but the most popular congee is the Hongkong Boat Congee.

Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant Lychee Boat Congee consisted of many fresh ingredients added to make this congee special. Ingredients such as thinly shredded cuttlefish, fried peanuts, shredded pork, pork skin, fish slices, jellyfish, fish maw slices, thinly shredded chicken meat and doughnut stick strips.

The rice is boiled for several hours until the rice grains breaks down into a very smooth watery gruel.

Imperial Nan Bei Ting Zai Zhou still serve the best Lychee Boat Congee. The taste is flavorful with all the sweetness of the various types of ingredients added to this smooth addictive porridge leaving a lingering taste in my mouth.

Priced at S$6.80 for this take-away.

A traditional Cantonese dish from Guangzhou where fishermen used to sell this porridge in their small dedicated boats.

Currently, there is a new itinerary for visitors touring Guangzhou, China which includes “Guangzhou Lychee Boat Tour with Congee”.Slices of fish maw, shredded chicken meat and peanutsGenerous amount of thinly shredded fresh cuttlefishA good mix of fresh ingredients in a congee.

With this bowl of congee, I think I have almost recovered from my flu and also gain back my appetite.

Refreshing dumpling soup for the price of $4.00.

There were altogether seven pieces of reasonable sized dumplings. Each dumpling filled with pork, shrimps and even black fungus. Each crunchy bite of the dumpling filled with flavour.

There was also a generous serving of fresh chye sim to go along with the soup.The broth for the dumpling is simply tasty.

The sliced green chillies goes well with the combination.

The dumplings are served either with rice or noodles.

Having tried the marinated pig shank from Guangzhou during one of the many visits to China, this dish is my hubby's favourite appertizer.

No other restaurant is able to serve this dish better than Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant.

Marinated Pig Shank obtainable from Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant at S$8.00 per plate.Pig Shanks come from the front leg of the pig. When properly cooked the pig shank become succulent and flavorful and this is one of the best appetizer menu from Imperial Treasure Nan Bei.

The best way to cook is in a long slow braised.

Thinly sliced Foshan province’s popular braised tender boneless Pork Shank are marinated with rice wine and spices. This dish is normally served with a dipping sauce of white vinegar and minced garlic together with red chilli. The robust dipping sauce gives a real kick to the appetizer. Alternatively another dipping sauce is the red chilli oil paste but we still prefer the original vinegar sauce.

Here is the close up view of the Foshan Marinated Pig Shank. Amazingly marinated and the texturized grain of the meat. Definitely require the mastery skill to cut and deboned the knuckle into half lengthwise and trimming the marinated pig shank into thin slices without tearing them apart. By the way, Foshan is located in the northern part of the Pearl River about 12 miles from Guangzhou.