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Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Joo Chiat
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice needs no introduction. Rated as one of the best chicken rice in Singapore, its original shop in Maxwell market drew the crowd like no others. During meal time, expect the queue to stretch around to shop to the open air car park. And that's not all, most of the tourist guide, blogs or other food reference, recommend Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice ('Tian Tian) as a must try in Singapore. In 2013, when Singtel Invited Michelin Stars Chef Gordon Ramsay for Hawker's Challenge. Representing Singapore National dish, Madam Foo, the owner of Tian Tian, won hands down and send Godron back to UK licking his chops. Prior to that, Anthony Bourdain and other celebrity food host have given their seal of approval to this establishment.
The Steam Chicken and its new friend
Since Madam Foo has come to a ripe age, the second generation has come in to continue the business. With that the expansion of Tian Tian begun and this time around we visited the shop in Joo Chiat. The set up is an upgraded version comparing to Maxwell Market Food Centre. It is air-conditioned with simple and minimalistic furniture. Today we have 3 hungry guys for lunch, we ordered 1/2 steam chicken ($14), 1 portion of giblets and heart ($4), Hainanese Pork Chop ($8) and small baby kailan ($6). Oh not forgetting the Rice ($0.80) per plate.
The Chicken Rice
The rice is fragrant, flavourful, plump and fluffy. It does not stick to each other. The chicken is plump, silky and succulent. There is skin and meat does not stick to each other and the breast meat us as succulent as the thigh meat. The same can be said about my favourite part of the chicken as well, the bishop. It is springy and full of flavour. Although it is a bit oily, it's just irresistible. The best part, they remove the smelly part from it.
The Steam Chicken and my Chicken Bishop
The giblets and kidney tasted clean, no gamey smell. I like giblets because of its crisp and chewyness, while the kidney has a velvety texture.
Chicken Giblets & Liver
Hainanese Pork Chop is thick yet tender. However, the meat is not as tasty but it is well fried, coated with panko and not too oily. The traditional tomato sauce, provide the sweet and sour flavour to the dish. The vegetables are fresh, crunchy and tasty, stir fry with garlic.
Hainanese Pork Chop
Baby Kailan
Service is average. As we are seated near the entrance, it is very difficult to get their attention. There is at one point, you can't even see them. Although the set up is minimum, at least it is air-conditioned so you won't sweat too much if you had too much of the chilli. Overall, it is a good place to have Tian Tian Chicken Rice if you don't want to line up in Maxwell Market. However, I must admit their standard is not as equivalent as their main store. The chicken is missing the X-Factor compare to the one I had in Maxwell. Kind of lost in transition. Cheers!! For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experience, click / copy the link below: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/09/tian-tian-joo-chiat.html Recommended Dish(es):
The Chicken Rice,The Steam Chicken and my Chicken Bishop,Chicken Giblets & Liver,Hainanese Pork Chop Spending per head: Approximately $17(Lunch) Other Ratings:Taste 4 | Environment 3 | Service 3 | Clean 4 | Price 4Recommend 0 |
Da Jie Famous Wanton Mee
I got to know this place from the recent Facebook Posting from Singapore Makan Guru KF Seetoh. Looking at the yummylicious chicken feet, I just can't say no.
The Menu
Decided to drop by for brunch on one nice Saturday morning. Here is the ordering process, you approach the stall, place your order, get yourself a number, find a table and wait for the food. I decided to go for Wanton Mee ($4) and Chicken Feet ($2).
My Order - Wanton Mee & Chicken Feet
The serving of the noodle is quite generous for my order. The noodle is springy, very qq. Wanton is crispy and the char siew is pretty tender. Although I ask for my noodle without chilli, they forgot about it. At the end, I scrape most of it off; those that remain gave a good heat to the noodle.
Wanton Mee
Check out the Noodle
For the soup base, it is very robust from the long boiling process. However, the star attraction of this place is the braised chicken feet. It is flavourful, tasty and absorb the braising liquid and mushrooms flavour nicely. The skin has the right texture, not soggy. Al dente will be the right terms. The mushrooms are quite huge in size. YumYum!
The Wanton & Soup
The Braised Chicken Feet
Service is minimum, but the auntie that delivers my food is very friendly. She did give me a curious look when I took out my camera in the first place. Overall, it is a good place for wanton mee. My suggestion is that you order a wanton mee and a serving of chicken feet on the side. When crowded, expect to wait between 20 to 30 minutes. Ciao! For the complete Chubby Botak Koala experience, click here: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/09/da-jie-famous-wanton-mee.html Recommended Dish(es):
The Wanton & Soup,Wanton Mee,The Braised Chicken Feet Spending per head: Approximately $6(Breakfast) Other Ratings:Taste 4 | Environment 3 | Service 3 | Clean 4 | Price 4Recommend 0 |
Wolf
To name a restaurant WOLF is just a catchy genius. Opened by The Privé group, WOLF is a pork centric restaurant and focus on the nose to tail dining experience. While you might be familiar with Kurobuta and Iberico pork, you will soon be intimate with Mangalica, Nagano and Duroc-Landrace type of porks as well. These are the Five Little Piggies that made up the Pork Chop selections for WOLF. For those non Moo Moo eater, WOLF is a definitely a new dining destination for you.
Dining Area
The restaurant is decorated to pay homage to the adult version of Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. There is an engraved picture of the Wolf, along with the three little pigs are well-decorated on the walls the restaurants. For night dining, the restaurant is dimly lit and the setting is very comfortable. Looking for a place for romantic dinner, this is it. The music playing on the background is funky R&B genre. Great environment, but a real challenge for a blogger like me to take natural shot in this environment.
Three Adult Pigs
While waiting for QC to arrive, we decided to place the order for starters to share. Pan Roasted Duck Liver ($32), Grilled Ox Tongue ($38) and one of our daring dish to try Grilled Beef Hearts ($22). Duck Liver is supposed to be the cheaper 'cousin' compare to goose liver. However, cooked it properly and combined it with port wine poached figs and aged balsamic vinegar, you can't tell the difference. It tasted velvety and melts in your mouth. Yum Yum.
Pan Roasted Duck Liver
The grill ox tongue is just tender and lightly seasoned. There is no fat in the tongue and it works well with the lentils. The most challenging dish is the Grilled Beef Hearts. The texture is springy texture and gamey as well. Yes, gamey is a nice word for strong foul smell, We do not recommend this dish for the weak stomach and sensitive palates. We definitely won't order it next time as well. The greens, walnuts, grapes and dressing actually work well as warm salad without the beef heart.
Grilled Ox Tongue
Grilled Beef Hearts
Our Mains basically Pork Centric, we had Nagano Pork Chop ($40), Mangalica Pork Chop ($42) and Grilled Duroc Pork Collar ($30). As recommended by our service staff, we have ordered our pork chop medium rare because it is direct comparison on how we take our steak. This is the way to taste the tenderness and juicyness of the pork. Nagano Pork Chop originated from Japan but breed in Canada. The texture of the meat are superior marbling, pinker meat, and the taste comparable to aged wagyu beef.
Nagano Pork Chop
Cooked Medium Rare, like beef steak. Check out the pink colour in the centre
Mangalica Pork has the highest percentage of fats among the pork, resulting the meat that just melts in your mouth. It is flavourful, tender and succulent. For the Duroc Pork Collar, the meat is so tender comparable to any of the pork chops. Pork collar has a lower fat content and the combination with chimichurri tomatoes is just amazing. All the meats are well seasoned, the sauces seems to be well suited for decoration only. Amazingly delicious.
Mangalica Pork Chop
Duroc Pork Collar
For desserts, we decided to order Eton Mess ($13) and Chocolate Stout Cake ($14). The later has a dense texture with a rich chocolate flavour. The berry reduction helps to balance richness, but it is just too heavy to end the night. Eton Mess on the other hand is just perfect. Everything are thrown in together to create different texture with tantalising taste. The balsamic syrup works well to bind and balance all the ingredients for perfect ending to erase the overwhelming sensation from the pork.
Chocolate Stout Cake
Eton Mess
Service is impeccable. They know everything about the menu and patiently explain to us about the different taste of the pork chop. We were actually quite surprise that with the quality of the food, no other customer was there. Almost looks like we booked the whole restaurant. If you ever dine in Privé group outlets, they always give something for the diners to bring back with them. For Wolf, you get pork crackling to bring home. Unfortunately it was just too tempting, it did not even pass the front door before it goes Poof!!
Pork Crackling
Overall, I did not know that Pork Chop can be so good. After this experience, I will have think twice on what to order next time I choose between Pork Chop and Steak. For a truly wonderful dining experience, Wolf got two thumbs up by Chubby Botak Koala. Cheers!! For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experiece, click here: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/09/Wolf.html Recommended Dish(es):
Duroc Pork Collar,Mangalica Pork Chop,Nagano Pork Chop,Chocolate Stout Cake,Eton Mess,Pan Roasted Duck Liver,Grilled Ox Tongue,Pork Crackling Spending per head: Approximately $97(Dinner) Other Ratings:Taste 4 | Environment 5 | Service 5 | Clean 5 | Price 4Recommend 0 |
Black Angus Steakhouse
The first thing that come to your mind when you hear Black Angus is Steak. One of the finest steakhouse in the states, they first open their door in Singapore in 1997 and won lots of awards in early 2000s. Although they have been in Singapore for almost 17 years, this is the first time Little Devil and I ever been there.
Black Angus Cowboy
The first thing that catch my eyes when we go to Black Angus Steakhouse ('BAS') is their logo. A cowboy squatting and cooking on campfire. The BAS @ Orchard Parade Hotel a choice of indoor and outdoor seating. As the weather was pretty war, we decided on the indoor seating, where it is decorated base on traditional Cowboy / Country Western theme in the States. Let just say, if you walk in with jeans, cowboy boots and hats, you will feel right at home.
The Indoor Dining Area
The Indoor Dining Area - Our Seat
Since we were not that hungry, we decided to skip the appetizer and get straight to the main menu. I ordered their signature Prime Rib Three Quarter Pound Cut ($59.90) and LD decided on their Rib-Eye Steak, 10oz cut ($44.90).
Garden Salad
As part of the meal, we can choose an entrée to complement it. LD choose Garden Salad, while I decided on Steak Soup. The garden salad is a simple salad of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, croutons and with simple salad dressing. For those who never tried the steak soup like me, it is almost the same as stew. Thick and intense in flavour. How I wish if they serve a corn bread to go with the soup.
Steak Soup
My 3/4 pound (about 340 grams) prime ribs came medium rare as per order. Generous cut with well spread marbling. Presentation is very simple, mash potatoes on the side, boiled vegetables and the au jus from the ribs. It is tender, juicy and deliciously yummy!!
Black Angus 3/4 Pound Prime Rib
Black Angus 3/4 Pound Prime Rib (Close up)
LD's choose the smaller rib-eye, its about 280 gram. However, we feel that it might be bigger than 280 grams. Cooked to medium rare, served with baked potato, onion rings and boil vegetables. The Rib-eye is tender and juicy, goes well with the crispy onion rings. They sure know how to do their steak properly and their serving is definitely the big US size.
Black Angus Rib Eye
Service was good. As we were seated on the main walkway, we have no problem getting their attention. Overall, we enjoy our meal here. BAS served a very good quality for steak, with no fuzz and reasonable price. It is definitely not your Kobe or Wagyu beef, but it sure is better than your average steak. Cheers!!! For the complete Chubby Botak Koala experience, click / copy the link below: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/09/black-angus.html Supplementary Information: Black Angus Prime Rib Recommended Dish(es):
Black Angus 3/4 Pound Prime Rib,Black Angus Rib Eye Other Ratings:Taste 4 | Environment 3 | Service 4 | Clean 4 | Price 4Recommend 0 |
Moc Quan
Thank you very much to Jeff Koh the Owner / Chef of Moc Quan for the invitation. Jeff is a self-taught Chef who believe that the best way to experience Vietnam is through their street food. Each of the dedicated Street Food Chefs, spend their whole life mastering / perfecting their craft in delivering their own version of their dish. Over the past three years Jeff has explore Vietnam and learnt from these Chefs their secret recipe and found love and passion for Vietnamese street food along the way. After several years of learning, he finally feels that he is ready to bring back the flavours of Ho Chi Minh for us to savour in Singapore.
The Menu
Located near Robertson Quay, Moc Quan look to capitalise on the office lunch crowd and popular after work masses in Robertson Quay area.
Entrance from the Mall - So New, the signage still not ready
Vietnamese Umbrellas
Table Setting - Indoor
The decoration of the restaurant is heavily influenced by traditional Vietnamese elements with many antiques décor that the owner took much effort in sourcing and importing from Vietnam. The many interesting décors are the Vietnamese Trishaws outside the restaurant, Vietnamese Traditional umbrellas, utensils, bamboo food covers on each tables and even traditional milkmaid's yoke (a.k.a. Carrying pole) on display. To serenade you during your dining here, Vietnamese's oldies music are played in the background. The atmosphere kind of remind me of one Anthony Bourdan Travel Series Episode when they visited the last Vietnamese Emperor Villa in Vietnam.
Outdoor Seating
Vietnamese Trishaws
Milkmaid's yoke (a.k.a. Carrying pole)
While waiting for LD to come, I started with Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese Coffee with Condensed Milk (Ice) - $3.50). The coffee is thick and smooth. It really perked me up.
Ca Phe Sua Da
For starters, we had Goi Cuon and Bo La Lot. Both are fresh Vietnamese spring roll filled with herbs and rice, with different fillings. Goi Cuon has Prawn and Pork fillings and served with homemade black bean sauce, while Bo La Lot with beef and pork served with special homemade sauce. ($8 for 4 pcs each). The fresh spring roll (also known as rice paper roll) has a slightly springy texture, but the freshness of the ingredients really shines here, especially with each of their unique dipping sauce.
Goi Cuon
Bo La Lot
Next on the menu is Banh Canh Cua (Thai Rice Noodle in Crab and Pork Broth served with Crab Meat - $9.90). We are really glad that Chef Jeff serve this dish. The broth is rich and sweet, with similar taste profile as Singapore Prawn Noodle Soup. The rice noodle is springy, and the condiments of crab meat, fried bean curd, pork and bean spout gave a good mix of texture. Watch out for the chilli, which will give you a slow after burn according to LD.
Banh Canh Cua
Banh Canh Cua
Banh Mi Thit (Baguette with Vietnamese Sausage and Ham, homemade pork pate - $6.50). To make this baguette, they brought the oven and flour from Vietnam. The result, the amazing crisp and light texture of the baguette. Unlike the French version, the baguette is not dense in the middle. The homemade pate is good, with a meat loaf texture. We only find that the pickle vegetables is slightly timid, as not to overwhelm the Singapore palate. We hope they can be bolder with the pickle.
Banh Mi Thit
From the seafood selection, we had Tom Nuong (BBQ King Prawns Marinated in a special homemade Sauce - $16.00). The prawns are fresh and huge. It is cut through the middle and the intestinal track are removed. The marinate is just right and the grilled perfectly. Delicious, but presentation is too simple. Salads or pickled vegetables on the side will help to improve the presentation of this dish.
Tom Nuong
Of course the tasting in a Vietnamese Restaurant won't be complete without trying the Pho. We tried Pho Bo (Fresh Vietnamese Rice Noodle – Mixed – $9.50). The ingredients looks good and generous, but the broth is on the sweet side (a bit too sweet to LD's liking). It is unfortunate the broth is not steaming hot enough when its poured to the rice noodle, resulting the sliced beef took quite a while to cook and turns chewy. The brisket is slightly tender, but it can use some more cooking time. We find the Pho can be improved.
Pho Bo - Mixed
Pho Bo - Mixed
Overall, we are very happy with some of the dishes we tried, especially the Banh Canh Cua and Banh Mi Thit. With a little bit more of fine tuning, the rest of the dishes will be equally good. So if you are looking to experience Ho Chi Minh food, give this place a try. Cheers!! For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experience, click / copy the link below to your browser: http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/08/moc-quan.html Recommended Dish(es):
Banh Canh Cua,Goi Cuon,Banh Mi Thit,Tom Nuong,Pho Bo - Mixed,Ca Phe Sua Da,Bo La Lot Dining Offers: 試食活動 Other Ratings:Taste 4 | Environment 4 | Service 3 | Clean 4 | Price 4Recommend 0 |
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