We were there on a Sunday night for dinner and we were quite astounded that there were only 2 occupied tables. We were expecting quite a crowd as they have such an awesome menu price tag. $9.90 menu. Everything is going at $9.90.I felt that Kung Pow Fried Eel is a good combination of the spices that actually leave me craving for more. Firstly, it is the kung pow sauce is sweet and spicy at the same time. The fried eel added that special crunch which crystallizes the entire taste. Maybe I am quite biased as I am a big fan of eel as it is very rich in Vit A & E. Given that it is only $9.90, super good deal!We had a craving for salted egg crab. Unlike most of the other restaurant, Irvins’ salted egg crab has a twinge of spice in its sauce. Given that we were not that hungry, we only order a small crab. And when i said small, it really meant small and tiny.
The salted egg sauce texture is just nice. Not too watery, neither it is too thick. They even sell the sauce in bottles! So I am assuming that the salted egg sauce is really very popular among their customers too!

We did not expect the fish head to be so BIG. We were quite stunned by the amount of size and we did have some difficulties in polishing it down. They actually fried the fish head before they braised it. The best part, the fish is still crispy despite it being braised in a claypot. There are plenty of vegetables inside the claypot. So if you are a big fan of fish and vegetables, this dish is really good for sharing because it is really BIG and the price is very reasonable for the size of the fish head. Anyway, we did not get any dessert as the selection was rather limited.

What food is good in the northern side of Singapore? When we think of East: there is Katong Laksa, there is chill out areas like Siglap. When you think of West, there are indie cafes sprouting out in the Western Part of Singapore. How about the northern side of Singapore? I guessed it is famous for hidden finds. One of the hidden finds in the northern side of Singapore is definitely the bucket Kampung chicken. We are no strangers to chicken rice. In fact, Gordon Ramsay came to Singapore to master the culinary art of chicken rice. However, bucket kampung chicken rice is really something new to me. In simple, it is just a kampung chicken being placed inside a bucket when it is served. As for taste: it is really different from those chicken rice out in the market. The kampung chicken is drenched in sesame oil and garlic. They really spared no expenses in the amount of garlic spread on the chicken. It really reminds me of Chinese confinement food. Garlic and sesame oil are supposed to expel ‘winds’ in the body. For those who love garlic and sesame oil, this dish is really for you. They placed the entire chicken into the bucket- there are a lot of bones, which can be quite tedious to consume. This is especially true for me cos I only love boneless chicken.
What’s chicken rice in Singapore without its garlic chili? The spice in the chili is manageable with a twinge of sour note in it. As for the rice: we were quite disappointed as it lacks the aroma of chicken rice smell. But I guess they compensated with a plate that has a chicken picture.
The good thing about this place is that… it is 24 hours! I had not tried their dim sum but I will be back whenever I have cravings in the middle of the night.

For full review and more photos, please visit ttp://mintyqueen.blogspot.sg/2013/09/bucket-kampung-chicken.html

Sometimes, we might feel a bit too bored with the typical dining ambience in Singapore. Eg, where should we have our dinner tonight? Typical answer: Orchard? Central? Malls around heartland areas? Perhaps, it is one of push factors that spur us to go overseas to enjoy a different dining ambience. Fortunately, I managed to find this quaint restaurant at Sembawang-It is a very kampong kind of restaurant that makes me feel that we had turned back the clock of time. Furthermore, it faces an organic farm, so we are pretty assured that our vegetables are of the top best quality. This restaurant is really famous for its porridge. Yes: every time we think about porridge, we would assume that it would be blend, boring and it is only suitable when we are feeling ill. However, this restaurant really adds a twist to the typical image of porridge. Yes: It is lobster porridge. They added lobster into the porridge to give a sweet and aromatic taste to the soup base. To ensure you that they really add in the lobster: they will retrieve it out from the porridge and place it to a plate for you to consume. So, we decided to take on the set meal as it is more price worthy than doing it ala carte. I would like to comment on the drumstick. It is really designed for lazy people to consume. They actually remove the meat from the drumstick and stick it up to fry. Advantage: We don’t have to sink our teeth into the drumstick appearing unpolished. Neither do we need to hold on to the drumstick with our bare hands: dirtying our hands. All we need to do is to munch on the meat that has been removed yet attached to the bone itself. The chef is so thoughtful!

For full review and more photos, please visit http://mintyqueen.blogspot.sg/2013/09/orchid-live-seafood-at-sembawang.html