Ah ma Bday

Ah ma's 80th Birthday is super grand. With traditional birthday wishes and giving of red packet before we set out for dinner.



Dinner is at a neighbourhood chinese restaurant. Ah ma with strong teeth can still chew chew chew... The set dinner was expensive. More than $1000 per table for ten pax. We had 3 full tables.



The appetizers for us was set nicely with each individual getting 1 each.

The braised peanuts were so well done each of them was bursting with flavour and rich aroma of the 卤味. They even added the beancurd. A little less salt would make this perfect.

The setting of the tables was great! Classy with wine glasses.

The first dish is definitely the 寿桃. Its longevity buns. Its was served warm, with fluffy outer skins and sweet lotus paste. Not too big to make you feel full.

Ah ma's bun was extra large. In comparison to our, she had to use a knife to cut it up! But its not edible!

The first dish is cold crab. Lovely crabs instantly froze after steaming to lock the juicy seafood taste.

It was of considerable size and each of the legs and pincers were filled with the flesh to the brim.

The 蟹膏was thick and filled the shells. Even the other parts of the body had the paste on it. The aroma fills up your mouth making you want to eat it non stop.

The body had the "gao" on it too.

The traditional 冷盘we usually have in wedding dinners is this huge plate of assorted canapes.

This is served individually and it was so delicate we had to eat this gently.

First up in smoked duck confetti. The duck meat was so heavily smoked it tasted more like bacon and ham than duck meat. The jelly fish thing is hidden underneath the meat. It was too spicy for my liking. But the QQ ness was the best i've eaten.

Wasabi prawn was crispy but the wasabi taste was too mild to have the kick. Batter was not too thick, prawns were crispy and huge.

Heard of Buddha Jump over the Wall? Yes, meet the real buddha.

Loaded with all the sea gems, from shark's fin to abalone, you name it they'll have it.

The shark's fin huge and large, streaky and Q. A pity the air con was blasting, when we were served it was already lukewarm.

Abalone how to describe? Chewy and cannot bite? The sides were soft and tender. The sauce laid over was great.

The rest of it? I should say i don't know how to appreciate. The sea cucumber was thick and super chewy, the rest i dont even know wad are they......

Next up Miss piggy....

Skin was super crispy and had a thin layer of fats attached for the smooth texture.

Steamed promfet in Teochew style. Nice and yummy sauce cooked with plum and tomatoes for the tinge of sour taste. The fish was not too soft. Its considered quite a big fish and normally meat is slightly tough. But it was just nice for a table of 10 to devour this fish.

The thick thick fleshy meat.

Next up is roast chicken. Not too dry unlike many other roast chicken. The skin was crispy and sprinkled with garlic fried till golden brown.

Scallop noodles with handmade noodles. Was too full by the time the dish came. Noodles had a weird texture, its was not like Chinese Ramen, not like maggi mee, not like japanese ramen, not like indian mee goreng. Texture was like Kang Kong. Slightly hollow. But the scallop was too little though.

Bird nest as dessert, who can resist it. With rock sugar, white fungus, Gingko nut, and some fruits, the bird nest was sweet and light. Great after a heavy meal. A piece of sugar cane also seen to add on to the flavour. Bird nest could have been more generous though.

Auntie note: Loads of people patronage the restaurant so please make reservations. The cold crab is to die for but please call to enquire if its available for the day.

Chin Lee Restaurant 深利美食馆

Blk 115 Bedok North Road #01-285 Singapore

Tel: +65 6444 5554

Miss Ong's bday at orchard area

To celebrate Miss Yu fan's Bday, we had a small lunch at Somerset 313!



They are having a set lunch promotion now. Prices are over here. Each set is inclusive of a ceasar salad and coffee or tea.

The interior was fine. Woody woody de country homely style.

They served us complimentary food. Bread with some tomato dips. Was normal.

First up we had mushroom soup. A tad too salty. Mushroom bits were visible and it was fresh and creamy yet not too thick. The yellow trail is actually olive oil. Effort put in.

Ceasar salad was ok, fresh greens, crunchy and moist. Dressing was not too thick. But a pity that too much cheese was added. Slightly on the salty side.

The best we had for the meal was calamari. The calamari was similar to fish and co's. Well marinated with flavourful batter. Coated evenly and fried till crispy. Effort seen from the greens added to the calamari even though it had totally no business to be there.

I had tea definitely. Aromatic.

Another good dish, the garlic bread. Looks hard and burnt. But tasted great and soft! The herbs added blended well with the garlic. The butter was fragrant and well roasted till flowy.

We had this weird curry puff looking thing. It is another version of a pizza. The crust tasted like normal crust of a normal pizza.

Cut it open and loads of surprises.

Ham, Mushroom, Cheese and some chicken bits.

New and fresh way of eating but not much taste. like can taste the flavours of the individual ingredients seperately.

Miss Loong had Allo scoglio. Which is actually seafood spag with cherry tomato sauce. BUT! why only got sotong? Plus, do you see tomato sauce? We clarified with the staff and they confirmed with the kitchen that we had the right order.

The spag was al dente, the herbs was a good match to the seafood. Something puzzling is that the pasta is spicy. No mention of it being spicy on the menu at all.

Mine was the Maiale Linguine.

Pork chop was hard like rubber. Very difficult to cut.

Tomato sauce was salty and nothing delicious.

The meal was ok, nothing much to wow over.

Service was quite slow as it wasn't even half filled on a weekday afternoon. We had to ask for our plain water 3 times before it came. But staff was friendly and served us smiling.

Auntie note: If you want to try the food here can come during lunch time for their promotion. Other than that not worth your penny.

313 Orchard Road #01-16/17/18 http://www.hungrygowhere.com/search_results.php?f_name=313 Singapore

We proceeded to ION after that for some shopping and finally Ice cream!

Gusttimo at ION.

Rather expensive for an ice cream cafe. 3 flavours in a cup ranges from $6.60 to $7.20 depending on whether you order their premium or seasonal flavours.

We had on the left:

Vanilla cake: Sweet tasting vanilla with a tinge of alcohol after taste.

Tiramisu: coffee taste a bit strong to my liking.

Strawberry milk: tasted like strawberry milk. Smooth and silky with strawberry aroma floating through your nose.

Flavours on the right:

Dark chocolate: Very bitter

Green tea and red bean: Nice combi. Green tea was concentrated and brought out by the red bean's husky taste. They even added some choco chips in it

Panna cotta with macademia: Panna cotta perfect. Sweet and milky but i don like nuts inside my ice cream!!!!!

Yummy loves after a long walk.....

And lastly, the 3 of us.

Auntie note: We were happily chatting over ice cream when a drop of water fell from the air con and landed in our ice cream. I went to the counter to feed back and they gave me a new cup. (the manager wasn't very happy though)

Gusttimo di Roma ION Orchard

2 Orchard Road #01-17 ION Orchard

Sinho the best neighbourhood tzi char

The next day right after Long Beach i went to a neighbourhood tzi char that produces much better quality and quantity. Service was fine, we didn't have to ask twice for bowls, didn't have to bear with moody staff.
Treat from boy's uncle was great, with loads of dishes that we try to squeeze into our stomach.

First up: Fish maw soup with crab meat.
There were loads of other ingredients: Tofu, Carrots, Black fungus, Eggs Plus fish maw and crab definitely.

Crab meat was plentiful, i had approx 7 crab meat this size in my small bowl.

The table had 8 people and each had 2 servings.

It was as good as shark fin's soup, seafood freshness and smooth.....



2nd dish: 五香and sotong 油条 appetizer

the youtiao was better, crispy on the outside, sweet mayonaise, bacon bits to bring out the 咸香of the fillings.



The 五香lost its appeal because the batter wasn't thick enough to be crispy, the meat was not tender enough and wasn't compact enough to give the bite.

Roast chicken was good, crispy skin, not too fat. The meat was well marinated with 五香 powder. Yes, it is crucial to add that to roast chicken if you do not know. The meat was tender and juicy. Well cooked as even the breast meat wasn't too dry. They even put in effort to place some crispy keropok on top. Good job.

Exact same dish as Long Beach but a neighbourhood stall manage to do a better job.

Baby squid was well fried till crispy but perhaps it was bigger in size, it wasn't as dry as LB's. The colour of the sauce is lighter and most probably it was less charred and didn't taste burnt. Slightly on the sweet side. Sauce was lighter and more aromatic.

My fav dish: I call it the "ORH KUAN" which means yam ring in dialect

The yam was smooth and wasn't too dry, manage to fry it without leaving a tinge of oil. (to do this the stall must be very careful to change the oil used for frying the yam ring very often as the yam soaks up the oil very easily)

The vegetable: Sambal Kang Kong

The very common veg to order. Not too spicy, even suitable for children yet the sambal is very fragrant. Goes well with rice. You can also taste the little dried shrimps added. Good effort.

Boy's fav: Salad prawn

This simple dish can be done at home. Deep fried prawns tossed with mayonaise.

But the mayo sauce is different. It has a sweet and sour taste that is more intense than those off the shelves.

The voted best dish: Hot plate tofu

The hot plate tofu here is wonderful, home made tofu, it is not so eggy like egg tofu and much more flavourful than plain tofu. The tofu is soft and silky, moisture filled. The sauce is "mushroomy", with minced meat and even pork lard! What's more there were even prawns! Best for those who like to eat rice. Like me.

Fishy dish: Deep fried fish with sweet and sour sauce

Fish was normal. Not much taste. But the sauce was fine. Just very common sweet and sour sauce. Nothing special.

They even have a website. I'm amazed!

The pictures are clear.

Auntie note: The prices here are reasonable. On the cheaper side. Except for the fish.

There is a daily promotion that is worth going.

I ate 1 crab with boy the other day and it only costs $20. Good deal because it is on a friday when crabs are only selling for $28/Kg!!!!!!!

Please make reservations during special occassions.

Blk 515 #01-181 Bedok North Ave 2
Tel : 6445 7798 HP 9693 8265