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Trip will proceed with 3 pple

- Spice Peranakan - budget: $15
- Shimbashi Soba at Paragon - budget: $25
- P&P Thai Food - budget: $15

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    Thursday, June 28, 2007

    No Name Mee Pok

    Okay, the name of this stall at the hawker centre next to the BKT coffee shop is not "No Name". I literally meant it as a stall with NO NAME. Just look at the picture. This stall sells it's wares at the $2 that's so common around here it's frightening.
    The noodles apparently look like normal fishball mee pok tah, but something is different. The soup is quite poorly done, and the fishballs are nothing great too, but the difference is the condiments used for the noodles. The noodles were done quite satisfactorily, but the sauce had something that gave it a sweet aftertaste in addition to the added fragrance. I still can figure out what it is, but it seems like fish sauce. However i see no fish sauce in the stall, unless it's in the beer bottles...Oh maybe they use beer? Nevertheless, although the dish is nothing great, it's only $2 to experience something different.

    Food: Mee pok that tastes quite unique. Would have been fantastic if they had paid attention to their soup and fish balls too.

    Cost: 9.5/10 super cheap, but i can't give it 10 because it didn't satisfy all round.

    Location: 4/10 Near the BKT place.

    Ambience: Run down hawker centre. Quite tranquil and relaxing.

    Address: 20 Marsiling Lane #01-179

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/28/2007 09:57:00 PM | |

    Hong Ji Claypot Bak Kut Teh 宏记沙锅肉骨茶

    Next stop, we took 903 onwards to Marsiling area, just a few stops from the Woodlands station. The mentor spoke of Malaysian style Bak Kut Teh, which is distinctly different from the super peppery local versions.
    After walking past the hawker centre we came to this void deck coffee shop where almost every table had claypots on it. The guy at the right side is NOT the mentor.
    We ordered two claypots, each about $6 for each large claypot. A little screw up occured, and we ended up with Bak Kut Teh with only pig's stomach, intestine and tail, without the meat...Heh.
    On first impression, it looks similar to the black version of local BKT, but it's lighter in colour, and much more herbal in taste. The pepper taste was kept to a proper minimum, and the soup was herbal and tasty, with a herbal sweet aftertaste. At least, they don't spam pepper here. It was real soup, and i finished the soup happily. The tripe and stuff were fresh and tasty enough, but i personally wanted to try the meat. Maybe next time. They have You Tiao if you want to dunk them into the soup too. It's easy to see now why almost every table ordered the BKT. Soup's fragrant and well brewed, ingredients are fresh, and so tasty i finished all the soup.

    Food: Finally, M'sia style BKT. A level above the pepper spammers.

    Cost: 8/10 $6 for a generous bunch of ingredients. And for good soup as well

    Location: 3/10 Hard to find the coffee shop. You have to know where to walk.

    Ambience: Coffee shop in a tranquil neighbourhood.

    Address: 张捷美餐庭 01-329 19 Marsiling Lane

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/28/2007 09:26:00 PM | |

    Wei Wei Shi Pin 威威食品 Seafood Soup

    Not a week after the Macpherson food trip, we made our way down the mentor's neighbourhood, where he promised delectable delights.

    First stop, he brought us on the feeder 903 bus to Woodlands Centre, just behind the check point. The place was so alien to me, but reminded me of Redhill Central too. It was comparatively more lively though. We headed for the hawker centre located at block 4A, walking from block 5A, and on the second aisle there was a small queue even though lunch hour hadn't arrived. The large signboard promised of scallops from Hokkaido...

    Either way, over here, you can have the normal seafood soup, or the pomfret seafood soup. We had the normal one but the mentor recommends the pomfret one next time. Prices were weird, at $3.70 or so.

    Looks different doesn't it, this seafood soup. The soup is unique and really tasty. Brewed with fried prawn heads, and fish bones and maybe ikan bilis (if my tasting is accurate), the soup has a strong seafood taste, which leaves you wanting more. I presume the soup is really difficult and time consuming to make, since they only serve you a small amount compared to other seafood soup stalls. It's creamy because of the fish bones, not because of milk or anything, and has a sweetness from the prawn heads. Delicious.

    Fish meat was most likely from those huge red snappers, as the meat was fresh, and fatty and of the correct texture, however there is a slight fishy aftertaste, common for old huge fishies. Should have tried the pomfret. You will have to specify if you want pomfret. May be more expensive though. Prawns were fresh enough, but not crunchy fresh. Other than that there's tofu and tomatoes.

    Food: Very unique seafood soup. An edge above others.

    Cost: 7/10 Quite expensive $3.70 for a small bowl but it's still worth a try.

    Location: 6/10 Troublesome, but quite easy to get to the hawker.

    Ambience: Noisy packed hawker centre at lunch hour. Most stalls here still sell their wares at $2, something rare these days.

    Address: 4A Woodlands Centre Road #02-11 *2nd aisle when you walk from Blk 5A

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/28/2007 08:49:00 PM | |

    Friday, June 22, 2007

    Tamarillo

    Heard about this fruit some time back, but never got to try it as it was never imported. However, today, in the middle of summer, on a overcast day, i went to Cold Storage and got a pleasant surprise. Red, cute and delicious looking Tamarillos on sale!
    The fruit, on first look, looks very much like an Italian elongated tomato, but the skin is significantly tougher. It's around 7cm long and slightly yields to pressure. No fragrance is apparent though. It's quite expensive, $2.99 for 100gms. Each fruit is about 80gms, so it's about $2.50 per fruit. Oh well, since this is most probably the first time it is imported into local supermarts. A native fruit of South America, cultivated in New Zealand, which explains its funky name.
    Cut it longitudinally and it really looks like a tomato on the inside. Both have axial seed placement and also a jelly like pulp surrounding each seed. However, what is easy to see is that it's slightly harder and less juicy than tomatoes. You could call it meatier. An aroma of tomatoes+kiwis wafts up. However, it is not related to the kiwis. And it belongs to a different genus from the tomato, albeit from the same family of Solanaceae.

    Scoop into it with a spoon and put it in your mouth. A strong kiwi-like sourness hits you first, followed by a familiar tomato scent, and then the umami, which is much stronger here than tomatoes. Delicious meaty aftertaste. For the uninitiated, umami is the 6th flavour, which is the taste of MSG, found in tomatoes and related plants, of course the tamarillo is no exception. Wholesome taste, not too strong and pungent. The black seeds may look off putting, but are without doubt the tastiest part of the fruit! They are the ones that give you the zest reminiscent of kiwis. The meat itself tastes like a very meaty tomato. Result: a fruit that combines the best of the kiwi and tomato. What is amazing is that the juice is red. After eating, check your fingers, they will be stained with a slightly sour and umamish red juice.

    Since the tamarillo gives tomatoes a run for their money, use it in place of tomato for a unique yet familiar taste, which packs more umami punch than the boring cousin. Of course, if you can afford it! Juice it, and blend in carrots. Should make a delightful breakfast drink. Oh, don't eat the skin, it's bitter and tough.

    Availability: Mid Summer
    Supermarket: Great World City Cold Storage
    Sold as: separate fruits priced at $2.99 per 100gms
    Wow Factor: 8/10

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/22/2007 03:05:00 PM | |

    Monday, June 18, 2007

    Quan Lai Xing Kway Chap 泉来兴

    3rd stop of the T3 food trip brought us from one end of Macpherson road to the other end, after the Mazda showroom. When we dropped off the bus i could not see any proper eateries in sight, only a very run down eating establishment across the road. It reminded me of JB, and the drains were stinking foul.
    Under an old signboard reading "Sin Fong Restaurant", i saw a bustling Kway Chap stall. As with many shops selling this, they also sold various duck associated dishes such as roast duck rice, but those weren't what we were there for. We went to the stall, and Big G ordered away. Taukwa, braised eggs and other usual Kway Chap stuff.
    First dish to be served was the highlight of the stall. The fabulous fried pig's intestine. Although it was fried, this was not oily at all, and delightfully crispy and fragrant, with just the right amount of saltiness. The crispy outside complemented the slightly chewy inside. Too bad there was so little. A must try for pig intestine lovers.
    The other kway chap stuff was okay, nothing much to scream about braised items, just done adequately well and piping hot. The kway chap was quite good. Kway teow slices were thin yet having bite as they were cooked just right, not overcooked till your kway teow literally disintegrates when you stir. I didn't manage to try the braised pig intestines though, which is usually the highlight of a kway chap meal.

    Food: Kway chap lovers ought to try this out, and the fried intestine is a must try!

    Cost: 6/10 $17 for three people seems to be quite expensive for the amount we ate

    Location: 3.5/10 It's really difficult to spot.

    Ambience: Not much. Stinky drains, roadside. At least the food makes up for it.

    Address: The junction of Macpherson Lane and Macpherson Road. Second stall from the left.

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/18/2007 07:57:00 PM | |

    Sunday, June 17, 2007

    Ser Seng Turtle Restaurant 生成山瑞补品

    Second stop of T3 food trip brought us to a few shops away from Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles, nearer to the main road and directly opposite Jackson food centre. This place, is super packed during lunch hour, so, please come before lunch to avoid disappointment.

    Turtle soup has long evaded my childhood, due to parents believing it was too um, herb-y for me. So today was revelation of what turtle soup really is.

    Turtle soup (清炖山瑞汤)came in prices of $13, $17, $21, $25. We had the $17, and black chicken soup came in $7, $10, and we had the $10.
    Turtle soup was not as full of chinese herbs as i had expected. Tasted really fantastic. Addictive on first try. Light soup, with a mellow flavour, slightly sweet from the meat, and although not very exotic, was very very satisfying. The meat was superb. It tasted like somewhere in between chicken and frog, bouncy yet having bite. And the liver is less pungent than the pig's, which went really well with the chilli sauce provided. The cartilage was nice and smooth after brewing in the soup. For $17 you get a generous serving of turtle "stuff", delightful. I finished up every drop of the wonderful soup which does not make you sick of it after a few mouthfuls.
    Of course, the black chicken soup did not pale in comparison. VERY VERY medicinal taste. May not appeal to some, but it was nice to me. Did not have the weird funny aftertaste in many herbal soups, very "clean" flavour. The highlight was actually the chicken. Most black chicken will be tough, and tasteless. Not this one. The meat was actually tender and sweet. It's really difficult to make good herbal soup where the meat of the chicken is still tender and Sweet. After you finish the soup you can feel the power of the herbs coming to you.

    Food: Herbal soup lovers, turtle lovers, come here. Those looking for exotic soups may apply too. Guaranteed no regrets.

    Cost: 6.5/10 abit on the high side, but the taste of the soup is remarkable...

    Location: 5/10 Macpherson...how many people are familiar with the area?

    Ambience: Air con restaurant. Quiet before lunch, pandemonium during lunch

    Address: 39 Tai Thong Crescent Singapore 347863

    Tel: 62876341 Closed on Mondays

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/17/2007 02:47:00 PM | |

    Hoe Nam 河南 Prawn Noodles

    First stop of the T3 food trip, prawn noodles with the mentor. MacPherson has many delightful foods that few people are aware of, and on today's food trip, we were going for three.

    Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles has long been a foodie stop at Macpherson. Situated at a corner, opposite the Bengawan Solo and the 7-11, the stall has ended up taking over a whole kopitiam, and is run by a large family. The large signboard is blue and hard to miss, as are the pictures of prawn noodles.
    G, to celebrate his promotion, offered to treat, much to the delight of the mentor and me. I had yellow noodles with big prawns and clams ($5).
    First thing. The soup. This soup was incredibly tasty. For that matter, come down before the lunch crowd, say 11am or so, so that the soup is what it should taste like. When soup quantity gets low, many stalls have no choice but to brew an "instant" replacement, which is much less tasty than the actual. Back to the soup. It was definitely well brewed, as the sweet flavour of brewed prawns was homogenous, and the ingredients, i figure pork bone, further increased the tastiness of the soup. We all drank till the last drop.

    The large prawns were really large, and deshelled so that they can absorb the soup's essence. Crunchy, sweet and very fresh, i was for once, very satisfied with the prawns. Abalone clams are those from cans, but they chose to use the larger variety which has more "clam taste" and the clams actually absorbed some soup, so that when you bite the clam the soup bursts out. Noodles are your normal ones, but not cooked till soggy. The mentor suggested that i try the thick beehoon on my next visit. The beehoon will not affect the taste of the soup, and it's slightly thinner than the laksa beehoon. Thin beehoon is a no-no, for it will dilute the taste.

    What is nice about the ordering is that you can customise whatever you like. Although there's a menu, you are free to say what you want and do not want. Pick from diverse ingredients such as big and small prawns, abalone(yes, abalone.), abalone clams, pork ribs, pig's tail, pig's intestine. You can even request for no noodles, as what G did. Or you can have EVERYTHING. Fully customisable! Oh, and add the chilli powder to spice up your soup.

    Food: Prawn noodle lovers should try this. The soup is really thick and good. Ingredients are fresh too.

    Cost: 8/10 Can get expensive depending on what you order but i think it's worth it

    Location: 5/10 Macpherson is a place many people don't frequent...

    Ambience: before lunch hour, quiet and tranquil little neighbourhood, lunch hour, pandemonium.

    Address: 31 Tai Thong Crescent (near 24hrs Jackson Hawker Centre) S347859

    Tel: 62819293

    Business Hours: 6.30 am - 4.30 pm daily Closed once a month on a Monday(unfixed)

    The mentor's prawn+clams+pig intestine noodles.

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/17/2007 02:04:00 PM | |

    Thursday, June 14, 2007

    Marutama Ramen

    It's been a while since BTG3 finally met up, and i suggested a place i had long wanted to try, Marutama Ramen at the newly opened Central Mall. When i first visited the mall the restaurant was packed and a long queue was outside. Intriguing, so i decided to bring the other three.

    The shop has a nice and cute, erm, sign that's actually a combination of the japanese kanjis for maru and tama. Shouldn't be hard to spot since the shop is the only shop with a large menu writing totally in japanese.
    Shop decor is a simplistic wood themed decor lit by rather dim lighting. Water is served in a large tumbler free for you to gulp. Service is friendly, with the waitress explaining how to order the ramen here, which is done in a slightly different way from other ramen shops. First you pick the basic ramen, Marutama ramen ($12) or the Karashi ramen (which is supposedly spicy) and add toppings. Toppings include Chashu ($4), Egg ($1), Kakuni ($5) (stewed pork belly) and others. Else, you can order the special ramen, which includes Aka Ramen ($15) and another ramen.

    Cheese and Jon ordered the Marutama Ramen base and added an egg, while Bren had the kakuni topping. The dark green vege thingy is actually Aosa, green seaweed; more to that later. First taste of the soup will actually taste like instant noodles, but the flavour actually lies in the aftertaste. Soup tastes of chicken, and is actually quite rich, a feat to achieve with chicken. It leaves an aftertaste that tells of simmering, most likely the taste of the bone. This layered flavour is what distinguishes it from the usual instant noodle base. Noodles are of the Tokyo variety i believe, being thin and stringy. Noodles are done rather well, being elastic and just providing a slight resistant to your bite. However i still prefer the Sapporo Nishiyama ramen to this for its more flavourful noodle. Chashu, according to Jon and Cheese, melts in your mouth, which is the basic criteria for good Japanese Chashu. The egg was the highlight though. Done better than Ohsho, the egg tastes of the braising sauce all the way to the yolk, and yet the yolk is a shiny half liquid golden. VERY well done and a must try for only $1. The Aosa was crunchy and fresh, without the pungent flavour of sea many people cannot stand. The chicken base is a lot lighter than Tonkotsu, but the flavour grows on you as the richness of the simmered broth adds up.

    I had the Aka Ramen, which boasted of 7 types of nuts used to brew the soup. Disappointly though, the soup did not taste much of nuts, just an unknown rich flavour... Adding lemon juice made it slightly tangy which increased its flavour, and the spiced pickles? also made the soup slightly spicy, which was a nice touch. Tasted special at first, but wears off after some time. The chicken meatballs were also dry and not very special. My suggestion: first visit, stick with the chicken broth.

    We ordered a side dish, the Yaki Chashu ($6). 4 large slices of lightly grilled chashu which looked like bacon was served. First, i sprinkled lemon juice over the four. Not too much, just a little will do. The outer layer was crispy and fragrant of roasted fats. The next layer of fat melted into very fragrant oil in my mouth, and next the meat distintegrated easily. Deep flavour of pork carefully roasted. There was no burnt taste at all. The lemon served to add some zest to the taste. Wonderful. Except that each of us only had a piece...


    Marutama is one of the few, maybe the only, ramen shops which have Kaedama, meaning that if you have some soup leftover in your bowl, you can top up another nearly whole portion of ramen for only $1. Pretty cool if you eat fast and eat tons. I had a kaedama and still wasn't full.

    Food: a nice change from the Tonkotsu ramen you usually have. Different type of ramen noodles as well. Egg and Chashu are must try.

    Cost: 7/10 Quite expensive for the amount of ingredients, but the broth is worth it.

    Ambience: Relaxing and cozy Japanese styled ambience. The waitress speaks cool japanese to the cook.

    Location: 7/10 easy. Central mall is on top of Clarke Quay MRT.

    Address: The Central #03-90/91

    Tel: 65348090 i seriously doubt they handle reservations though. Open throughout the day, doesn't close from 3-6pm

    Special~~~Ramen ratings

    Noodles:

    1. Miharu
    2. Marutama
    3. Ohsho
    4. Ramen Ramen
    5. Ichibantei

    Soup:

    1. Ohsho
    2. Miharu
    3. Ichibantei
    4. Marutama
    5. Ramen Ramen

    Ingredients:

    1. Marutama
    2. Ohsho
    3. Ramen Ramen
    4. Ichibantei
    5. Miharu

    ***This list is not definite. I still have yet to revisit Tampopo, as well as Kado-Man

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/14/2007 12:30:00 AM | |

    Wednesday, June 13, 2007

    Theft!


    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/13/2007 04:00:00 PM | |

    Tuesday, June 12, 2007

    Dju Dju Indonesian Food

    G spoke of terribly good indonesian food at cheap prices, sold in the mixed vegetables rice style. He spoke of the great spicy curries and kangkong which really got me hyped up. So one evening, i met him at Serangoon station, and he brought me twisting and turning through the neighbourhood before we entered a food court at the 1st floor of a HDB flat, which according to him, was just renovated recently. I was a little surprised as i had expected a stand alone eating establishment somewhere, but the food is still the most important factor.

    Dju Dju apparently has the channel U logo, meaning it is quite well received by people. The stall is owned by Peranakans according to G. It is situated nearly in the middle of the food court, with a signboard proudly declaring that you'd come back for more.

    The stall displays a variety of dishes to choose from. Apart from you usual harmless veggies, and fried fish commonplace in any mixed vegetables rice stall, they offer $1 mackerel otah, a variety of dry curries including mutton, fish and chicken. Also present is the much hyped kangkong.

    The bad thing about indonesian food is that the curries all look the same in photos. Anyway i had the kangkong (check out the chilli seeds), assam fish as well as mutton curry.

    First taste, rice. What was commendable was that the rice, although not some fantastic brand, was cooked well and the quality was good enough not to piss me off. It tasted like the rice i eat at home. Kangkong totally pwn3d G, so i tried that. The taste was not too oily and rather fragrant. Although it was bathed with chilli, the kangkong's spiciness was not too much of the bitter kind which i hate. Ranked 3.5/5 on my spiciness scale, which is formidable for most people. Still, it is a must try, definitely one of the nicer kangkongs i tried. Take note that it is not sambal kangkong. It is kangkong stir fried with chilli. The flavour of the vegetable remains, and it's not overly fried too. The fish assam was passable. Batang fillet always tends to get very tough after cooking, and this was no exception. The assam was well cooked, just the right amount of sourness, and it was rather appetising. Fish was tough, but did absorb quite a bit of the assam. The highlight was the mutton curry. The meat used was lean, very lean, and they cooked the meat in large chunks in the curry, only cutting it up for you if you order it. Wondrous mutton. the meat was sweet yet not smelly, with just the right amount of the mutton taste. What was amazing was how it survived a curry so tender...The meat just disintegrated in your mouth along with the well executed curry which was full of mutton taste, and a nice blend of spices. Till now the taste remains in my mouth. Addictive mutton.

    Food: Indonesian/Peranakan style mixed vege rice. Fantastic curries and kangkong. Mutton is a must try.

    Cost: 8/10 if you order fish it is more expensive. Mine was $5 while G's was $4. Actually rather expensive for mixed vege rice but the quality is worth it.

    Location: 2/10 Sucks. I totally don't know the serangoon area. Buses plying the area that G knows of are 135, 133, 105, 53, 156, 73, 854, 22, 24, 45. Else, walk from Serangoon bus interchange towards Lor Chuan. Otherwise, ask people around the area...

    Ambience: Food court that's open air

    Address: Blk 304 Serangoon Ave 2

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/12/2007 10:11:00 PM | |

    Friday, June 08, 2007

    Arbutus (Chinese Bay Berry/杨梅)

    In this new section, I'll bring to you uninitiated people out there, introductions to exotic and unusual fruits as and when they appear on market shelves. In recent years, supermarkets have begun to import unique fruits to local shelves. However, unfortunately locals are rather stubborn with regards to the fruits they eat and either do not notice the new products or don't dare to try them. As such, the adventurous me, shall try these fruits and introduce them to you.
    Our first fruit, which coincidentally starts with A, is Arbutus. More correctly known as Chinese Bayberry, the Arbutus is a native fruit to China, Japan and Korea. Known in Chinese as 杨梅; Japanese as Yamamomo, the fruit was mistranslated as Arbutus, which is a similar looking but totally unrelated fruit growing in the Mediterranean area. Nevertheless i shall refer to it as Arbutus since it's easier to type out than "Chinese Bayberry".
    The fruit ranges in colour from red to purple, but the ones on supermarket shelves this season are the purple variety. The fruit has a knobbly surface, and is globular. It has a taste that is sweet with some sourness and tartness, and tastes much like strawberry mixed with raspberry and blackberry. The texture is unique, due to the fruit pulp being actually separate pulpy hairs radiating out from the central seed. Some berries would also impart a slight winey flavour, which is no surprise; these fruits are used to make wine in China.

    When you buy the fruit, many of the berries would be reddish. These are the not so ripe ones. Eat the ones that have become a deep purplish red, as these are more juicy and sweet.


    Availability: Summer months
    Supermarket: Giant supermart at IMM
    Sold as: box of around 25 berries at $7.80
    Wow Factor: 5/10

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/08/2007 01:14:00 PM | |

    Thursday, June 07, 2007

    Asian Kitchen La Mian Xiao Long Bao

    After a long long burning day at Sentosa, the bunch, who met Fungi along the way back, decided after a long long burning 1 hour of indecision, to follow my suggestion and have dinner here. Asian Kitchen is decorated in traditional chinese reds and browns and the ambience is calming and comfy, with gentle lighting and chinese architectural shapes.

    Menu was extensive, with Shanghai dimsum and la mian, as well as tse cha items such as hor fun and fried rice. All have similar prices not exceeding $10. Wanting to try more than the main items, Tall and I ordered Guo Tie (6 for $5.70) and Pork Xiao Long Bao (5 for $5) to share.
    Guo Tie looked appetising, but the charred side was not crispy enough and the skin was still too soft. Quite oily too. The pork and chives filling was delicious but nothing really special.
    Xiao Long Bao passed the chopsticks test. It can be held by chopsticks without the skin breaking. Of course the shape is less standard than Ding Tai Fung, and the skin was slightly thicker, but the stock within could give DTF a run for its money. Almost bursting with stock, the stock was clear, piping hot and very fragrant. What was a slight disappointment was that the stock tasted of chicken instead of pork, which shouldn't be the case. The minced pork had a bit too much garlic in it, but was otherwise fresh, although it did not integrate well with the chicken stock. Nevertheless a must try, for the excellent stock and skin.
    For my main meal i had Dan Dan Mian ($6). Obviously the dish had been altered to suit local tastes. The soup was much less oily, and chilli was almost not present. But the soup's fragrance spread far on the table, a very strong peanut fragrance. The soup tasted of a very homogenous mix of the taste of roasted sesame and peanut, without making one sick of the flavour even after i emptied the bowl. For my enjoyment, i added chilli liberally, and it tasted more alike the authentic stuff, which made the dish even more delectable. Minced pork was normal marinated minced pork but flavour was of course drowned by the soup. Noodles was the highlight. Tall commented that it did not seem handmade, but i couldn't care less. The noodles was better than any other i tried, being very very elastic and bouncy. When you chew down on the noodles they actually put up a fight against your teeth, giving a QQ feeling. Very well done.
    Tall had Suan La Mian ($8.70). Sichuan Suan La Tang with noodles. Of course as with Dan Dan Mian, the spicy taste was very mild. However the soup was sour to the correct extent, with a flavour that was mild enough not to make one sick of the strong flavour of this soup. Coming with generous servings of mushroom, tofu and carrots, as well as minced pork, the soup seemed satisfying.
    Fungi and Clar had Zha Jiang Mian ($7). It did not look much, and i didn't try this dish but the Zha Jiang Mian lover of a Fungi did not complain, and Clar said it tasted rather good.

    Food: Up to standard Northern Chinese fare, and probably more acceptable to locals then the oily DTF and Crystal Jade versions. However, quality is not compromised.

    Cost: 7/10 I cannot understand the weird pricing of certain dishes such as the Suan La Mian, but the pricing is quite manageable. Of course, if you frequent Crystal Jade...

    Location: 7/10 We had ours at Vivocity. They have branches at Citylink and Republic Plaza.

    Ambience: Nice and pleasing Chinese themed decor that's fresh and not too traditional.

    食神 twirled chopsticks @ 6/07/2007 11:03:00 PM | |