Red Star Restaurant 红星酒家 @ 54 Chin Swee Road

An impromptu visit to Red Star during a weekday lunch sometime in Dec last year, thanks to a colleague who drove us out to enjoy good food. It has been too many years since I last visited and would like to say that I had enjoyed the dim sum. Delicious food and a special treat from the said colleague. 谢谢你!

entrance

The place was bustling during lunch time. Lots of foreign friends were spotted dining there. We went without reservation and luckily, there was a table available for us.

interior

dim sum menu cum order chit

Started with porridge because the service staff was pushing the porridge cart over, so we ordered two bowls to share amongst the four of us. Flavourful and thick, plus loaded with chunky chopped century egg, minced pork bits, deep fried crispies, and spring onions.

scooping up the porridge

century egg porridge @$4.70

loaded with ingredients

Then, the usual suspects of har gao, siew mai, chee cheong fun and char siew bao. Loved the plump har gao that was packed with prawn meat. But we had to eat fast lest the skin hardened.

har gao @$4.70

siew mai @$4.70

Siew mai was also topped with much fillings and each bite was devoured quickly because the next item had arrived! Char siew bao (BBQ pork buns) were piping hot, but it was so good! The scallops chee cheong fun was good but I liked the char siew bao more because imagine hot, fluffy bao with savoury fillings, doesn't that sound yums already?

char siew bao @$3.70

so fluffy and savoury

Scallop Rice Roll @$4.90

Of course, we didn't forget the steamed pork ribs and chicken feet. The chicken feet was rather spicy and quite shioks to eat. The steamed pork ribs trumped with its flavourful, tender meat that's slippery smooth.

chicken feet @$4.70

pork ribs @$4.70

Of course we didn't just stop there, we ordered a bunch of other things such as seafood beancurd skin, carrot cake, carrot cake, prawn rolls, and yam puffs.

seafood beancurd skin @$4.10

fried carrot cake @$4.90

banana with prawn @$4.70

yam puff @$4.70

not sure what this was but it was nice

yang mai @$4.70

fried prawn dumplings @$4.70

For the finale, we got the special of the day and that's the sugar cane prawn which the staff said was a special item and may not be available everyday.

sugar cane prawn @$4.90

can't wait to bite

The sugar cane prawn was of a good size, and easy to hold. It's a prawn paste on a sugar cane stick and coated with bread. After deep-fry, the bread became fluffy and crispy while the prawn paste inside remained succulent and tasty. It reminds me of  面包虾.

We were so full after the meal. The above fed 4 guys and 2 girls.

When things are back to normalcy, would like to revisit to try their other items.

Red Star Restaurant 红星酒家

Address: 54 Chin Swee Rd, #07-23, Singapore 160054
Website: https://redstarrestaurant.com.sg/
Contact: 6532 5266
Business Hours:
Daily 8am–3pm, 6–10pm

[Travel] Ipoh - Zichar 煮炒 at Sun Tuck Kee 新德记

What other things to eat in Ipoh besides the famed beansprouts chicken, ipoh gai see hor fun or dim sums? Well, we went to check out their zichar and the only place with some hope for a seat (it was drizzling that night) was Sun Tuck Kee. Everyone else seemed too crowded. The photo of the shopfront below was taken on another day when they were less crowded.

restaurant facade

Waited for about 15 minutes before we got a table and another 15 minutes before anyone came to take order. Yes, they were super busy and my dad was getting grumpier by the minute.

menu

Ordered three noodles as mains and 3 side dishes. There's baby octopus that's pretty chewy and good with the chili dip otherwise, not much taste. The braised chicken feet was good and falls off the bones but skinny. Meatballs soup were good. These took forever to come actually.

side dishes of boiled baby octopus (@RM17), chicken feet (@RM7) and meatballs soup (@RM1.10 per piece)

We were still hungry by the time the noodles came.

Hokkien Noodles @RM17

Fried Tang Hoon @RM13

The Hokkien noodles were well fried and tasty but the sambal was a letdown. Fried Tang Hoon was surprisingly good and one of the better dish that night. Awesome flavour for this rustic looking dish.

Next, was the wat dan hor which warranted a double-take. Why? Because it's the first time I'm seeing this dish served in a large soup bowl. I was like, did we order soup? Hahahaa, the noodles were all drowning in the gravy!

滑蛋河 Ipoh style

yes, correct.. this is 滑蛋河

Actually, the wat dan hor was nice. The hot gravy was flavourful and tasty (from msg maybe?) and made it more satisfying for us who were really hungry at that time.

where has all the gravy gone to?

Overall, the food is good and reasonably priced.

Sun Tuck Kee 新德记

Address: 65, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Pusat Bandaraya Ipoh 30300
Contact: +60 12 514 2228
Business Hours:
Daily:12:00pm - 03:30am

[Travel] Ipoh - 玉福满点心楼 Yoke Fook Moon Dim Sum Restaurant

Tried this restaurant that's nearby Foh San. Walk-able distance from Ipoh Downtown Hotel. Went there seven early eight early (七早八早) at about 8.30am and the place was rather quiet with just a few tables taken. First impression was that the restaurant had a slightly stale musty smell.

entrance

interior

Its interior was well-kept and has clean bathroom too. Service staff are probably in their late thirties and some even older.

There are signs everywhere that informed customers to top-up their own hot water (for the tea) but since they are not busy, the service staff did it for us. They were rather friendly too. Near the cashier counter, they have a dedicated space for take-outs.

menu

takeaway counter

To order, you could inform the staff whatever that you'd be interested in having, or have them bring out the trays of goodies for you to choose at the table. Not trolley service but close. Having dim sum should have these kind of feels. The price range for the dim sum is between RM2.70 to RM11.30 (~SGD0.95 to SGD3.90). For tourists, the prices are pretty reasonable.

order chit

Ordered up a pot of "bou-lei tea" which is pu-erh tea (普洱茶) in Cantonese.

drink tea, eat dim sum

Let's see what we had for breakfast that fed a party of 7-pax. Started with the usual orders of har gao (蝦餃) and siew mai (烧卖), of course.

siew mai, har gao and more

siew mai (烧卖) close-up view

芋角 woo kok (fried taro puff) 

fish balls, chicken feet, beancurd skin and cheong fun

Another must order for us, is the porridge. They have century egg porridge with peanuts and it was gooey and tasty. 

yummy porridge

Hence, we ordered up a steamed pork bun (大包). Whoa, we were impressed by its size when it was brought out. It's like 4 to 5 times the size of the big bao version that we get in SG. Wow! Not only that it was big in size, it was also big in flavour too! Moist, loaded with well marinated meat of pork and chicken, shitake mushroom and that quintessential hard boil egg. Oh, did I mention that the bao skin was fluffy with slight chewiness too? Yums!

look at the size!

大包 that's bigger than my hand @RM10.20

loaded with pork slices, chicken, mushroom and hard boiled egg

Also ordered their special item, which is the fish paste noodles in pepper soup. No idea what it was but it is priced at RM11.30 for an individual portion.

'fish noodles' soup @RM11.30

The noodles are made of fish paste, so essentially we are chomping down on fish paste noodles. The soup has a peppery taste to it and loaded with pig's stomach. Nice tummy warmer on a cold morning.

Overall, we enjoyed the food and service from Yoke Fook Moon. Must order the big bao!

Yoke Fook Moon 玉福满

Address: 65-69, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak, Malaysia

Contact: +60 5-241 6589

Business Hours:

Daily: 6am–1:30pm, 6:30–10pm

[Tasting] The Famous Kitchen 名食小厨 Revisited to Usher in the Lunar New Year @ 54 Sembawang Road Hong Heng Mansions

Had a chance to revisit The Famous Kitchen to try out their Lunar New Year menu. Thank you Jennifer (JY Consultancy) for the invite and The Famous Kitchen for hosting the tasting. It was great seeing our host; Jenny and Jeffrey again. Read about previous visit here.

The Famous Kitchen signage

The adjacent bar area for The Famous Kitchen had an updated vibe. "Famous Hangout" serves as an al-fresco area for diners to mingle over beer, wine and dine, or to wind down after a hectic day at work. It was pretty happening on the day of visit, which was a weekday. Imagine delish fried hokkien mee over a glass of iced cold beer, or snacking on prawn paste chicken with a glass of red. The vibe at the alfresco was vibrant with many merry-makers.

Famous Hangout bar

If you don't fancy the alfresco area to have your dinner, fret not as the air-conditioned dining area is just two steps away. Indoor is a welcome respite from the hot humid weather of Singapore.

air-conditioned dining area

promotion

CNY Set Menu

Let's start dinner with Prosperity Salmon Yusheng. This is the good 'ol version of yusheng done in the traditional way, nothing fancy but symbolic for Lunar New Year. If you prefer the Prosperity Shun De Yu Sheng 顺德鱼生 version, which is an iconic dish at its sister restaurant Famous Treasure, you can also enjoy it here. Advance reservation is required.

Prosperity Salmon Yusheng 七彩三文鱼捞生

顺顺利利开开心心

The set was served with Braised Shark's Fin Soup. Loved that black vinegar is available here instead of the red ones. The soup consistency was good and plenty of ingredients. The stock used was tasty and flavourful.

Braised Shark's Fin Soup

having soup with Stella

Next up, we had our quotient of vegetables in the form of braised sea cucumber with beancurd and mushrooms and broccoli. The sea cucumber was well braised that's soft enough yet retained some bouncy-ness in texture.

braised sea cucumber with mushrooms, beancurd and broccoli

Then, there's steamed fish. The Lunar New Year set menu typically serves Steamed Marble Goby in Soya Sauce. For tasting, we tried the Signature Steamed Fish with Preserved Vegetables on Hotplate. The sauce was a combination of tangy, savoury taste that's refreshing on the palate and goes well with a bowl of white rice. 来一碗白饭吧！

Signature Steamed Fish with Preserved Vegetables on Hotplate 招牌铁板酸菜蒸鱼 

steamed fish with preserved vegetables (market price)

For Lunar New Year, one gets the Herbal Chicken in the set menu but we ordered up the signature of Famous Kitchen; The Oven Baked Volcano Chicken. Advance reservation is required to enjoy this dish.

Oven Baked Chicken

The service staff would bring out the oven baked chicken to the table, pour some rum over it before igniting the fire. The chicken would then be brought back to the kitchen to be chopped up. It was delicious! Crisp skin that retained some of the rum flavour and tender, moist meat that was flavourful. No additional salt nor sauce required.

Oven Baked Volcano Chicken @$58++

Prawn is another auspicious dish to have during Lunar New Year as it signifies happiness and laughter. Lovely presentation of the caramel prawns.

Caramel Prawns 雪花焦糖虾

closer view

The caramel prawns were lip-smacking good! It was deep fried to a good degree and the upper part of the head (yes, including the shell) and legs were so good! I've never eaten so much shell before but this one was definitely worth it.

If you are still feeling hungry, let's wrap up with Fried Rice with Waxed Meat Wrapped in Lotus Leaf. Am liking this version at Famous Kitchen. Adequate flavours (though the fried rice could do with more wok-hei) that's balanced between sweet and savoury, and lovely lap cheong that tasted fresh.

Fried Rice with Waxed Meat Wrapped in Lotus Leaf 腊味荷叶饭

For dessert, we had the Soya Bean Gingko Nuts with Snow Fungus. Ooh, they have certainly improved in the dessert department! Sweetened soya bean milk loaded with plenty snow fungus and gingko nuts. What's there not to like? I find that the sweetness level was just right to end a meal. I thought I could eat no more but this warm dessert makes you want to go on and finish it up!

Soya Bean Gingko Nuts with Snow Fungus 豆浆福果雪耳

Set Menus range from S$488++ for 8 diners to S$1388++ for 10 diners and is available from 10 Jan to 10 Feb 2020. The CNY Ala-Carte menu is available from 25 and 26 January 2020. Please call direct to the restaurant to enquire more.

Thank you Jenny and Jeffrey for your hospitality, Famous Kitchen staff for taking care of us and Jennifer for the invite.

Happy New Year and Gong Hei Fatt Choi!

The Famous Kitchen 名食小厨

Address: #01-01, Hong Heng Mansion, 54 Sembawang Road
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 11:30 - 14:30, 17:40 - 22:30
Phone: +65 6636 8333
Website: https://www.famouskitchen.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/famouskitchensg/