Long Ji 龙记 @ 253 Outram Road

Mention Long Ji and almost automatically, one would associate it with wok hei crab bee hoon (龙记螃蟹米粉). A group of us foodies decided to trudge to this place to try out this popular dish. Reservations is necessary. The restaurant seemed to be favoured by tourists and there were many tables of foreign friends enjoying their meal day on our day of visit. Why, we too brought our foreign friends to try the famed dishes together!

menu

For a table of 11 pax, we ordered two plates of Long Ji Bee Hoon Crab with estimated price for each plate of crab bee hoon to be $70++ per plate, with the crab weighing in at 1kg each. Other dishes include deep fried tofu with cereal and pumpkin sauce, salted egg yolk fried pumpkin strips, green dragon vegetables, prawn paste chicken and fermented pork belly.

cover charge

The noise level in this restaurant was so high till normal conversation with your table mates were almost impossible. We could either shout till our voice gone hoarse, or just eat our meal in silence. The restaurant staff seemed harried as well and at times, could be quite difficult to get their attention.

Plates after plates of bee hoon crab were seen at each of the tables. It's almost certain that everyone who's here at Long Ji would be ordering this. Similarly, our cameras started working once the star dish arrived.

Long Ji Bee Hoon Crab 龙记螃蟹米粉 @ $70++

The first time that I had dry version of crab bee hoon was at De Classic Golden Spoon at Seng Poh Lane. The sauce was of a darker colour and minimal excess as most would have been soaked up by the bee hoon and the wok hei was the best then. That was the epitome of dry bee hoon crab for me. With that gold standard, I was eager to try the Long Ji version. Not sure if the kitchen was in a hurry that day, but while the broth was sweet it just didn't packed that umami punch. The bee hoon could have been braised a tad longer too. Thought the chili sauce provided along with this dish was really good and did its job to elevate the taste of the bee hoon with its spicy-kick and tangy-ness.

Shrimp Paste Chicken 虾酱鸡 @$18++

Shrimp paste chicken was well-fried with juicy moist meat but the shrimp paste taste was a tad lacking. This would be rather suitable for friends who dislike the strong pungent smell of shrimp paste.

The Green Dragon Vegetables is from the chives family. Reminds me of char kway teow, ee-fu noodles, kuchai kueh and the likes. Fried with bean sprouts and offered a refreshing change from the meat-heavy dishes.

Green Dragon Vegetable 青龙菜@$18++

Fermented Pork Belly @$20++

The appetiser somehow managed to appear along with all the main courses. Nevertheless, the Salted Egg Pumpkin was rather enjoyable. Golden brown, thick cut slices of deep fried pumpkin, well coated with that grainy tasty salted egg yolk sauce. Another well loved dish was the deep fried tofu with cereal and pumpkin sauce. There's something about golden deep fried that they did very well here.

Salted Egg Pumpkin 咸蛋金瓜 @$18++

Deep Fried Tofu with Cereal and Pumpkin Sauce 麦香豆腐 @$16++

All in all, it was great dining with fellow foodies. Great to have met @batamliciouz and @singaporeliciouz
and it was a pleasure to have gathered with Damien, Jennifer, Justin, Kris, Ivan, Shermaine and Tiara.

Expect to spend about $30 per pax for a group of 10 pax.

Long Ji 龙记

Address: 253 Outram Rd, 169049
Contact: 9790 5682
Opening Hours: 
Daily 5pm to 10.30pm

JB Ah Meng Kitchen 新山亚明小厨 @ 2 Lorong 23 Geylang

It was ripe time again for a zhichar gathering. All it took was for one party to suggest and the rest of us to come to an agreed date and time. Gotta love my foodie pals!

This time round, we explored the foodie haven of Geylang. Ok. The word 'explored' was probably exaggerated as all we did was to convene at this one place; JB Ah Meng.

Took a cab there and discovered that Lorong 23 has 2 stretch of road and hence, was unceremoniously dropped off by taxi uncle as he said he doesn't know where it is. Sure, I just needed to choose one side and walk ahead. Headed towards where the bright lights were (away from the industrial buildings) and soon enough, found the place at the end of Lorong 23.

Imagine dingy backlane, warm stuffy air, hot tasty food and sometimes someone running away from something. Yeah, this is the place to experience all those.

glimpse into the kitchen

I was the last one to arrive and at a good timing too as food was just served and ready to eat. Let's see what we had. Here's our menu for that night:

• J.B San Lou Meehoon (L)
• Salted Egg Prawn Ball (M)
• Crab Roll Fritter (S)
• Snake Beans with Lotus Roots (M)
• Fried Black Hokkien Noodles (M)
• White Pepper Crabs (2 pieces)
• Kurobuta Boneless Pork Collar (S)
• Fermented Bean with Belly Pork (S)

Amazing selection, and am even more amazed as all the above were consumed by just the 6 of us. Two guys and 4 gals. Wow!

Let the feast begin. The plate of beehoon was nondescript. Not as charred nor 'chaotar' as initially thought. There were some greens that was hidden in the mid-section of the dish. Otherwise, it was just charred rice vermicelli with sprouts, eggs and leafy greens.

JB San Lou Meehoon (新山三楼米粉) @$14  (Large)

Crab Roll Friter (蟹冬双拼) @$12 (Small)

The crab roll fritter was quite interesting, especially the crispy stuff. Tapioca? Nah. It was actually deep fried kway teow sheets. Sweet, spicy and the texture of the crab roll was actually soft.

Fermented Bean with Belly Pork (南乳炸花肉) @$12 small)

The deep fried pork belly in fermented bean curd paste was rather light. Pleasant and enjoyable but wished its taste could be stronger.

The deep fried salted egg prawn ball was a pretty huge plate for a medium. The prawns were plump but overly firm. Tasted like pork! So bouncy. Haha! Interesting corn kernels in there but was probably there for crispy texture.

Salted Egg Prawn Ball (咸蛋虾球) @$30 (Medium)

Hokkien Black Noodles @$9 (Medium)

I think we made a mistake in ordering two carbs. But the fried hokkien noodles was rather value for money with a medium sized plate going for just $9! Medium for this is similar to a large plate. It has some pork slices, vege and small prawns in it. If only the sauce was darker, its noodles rounder and perhaps some chicken liver and gizzard in there, plus a bit of lard or two...then it would be even more similar to KL style fried hokkien mee. Well, a girl can only wish...

And for our customary vegetable dish, thought we ordered something interesting as I never had 'snake beans' before. However, it turned out to be....french beans. Oh, alright.... (did you sense the disappointment?)
That aside, I kind of liked this dish. There was french beans, some celery and deep fried lotus roots crisp.
But it was kind of a small plate for $18, so probably not value for money.

Snake Beans with Lotus Roots (蛇豆炒莲藕) @$18 (Medium)

Next up, if you're having white rice, then this next dish would be the perfect combi. The stir-fried kurobuta pork collar in black pepper sauce. Tender slices of pork, in rich strongly flavoured sauce and capsicums. 给我多一碗饭吧！But then, we still have the noodles...oops!

Kurobuta Boneless Pork Collar @$20

Weather was so warm and humid that it demands for some cooling drink. I had the oldenlandia (白花蛇草). An old school favourite with a sprinkling of salt.

drinks, COD

And did you think we were done? Am saving the best for last. My favourite dish of the night, goes to....
Yes, you are right. The white pepper crabs! WooOOhOOo!

White Pepper Crabs @$48

back view

Good sauce, not overpowering, plenty of spring onions and fresh, sweet meaty crab. Not that big in size but it was fresh and sweet. So yummy.

Tummies full, and plates emptied. Backlane eats, our zhichar story. Special thanks goes to foodie gang; Shermaine, Kris, Jennifer, Ivan and Hence. Shared calories, shared memories. Thank you guys!

[Media Invite] ChokChai Mookata 泰式火锅铁板烧 @ Blk 340 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1

Mookata in the heartlands. Want to have mookata in your neighbourhood coffeeshop? Now you can. ChokChai Mookata is currently nestled deep in the Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 neighbourhood. About 15 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT. We headed towards AMK Hub, and then crossed the road towards the HDB blocks. Cut through the blocks and you will pass by one or two coffeeshops before arriving at the destination.

menu

The place is a brightly lit coffeeshop. On our night of visit, we spied that there were about two other tables that were enjoying mookata as well. Otherwise, one could opt to have prata as the other stalls seemed to be closed.

If you are a family of four adults and two children, the $45 set menu should be sufficient. If more food is needed, there are ala-carte options as well. The meat options starts from $3/$6 per portion, while vegetable portions are priced at $1.50 each. If you don't feel like having the fixed items in the set, then you can go on full ala-carte options with a minimum order of $15.

ready

ChokChai Mookata $45 Set Menu

Our group of 6 adults (5 ladies and one guy) had the $45 set menu comfortably, with some additional items such as liver, Thai instant noodle and cheese tofu.

Thai instant noodles @$1

cheese tofu @$2.50

The set includes Thai black pepper chicken, Thai garlic lean meat, pork belly, prawn, sotong, scallop, pork balls, fish balls, crabsticks, hotdogs, xiao bai cai, cabbage, golden mushroom, sweet corn, carrot, tang hoon and egg.

meaty affair

ChokChai Mookata takes pride in their mookata broth and chili dips. According to Mr Len Wang, owner of ChokChai Mookata, the broth is boiled from pork bones, pandan leaves and other ingredients, while the chilies were imported from Thailand.

golden pork broth

ChokChai Mookata green and red chili dips

Both the red and green chili dips were rather spicy with the red being the spiciest of the two. I'd dare say that the red was of two notches in spice level above the green. The green chili is named as seafood chili and is more tangy savoury salty while the red is slightly sweet and more spicy. Joy, one of the native Thai service staff, recommends to dip the sauce separately to get its full taste, but I think the mixed version was rather nice too.

First step in mookata dining (after turning up the fire, of course), is to oil the hotplate. Pieces of lard were utilized for this purpose. Reminded me of  ジンギスカン.

oil the hotplate naturally

Then, just pile the meats onto the hot grill and the rest of the hardy vegetables and meatballs into the soup.

let it sizzle, let it boil

While waiting for the food to cook, one could order up a plate of prawn som tam as appetiser. Be warned that this plate could be rather spicy for some. Lovely salad and we were ready for the grilled stuffs.

ส้มตำ (som tam goong) @$5

almost done

Communal dining, cooking your own food, cooking for your family/buddies, were all part of the experience. We became somewhat loud, boisterous and basically, had fun.

let's eat

Marinated meats were tasty and I particularly liked the garlic pork. Slightly sweet but tasted so good with the chili dips. The pork liver was fresh and cooked easily. The cabbage was really sweet and after having our fill of the expertly sliced thin liver cooked in the broth, the broth became almost like the bak chor mee soup. So robust and tasty!

more soup please

Used to think that mookata was difficult to manage. The meats would usually slip into the broth due to the dome shaped grill. Glad to report that we didn't have that problem at ChokChai Mookata. However, wished that the circular section could have more depth and slightly wider to cook our vegetables and noodles.

Am of the opinion that mookata could be quite popular with families dining out on weekends. My neighbourhood foodcourt used to have one and it gained popularity after some time. The smell and sound of meat sizzling was the main draw.

Thank you Len and ChokChai Mookata for hosting the dinner, and Hence (@chubbybotakkoala) for the invite. To my makan kakis; Kris (@msginginly), Jennifer (@jellylovesfats), Melissa (@cptslowyeo) and Tiara (@tiara_star), you guys are fun to be with! Thank you and let's meet again!

ChokChai Mookata

Location: Blk 340 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, Singapore 560340
Contact: 9778 3942 or email: chokchaimookata@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chokchaimookata/
Instagram: @chokchai_mookata
Business Hours:
Mon-Sun: 17:00 - 23:00

7th Mile Seafood Restaurant 七英里海鲜 @ 18 Toh Yi Drive , Bukit Timah

Was invited to try this zhi char 煮炒 stall that is located within the 7th Mile Coffeeshop at Blk 18, Toh Yi Drive. Toh Yi Dirve is somewhere near Jalan Jurong Kechil. HDB dwellers whom are living nearby, could simply walk to this place for lunch or dinner. Very convenient.

communal dining

usual signage within a coffeeshop

Our host ordered plenty of food, and it felt almost like a wedding dinner!

First, we had the Steamed Sotong with Golden Garlic 金蒜苏东. I must admit. Never had this style of blanched squid dressed with soy and topped a plenty with minced garlic butter before. Very likeable. Tender sotong with nicely light soy sauce that's not too salty and fragrant garlic butter.

l

Steamed Sotong with Golden Garlic 金蒜苏东 @$25 (Medium)

Next, was what would become my favourite dish for the night. The 7th Mile Pork Ribs 七英里排骨. If the dish is labelled with the shop's name, it had better live up to the expectation! Verdict? I wasn't disappointed. The size of the ribs was huge, meat still retained a certain bite but not tough, and beautifully caramelized with such tasty sauce. Might come across as salty for some but I liked it this way.

7th Mile Pork Ribs 七英里排骨 @$30 (Large)

Next up, hae zhor 虾枣 or prawn rolls. Truth be told, have never seen such a big hae zhor before. As big as a golf ball! A mound of minced prawn and minced pork meat, with that occasional chunks of waterchestnut, wrapped with a thin beancurd skin and deep fried till golden brown. The meat has bounce and delightful to eat with the sweet sauce. Or, with the belachan for extra oomph!

hae zhor 虾枣 @$10 (Small)

Still missed the olden taste of hae zhor though. My hometown hae zhor would be smaller in size, with a ratio of more pork meat as compared to prawns and tighly wrapped before fried to a deep brown. To be eaten with watery chili that's vinegary, sweet and spicy. Yums!

Har Cheong Gai 虾酱鸡 @$8 (Small)

Big Prawns with Salted Egg 咸蛋大虾 @$25 (Medium)

The har cheong gai or prawn paste chicken was well marinated, battered and fried to the right colour and consistency. The wings were still juicy and best eaten with the housemade belachan sauce for that extra kick. Would have preferred the marinade to be of a stronger prawn paste flavour though.

The prawns were good and the light golden coating of the salted egg yolk was rather attractive.

How do you like your fish to be done when eating at zhi char stalls? Usually, my family would go for steamed fish.  The grouper that we had were slightly less than a kilo in weight prior to cooking, so expect the price to be around $55 to $60 per fish. For seafood that goes by market price, best to enquire from the staff prior to ordering.

Deep fried Grouper Fish @$6/100gms

Hong Kong Steamed Red Grouper @$7/100gms

Our final dish for the night, was the Crab Bee Hoon. A very imposing looking dish when presented. The crab was arranged as though it was protecting the bee hoon!

Crab Bee Hoon 螃蟹米粉 @$55/kg

The crab that we had, had probably weighed around 1.5 kg. Just take a look at its claws. So huge. Unlike other places, the version served here is of the dry bee hoon type. Expect to pay around $100 for this dish for similar crab size.

give it a good mix

let's dig in!

Dishes that got my vote for repeat orders (assuming a weekend dinner for 2 pax) , would be the pork ribs and the hae zhor or prawn paste chicken. Add a plate of greens as well. The crab bee hoon, prawns and fish would be for special occassions, or when cravings strike.

come on in for reasonably priced good food in neighbourhood coffeeshop

The restaurant does accept telephone reservations for food and table. In order to avoid long waiting time especially for larger groups, you might want to call them up ahead first so that food can be prepared prior to your group's arrival.

Special thanks to Mabel and Ken, and to the HGW team for the invite.

7th Mile Seafood Restaurant 七英里海鲜

Address: #01-97, Blk 18 Toh Yi Drive, Singapore 590018
Telephone: 64650833