Nan Hua Chang (Traditional) Fish Head Steamboat @ Techlink

Was introduced to this eatery within the depths of Techlink, an industrial area where one least expected to enjoy in a meal of fish head steamboat. Thanks to Hence and Tracy for bringing us there. I wouldn't know which corner to turn to get there even if I am already in the building.

food court entrance

restaurant inside the food court

For Nan Hua Chang, one need not go to the counter to place order as they have adequate staff moving about in the spacious food court. However, do get your own drinks from the drinks stall which is the norm in food courts.

menu

It was past my dinner hours, so a pot of fish head steamboat sounded right for a late dinner. Boss attended to our table, so he recommended a medium pot for the 5 of us and we ordered a couple more side dishes at small size.

Fried Pork Belly (S) @$12

Cuttle Fish Kangkong (S) @$12

The nan ru pork belly was well fried and had a crisp exterior. The surprise was the heat in the cuttle fish kangkong. Wow, that was spicy!

Oyster Egg (S) @$12

The appearance of the oyster egg here, is different from others. The omelette itself was a deep fried version, so I dunk those crispy sides into the fish soup and it was lovely! And they were so generous with the oysters too.

Fish Head Steamboat - Grouper (M) @$49

It has been ages since I last had Fish Head Steamboat and this was surely nostalgic. Memories of yesteryears...

usual suspects of yam cubes, vegetables, chunky pieces of fish head

grouper

The soup was flavourful and comforting and fish head was chopped into chunky versions. I think next round, can order the large size if you're in a party of 5. Need more of the fish to satiate the cravings.

Good thing to note is that the soup is refillable at no extra cost. Also loved it when staff came by to our table to ask if we needed more soup.

Nan Hua Chang (Traditional) serves up value with the reasonable amount paid for its dishes.

Nan Hua Chang (Traditional) Fish Head Steamboat

Address: 31 Kaki Bukit Rd 3, #02-01 C Food Court: 古早味, Singapore 417818

Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086792281369&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Contact: 88137474

Business Hours:

Daily: 10:30 am–2:30 pm, 5:30–10:30 pm

Tora Tora Tora Japanese Restaurant @ Oxley Hub 2 (Rooftop)

Made reservation and was surprised to receive a whatsapp notification, complete with screenshots on how to find the restaurant when you're at Oxley Hub 2. Nice.

I followed the instructions and managed to find the restaurant easily. 

entrance

let's browse the menu

The place looks cosy but the vibes coming from the staff was rather nonchalant.

interior

sip sip

mini chalkboard menu

we need food

We ordered a bunch of things, and I got myself an Asahi Black. This drink was smooth and malty, and a tinge of savoury akin to soy sauce.

Asahi Black @$11

Water is chargeable at 50cents per head and refillable.

Sashimi Moriawase 7 Kinds @$78

When we order, we enquired from the staff on which type of seafood/fish would be in the assorted sashimi platter. She said that it would depend on what the Chef wants the diners to have on that day itself. There were salmon belly, scallops, abalone, sea urchin, hamachi, white fish (maybe tai), kajiki and  lightly vinegared mackerel. Thank you Chef for indulging us with some premium selection in there!

admiring the  beautiful platter

best pairing for sashimi

I always liked to try tamagoyaki from the various Japanese restaurants and here is no exception. The version here is the typical sweeter version.

Tamagoyaki @$10

Tori Karaage @$13

Of course, there'll be fried food in the mix and tori karaage it is! Flavourful and enjoyable with the cold beer. Not the best but still decent.

Oden Moriawase @$19

The oden version at Tora Tora Tora was more similar to local yong tau foo because of its many pieces that tasted similar to fish cake, there was meatball and tofu puffs in there as well. Unfortunately, the daikon was not as soft as I'd like. Broth was nice and flavourful but temperature was not that hot.

Surume Ika @$23

The grilled squid looked kinda photogenic, don't you think? Hahaa. The texture was nice and tender but not too soft. Sauce was leaning on the sweet side.

Tontoro @$28

The cubed tontoro was nicely grilled with a slight crisp edges. Firm and gives a nice chew. Tasted of natural flavours and I liked it without the sauce.

Hokkaido White Corn @$12

The Hokkaido White Corn was lightly salted and grilled. Not as juicy as one might thought it would be, but it was definitely sweet! Dip it into the wasabi mayo sauce from another dish and it was nicely creamy and sweet.

Niku Udon @$18

Niku udon for the birthday boy and it has an onsen egg in it too. Pretty apt to order this. Of course, we stole some bites from his bowl. Hahaha!

Hamachi Kama @$23

My favourite dish for the night, is the grilled yellowtail collar (hamachi kama). Smallish in size but has plenty of white cottony soft flesh. Nicely salted too.

Wagyu Fried Rice @$30

The wagyu fried rice was recommended by the staff when we enquired whether the seafood fried rice or wagyu fried rice was more popular. The plate of the fried rice was about maybe 2 pax portion and the beef was tiny but adequately scattered throughout the rice. Strong flavours but I think I'd go for the regular fried rice for another taste test next time.

It was nice to be able to try a good variety of dishes here with the help of the legendary group. Here's wishing Ivan, a Happy Birthday!

Tora Tora Tora Japanese Restaurant @ Oxley Hub 2

Address: 62 Ubi Rd 1, #11-19, Singapore 408734

Website: https://www.toratoratora.sg/

Contact: 98529148

Business Hours:

Daily: 11:30 AM–2:30 PM, 6 PM–1 AM

[Tasting] H&C halycon & crane @ Paragon Shopping Centre

Was invited to H&C at Paragon to try some of the items from the new menu. Thank you Kris and Eugene for the invitation. This time round, we went during dinner time. 

cosy interior

nice seats to watch the world go by

some nibbles before getting the mains?

how about some fancy teas?

Fancy Teas

Since weather was hot and humid, I opted for "Cold Brew Orchid Pu'erh Tea". This was the only cold tea from the fancy tea series. Staff informed that the tea is steeped daily and in limited volume. Ok, let's try it.

Cold Brew Orchid Pu'erh Tea @$10.90

cheers~

Loved the deep amber hue of the Pu'erh tea. It was indeed refreshing and enjoyable.

For teas prepared via the siphon pot, one could watch the tea preparation at the coffee/tea/bar area. These would be the "Beau-tea-ful You" and "Tea-rriffically Healthy".

aesthetically pleasing

Once the tea is ready, staff will bring over the brewed tea to your table (minus the siphon). Staff informed that the volume of water served is optimal for the tea-leaves used.

"Tea-rrifically Healthy" (Buckwheat and Chrysanthemum) @$14

"Beau-tea-ful You" (Mixed Dried Fruits, Rose, Strawberries, DragonFruit) @$14

Buckwheat tea was nicely nutty with toasty notes (unsweetened) while the one with the mixed dried fruits and rose, was mildly sweet and lovely rose fragrance.

Nibbles

Let's nibble on some appetisers while we sipped the teas. 

Crispy Squid @$18

Crispy squid was lovely as the squid was nicely tender. It actually doesn't pack any heat although menu listed it as '1 chili' spicy level. More sweet than spicy.

Hot & Sour Gyoza Soup @$14

Chicken gyoza was decent and the sauce is similar to 酸菜鱼 (sour vege fish) albeit less on the sour scale. Tangy and appetizing.

Sticky Pork Ribs @$15.50

The pork ribs had some crisp bits on first bite with overall flavours from the classic sweet vinegar glaze. Longan was nicely plump and sweet.

Tomato Beef Stew (served with sourdough) @$19.50

Oh, I might have found my new favourite nibbles and that's the tomato beef stew. Hearty, tangy plus beef with some fats? Bring it on! Plenty of tomatoes and potatoes in there too.

Pasta

For the mains, there are noodles and there are grains to choose from. Let's try a few.

Low Cal, Avocado Scallion Capellini @$22.50

Important thing to note is that keep the photo taking moments (if any) to a minimum if you had ordered the pasta.  We took a tad too long and the capellini had begun to dry out a little. So we made the most of the onsen egg to moisten it again once more, before we tucked into it. Hehe.

The scallion capellini had yummy mushroomy flavours that I liked. And, towards the end, I added some beef stew to the noodles to change it up a bit and I enjoyed that too!

Hot Sauce Prawn Pasta @$27.50

But my favourite pasta that night, was the prawn pasta. The prawns were cooked the way I liked. Moreover, it was served with deep fried kale. I'll gladly eat this vege.

that perfect bite

Grains

Squid Mixed Grains Rice Stew @$26.50

First time seeing squid mixed grains rice stew. Have you tried one before? It was a novelty for me. 

interesting

Salmon and grains were served with slightly charred/roasted romaines, sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes, sprinkling of nori and of course, a piece of well cooked salmon. I'm all for the salmon skin. Crisp and packed with flavours.

Salmon and Grains @$34

But who would've guess, that I'd fall for the stone bowl grains. Same mixed grains as the rest but there's a slight smokey flavour from each spoonful of this. Besides mixed grains, there's potato, mushrooms, chickpeas and fried kale.

Humble Grains Stone Bowl @$16.50

Special thanks to Chu Chu who took care of our table that night, and Chef Eugene for recommending us the dishes.

Read more on our past brunch experience here.

H&C halcyon & crane

Address: 290 Orchard Rd, #03-09 Paragon Shopping Centre, Singapore 238859

Website: https://linktr.ee/halcyonandcrane

Contact: 97275121

Business Hours:

Daily: 9 am–8:30 pm

[Busan] The Premium 삼환축산 남포점 Samhwan Livestock Nampo Branch

This was a random find near our hotel and we went there twice for dinner! Friendly staff, and reasonably priced BBQ.

shopfront

menu with pricing

We were seated fairly quickly in the bustling restaurant. 

grill ready

There's a minimum order as per any other BBQ restaurants where the first meat cut must be of minimally 500gms and subsequent ones can be at less. For 4 of us, there's no issue in polishing off 500gms. I noticed that they will serve the portions that are less than 500 gms first.

side dishes (self-serve)

The shop has a section where the side dishes, BBQ condiments, and leafy greens and diners could just help themselves with those.

boneless galbi

gently placed on grill

let it cook

On our first visit, the boss would come to our table and to grill the meats for us. On Day 2, they did come by to observe but left the grilling to ourselves. Maybe our grilling skills had met their expected standards? Hahaha!

The shop seemed to be managed by a couple (or siblings, not sure) and both are friendly.

I liked it when the ordered meats don't come all at once. We would finish grilling the served cut and then the next one would appear.

thin skirt

let's eat!

I think we ate about 250 gms of meat per pax on each of our visit.

beef

pork belly

change of grill

After grilling the beef cuts, the staff came over to change our grill top before the pork belly arrives.

pair the meats with copious amount of vege

let's cut it up

getting there

pork belly, bite size

Second visit

The second time was just the next day, haha! Not sure if the boss recognized us but I would like to think that she did.

beef

pork neck

On second visit, we were only in a group of 3 as one of our buddy had stomach problems. Nevertheless, we still did at least 700 gms in total.

pork

enjoy~

The meats were well presented, natural tasting and the shop provides all sorts of condiments for us to enjoy with the meats. My favourite item to take from the refrigerated area (ban chan section) was the peach or orange. It was our dessert. Keke.

Enjoyable and definitely deserves to be recommended if you have cravings for BBQ. Go for the premium cuts as the price was reasonable.

Thank you to the bosses for coming to chat with us on our first visit. She even gave me a small Kelly beer glass as farewell gift. 감사합니다!

삼환축산 남포점 Samhwan Livestock Nampo Branch

Address: 7-1 Nampo-dong 3(sam)-ga, Jung-gu, Busan, South Korea

Contact: +82512487583

Business Hours:

Daily: 12–11 pm