Showing posts with label hotpot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotpot. Show all posts

Saturday, June 3, 2023

[Tasting] Sichuan Alley 川巷 @ 51 Telok Ayer

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If you're around the vicinity, and has cravings for some noodles or, a cocktail or two with small plates, Sichuan Alley may have just the thing that you're looking for. Fuss free and straight forward. Let's have a look at their menu. This was an invited tasting.

Sichuan Alley

If you're thinking that the location looks familiar, you're right. This was formerly occupied by Basdban.

Sichuan Alley caters for a variety of diners. There's plenty of small plates between $5 to $14 to enjoy along the oriental cocktails. Or come for their daily Happy Hour between 2pm to 9pm, and enjoy a pint of beer (selected) for only $8++.

For noodles lovers, we tried a few and it was tasty, plus generous portion!

food and beverages menu


food menu

I was curious about their cocktails which had very Oriental sounding names, like Bamboo Breeze? Hehe, it turned out to be a cute looking panda soaking in a bamboo container. Cute.

Bamboo Breeze (bamboo green tea gin, pineapple, peach, jasmine) @$16++

Bamboo Breeze was light and refreshing. Tasted predominantly of green tea and jasmine. I think this might be the Oriental version of 'Long Island Tea'? The panda, is made of chocolate but it was a tad too hard for my teeth. Only managed to bite off a bit of the ear.

Mister Kiwi (vodka base) @$18++

Chengdu Fizz (gin, kumquat, chia seed, sparkling water)


Had mistaken Mister Kiwi and Chengdu Fizz to be mocktails as it was sweet and seemingly looked like a cooler/thirst quenchers. But, we checked with the bar, and indeed, it has alcohol! So, probably not a good idea to gulp it down too fast.

With drinks on hand, let's have some food. Small plates first.

"Zhangfei" Beef Slice @$11++

Mala Black Fungus @$5.50++

The beef was smoked and thinly sliced. Tasted natural and light flavours of the meat. The spices added a touch of flavours but non-spicy. The black fungus dish hits the spot with a punch of flavours. Garlicky, crunchy and spicy. Am biased towards black fungus. One of my favourite.

My first time having smoked liver and I can say, am not a fan. There's nothing funky about it though, but the texture was something that I didn't find it appealing. 

Smoked Pork Liver @$7.50++

egg yolk in the center

Been wanting to try the fried intestines and finally managed to have it here. It was nicely deep fried, and the addition of leek is a good idea as the leek provided some natural sweetness to the dish. Doesn't feel greasy but has a good mouthfeel. Lovely with alcohol. Will order again.

Fried Pig Intestines @$7.50++

Eat, drink (responsibly) and be merry!

Ume Plum Wine @$18++


cheers!

Ume plum wine was deceptively easy to drink as well. Like a dessert wine. 

And when you have more drinks, then there's got to be more food. Bite sized dumplings that's familiar in taste with ample meaty flavours. The sauce looked fiery but actually, pretty mild. Not to worry if you're not too good with spices. This one is only at level 0.5 in terms of heat. Yes, looks can be deceptive. The mala fungus was probably more spicy than these two.

Crispy Pork Dumplings @$6++

Hot & Sour Pork Dumplings @$6++

Braised Ox Tongue @$11++


Other unique finds would be the Braised Ox Tongue. On-point texture and pretty tasty with all the sauce and condiments. Thank you Chef Eugene for the never ending line of food on our table!

Braised Beef with Bamboo Shoots @$9++

Braised Beef with Bamboo Shoots managed to win me over with the superbly tender beef. There's some smokiness in the bamboo shoots. Will order this again.

Lalalala Fried Chicken @$22

The Lalalala Fried Chicken is still available and still as tasty as the previous time. Portion size and the price has been reduced slightly. No, we didn't have it with rice this time round to save some tummy space for the noodles.

Let's slurp up some noodles at this point in time. Noodles are main course portion sized.

President Noodle (Red) @$24.50++

President Noodles would be what I deemed as "all-in" version. It has a big bowl of noodles soup, fried egg, some shanghai greens and side dishes of braised beef cheeks, intestines, crispy chickpeas and pork ribs.


At first, I thought the side dishes of the meats looked a tad dry but it was tender and easy to chew. Good. Was this spicy? Actually, not quite.

If you prefer the earthy mushroom-my flavours, then go for the Mushrooms with Chicken Broth Noodles. Wholesome flavours for a cooler evening.

Mushrooms with Chicken Broth Noodles @$11.50++

While I was wowed by the variety of sides that came along with President Noodle, the best tasting noodles for me that night, was the Fresh Chilies Minced Beef Noodles.

Fresh Chilies Minced Beef Noodles @$13.50++

give it a good mix

enjoy!


For me, this has the strongest and tastiest flavour profile of all the noodles that I've tasted that night. Thoroughly enjoyed this noodle dish.

No.3 Lady @$18++

No.3 Dry Gin, Lychee Liquer, White Wine, Pink Grapefruit, Rose

Tried a bit of the Black Plum Iced Tea (non-alcoholic) and it was good as a thirst quencher plus, it helps to cut through the fullness of all the food we inhaled. And, it's a sweet drink. Not sure why but initially it didn't occur to me that this drink will be sweet so I was surprised when I first drunk it. Haha!

Black Plum Ice Tea @$8++

Mini Hotpot @$14++


One thing about the noodles, is that it absorbs the soup pretty good so after a bout of drinking, usually I'd like to have some warm soup. The Mini Hotpot is perfect for this. Spicy 'malatang' with tiger prawns, tofu, homemade liang fen and mushrooms. Careful as the pot will continue to bubble for a little while after it was served. The warmth in the tummy was comforting.

It's a vibe here at Sichuan Alley and No. 51 Telok Ayer has a chic, vibrant nightlife feel, while next door at 51A Telok Ayer has a more casual feel to it. Both spaces share the same menu.

Thank you Kris for the invite, and special thanks to Chef Eugene and Sichuan Alley for hosting the dinner.


Sichuan Alley 川巷

Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, #01-01, Singapore 048441

Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/sichuanalley

Contact: 9755 1058

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 10:30 am–10 pm

Sat-Sun: 10:30 am–9 pm

Friday, April 15, 2022

[Tasting] COCA Leisure Park Kallang

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My first time at COCA although I have long heard about this restaurant. Been around for as long as I can remember! Was blessed to be invited for a tasting at COCA Leisure Park Kallang by Jennifer Yeo Consultancy.

Located at Level 2, the restaurant was easy to locate since it was either at this end of the escalator or the other.

entrance

buffet

typical table setup

Doing the regular buffet dinner, priced @$49++ per pax and with about 70 items from the menu. Diners would be able to order through the tablet device on each table.

For the hotpot soup, the staff recommends us the new Laksa broth and Hua Diao Phoenix Pot.

let's see the soup

Laksa and Hua Diao Chicken Hotpot

While waiting for the ingredients to be served, diners could get their sauce from the sauce counter. Remember to mask-up when moving there. Noticed that when staff was not busy, they would assist the customer in mixing the sauces.

COCA original sauce (front) and my original anyhow made sauce (back)

for Hua Diao Chicken soup


Thanks to the staff who prepared the Hua Diao Chicken for us.

immersive experience

all in

let it simmer

suitably dressed

For drinks, one could have the option of lemongrass, lime juice or water chestnut. It is refillable.

water chestnut, lime juice

let's begin!

thinly sliced meats, seafood, prawn paste, dumplings

Fish Fillet 鱼片

Fish Maw 鱼鳔

Green Noodle 菠菜面

Prawns 虾

Thinly Sliced Mutton 薄片羊肉

House Special Shrimp Paste 特制虾浆

vegetables, beancurd skin and mushrooms

table-full, so beauty-full

cooking the Fish Glue 鱼滑

The quality ingredients one gets from COCA, translated into a delicious meal. Fresh seafood is their strength and goes well with laksa and also the hua diao soup.

prawn paste

fresh prawns


If you would like to enjoy COCA Laksa Hotpot at home, here is the info and the order link is provided below:

Laksa Hotpot Set (Serves 3-4pax) delivery only - $88

- Complimentary Mala Fried Rice

- Complimentary Mala Fish Skin

- 2 soup base 两种汤底  (2 Liter each)

- Thinly Sliced Pork Collar 薄片猪肉 200g 

- Chicken Fillet 鸡肉片 200g

- Prawns 鲜虾 8pcs

- Chicken Meat Paste 鸡肉浆 80g

- Shrimp Wanton 云吞 4pcs

- Fishball with Roe 鱼包蛋 4pcs 

- Chinese Cabbage 大白菜 200g 

- Local Lettuce 生菜 100g 

- Emperor Shiitake 皇帝椎茸 100g 

- Green Noodle 菠菜面 2 portion

- COCA Chili Sauce  COCA泰式辣酱 (200g)


Thank you COCA for hosting the dinner, and special thanks to COCA staff at Leisure Park Kallang for your care.


COCA

Address: 5 Stadium Walk #02-01, Leisure Park Kallang, Singapore 397693

Websitehttps://coca.com.sg/

Contact:

62413833

Business Hours:

Daily: 11:30am–3pm, 6–10:30pm

Order Onlinehttps://cocahotpot.oddle.me/en_SG/product/8a818ed07f3442ca017f3ed8f28d3f85

 
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