Daily Beer @ Telok Ayer

There were 3 things that stood out when I was perusing their online menu; fried chicken, craftbeer with localised names (hello Kampong Pilsner, Telok Hazy??) and of course, Ivan's favourite Fish Cake Soup.

It was an approximated 8 to 10 minutes walk from Telok Ayer MRT station (DT18) and one should head towards the temple/Telok Ayer Market/Hawker Center direction. 

shopfront

menu

No reservation is available, so our party arrived at 630pm on a weekday evening and only outdoor seats were available.

complimentary munchies

Order via the app and the food will arrive shortly after. Fried chicken took the longest to arrive but it was worth the wait. Let's see what else we tried for our party of 5.

Nacho Chips @$14

We took a bite of the nachos chips and we just looked at each other. Hmm, it tasted like a healthier choice version. There were obvious seasonings (cheese powder, seaweed bits and raisins) on the chips but those fell off as soon as the chips were picked up.

Grilled Dried Pollack @$28

The plate of grilled dried pollack looked impressive, I must say. Taste-wise, it was a close cousin of the nachos chips. Natural tasting and pretty much unsalted as well. Dunked it into its accompanying mayo sweet soy sauce and it was more enjoyable. The same mayo dip worked well with the nachos too!

Beer Flight @$35

Ok, the beer flight was placed in such a way that I can't see what is what. One can't pick the sampler flavours, so that night we were served K-Ginseng Lager, Seoul Weizen, Telok Pale Ale, Telok IPA and K-Festbier.

As per its name, the K-Ginseng Lager tasted of ginseng but it was still light and hoppy. Perfect for our hot humid weather. Bitterness level of slightly less than 1 out of 5. Seoul Weizen was smooth and bready, with a hint of bitterness that's slightly stronger than the lager. The Telok Pale Ale and IPA both have pronounced fruity fragrance that's accompanied by prominent bitter after taste that's between level 2 and 3. Lastly, the Festbier was the most different from the lot with its rounded sweet caramel malty flavours. I had flashback of chicken essence from this drink. Hahaha!

If you have at least 3 drinkers in the group, I do think the beer flight is a good way to taste multiple flavours at one go since it was served in a 200ml glass. The flavour that I really wanted to try on next visit, is the Busan Hazelnut Porter. 

Premium Fish Cake Soup @$28

We were glad that we ordered the fish cake soup. Lovely soup that warms the tummy. Classic tasting and there were chicken cutlet, eomuk (fishcake), and hard boiled egg in there. Enjoyable after a couple of beers.

Angry Bird (Original - whole chicken 8 pieces) @$30.90

Since it was our first visit, let's get their original version to try. Surprisingly, this already came with some heat (spicy). Nicely seasoned and freshly fried. Outside crunchy and inside was juicy even for breast meat. I had the wings and the ribs, and was satisfied with this order. Will visit again for fried chicken and craft beer.

Thank you to my food and travel buddies; Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Shermaine for the meet-up and the dinner treat!

Daily Beer

Address: 212 Telok Ayer St, Singapore 068645

Website: https://dailybeer.com.sg/

Contact: 66698090

Business Hours: 

Sun - Thu: 11:30 am–11 pm

Fri - Sat: 11:30 am–12:30 am

[Tasting] Sichuan Alley 川巷 @ 51 Telok Ayer

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

Website: https://www.facebook.com/sichuanalley

Contact: 9755 1058

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 10:30 am–10 pm

Sat-Sun: 10:30 am–9 pm

[Staycation] Experiencing Deluxe Room at The Clan Hotel Plus Nearby Makan Places

The Clan Hotel

Address: 10 Cross St, Singapore 048417

Website: https://www.theclanhotel.com.sg/

Actually, it is rare for me to be back at the same hotel, twice in the same year. But then, there were a lot of firsts for everyone too, so never say never!

First experience was superb, because of the room tier. Reminisce about the Apr staycation here. So yes, was a tad apprehensive of going back to the same place so soon. The Clan Hotel has 3 room types; Deluxe (24 sqm), Premier (31 sqm) and Grand Premier (36 sqm). Room highlights between the Grand Premier and the Premier seemed similar, with the difference in bigger room size and the availability of a bathtub and The Clan Daily Special for the Grand Premier.

So, out of curiosity, I went back for a 3 days 2 nights staycation in July and this time round, for a no-frills experience of the regular Deluxe room. Went to check-in at about 12.30pm because was stuck at home doing some work for the office. Was also unsure if I could do an early check-in, so that was that.

Similarly, I was greeted by the concierge downstairs and I knew my way round, so went up to Level 2 lobby and made myself at home. Saw Alex at the tea counter, but he was super busy preparing tea. Saw Sam who happened to walk past and greeted him by name. He was pleasantly surprised but he too, was busy attending to someone else. So, waited for another few more minutes before Jovena came by.

She's friendly and cheerful, and because this was a revisit, so the process was explained fairly quickly and necessary signatures obtained before the key card was presented. This time round, I was assigned to Level 16. Previously, I had enjoyed the view from Level 21.

Deluxe Room 24 sqm - King Bed

First impression of the room? Hmm, yes it was noticeably smaller than the Premier Room. Having said that, it was still the same King sized bed. Keke, so not much difference for a solo traveller.

view from Level 16

quite nice to lounge on the day bed by the window

The bathroom has all the necessary amenities and the standing shower was still pretty spacious for me.

spacious shower stall

shower strength was good

Super liked the fast dry tiles in the shower stall. Hehe, my favourite thing to do in the hotel.. is taking nice showers. But that'll be icky if the floor or the towel never dries off in time...

channeling memories of Japan travel via the warm seats

all replenished on a daily basis

Was there any in-room snacks for the Deluxe Room? Happy to say that yes, there was!

Complimentary In-Room Snacks - Triple Choc Chunk Biscuits and Ruffles Potato Chips

complimentary drinks in the mini fridge

tea

favourite Nanyang Ritual tea

loved the Nespresso too

Liked that they gave  4 different flavours of Nespresso, and replenished daily. Nice.

Of bak kut teh cookies and Nanyang tea

For this booking, am only having breakfast at the hotel for one-day. Which was fine since I had tried almost all their items in the breakfast menu except the ever changing daily special.

Overall, it was a comfortable stay, although I did miss the Orient Brew and the nice tea set in Premier Room.

Qin Restaurant & Bar

Read more about the experience at Qin Restaurant this time round.

Guccio Restaurant

Website: https://www.guccioristorante.com/

Because I was there during Restaurant Week or rather, Chef's Signature event by DiningCity, also tried Guccio which is just a few minutes away from The Clan.

Sarnies

Website: https://sarnies.com/Singapore

For the morning without hotel breakfast, I went over to nearby Sarnies to get one of their breakfast sandwich. The people there are super friendly! Being my maiden experience with Sarnies, was totally amazed by the size of the sandwich. Like, huge man!

bacon and egg sarny @$9.50

such a huge sandwich!

loaded with crisp bacon and two fried eggs

Yes, I enjoyed the bread with hot Nespresso. So satisfying.