[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.

QIN (亲) Restaurant & Bar @ The Clan Hotel

For guests staying at The Clan Hotel, the breakfast is provided for via QIN Restaurant located at Level 4 and 5 of the Hotel.

Was there again for breakfast and dinner during the recent staycay. Made reservations for dinner prior to the staycay via Chope as am not sure how busy is the restaurant during weekends. I do know the restaurants at that area tend to get very very busy on Fridays and Saturdays.

Breakfast

For breakfast this time round, I was seated at the bar area. My breakfast slot was 730am but I only made it downstairs around 8am.

Level 5

The daily special was nasi lemak, so decided to try that since we had tried all the possible combination of breakfast during our previous stay.

interesting ceiling

default breakfast items; bread with kaya butter, fruits bowl, juice

Hmmm, spotted a new item for breakfast. There was an additional piece of kueh on the plate.

The nasi lemak's portion was a tad too much for breakfast. Unfortunately, the entire dish was cold except the rice. The best tasting items were the sambal onion chili and the chicken rendang. The sambal chili was strongly flavoured, so might want to go easy with it. Liked that the chicken rendang served, was thigh meat. The otah was unexpectedly chewy/dense and the egg block was too compact for liking. Fluffier version would be better.

Daily Special - Nasi Lemak

To conclude for breakfast, I think I'd just stick to QIN breakfast with omelette the next time.

Dinner

This was my first time, the restaurant replied to confirm my reservation with pdf menu attached. I was having some minor issue updating the room number (couldn't edit it via Chope) so whatsapp'ed the restaurant and the staff kindly updated on behalf. Pretty efficient service, I must say. There are some discounts offered for hotel guests when they dine at the restaurant.

menu

My dining companions were late, so I got myself a drink to sip while waiting. According to the friendly staff, the #1 cocktail in terms of its popularity with female diners is 'The Five Kings' and #2 would be 'The Roar'. Hmm, Pineapple Pisco (The Five Kings) sounded pretty sweet so opted for the #2. Turned out to be a good choice because the drink is in my favourite hue. Coincidental and not on purpose.

The Roar - Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin @$25++

I liked The Roar. Sweet but not overly and the curry leaves bits in there gave it an Asian twist. Lovely.

MT ordered the Kurobuta as one of our mains and Wendy ordered the Sang Mein. I got ourselves an appetiser; The Chili Crab Crostini. And then, we gonna do dessert after that.

Chili Crab Crostini @$25++

Oooh, one thing I didn't realise, was that the chili crab was in jellied form. Pretty interesting.

Chilled Chili Crab

Crispy Crostini

let's take a peek

fully loaded crostini

On closer view, there were pomelo bits, avocado bits mixed in with the flavoured crab meat and it should be eaten together with the jellied top for that's where the chili crab full flavours are. Quite enjoyable!

Sang Mein @$38++

The Sang Mein smelled awesome but was a tad disappointed with the amount of prawn in the dish.

red leg prawn, crustacean oil and truffle scent

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the flavours of the noodles.

For the same price as Sang Mein, the Kurobuta Pork Rack with its massive 400g looked ready to satisfy any meatatarian cravings!

Kurobuta @$38++

The Asian salsa with its bright orange colour. looked like chicken rice chili sauce but it was not. Tasted of fish sauce, non-spicy and a tad tangy. Wouldn't mind if the sauce had a spicy kick to it.

The outer parts of the meat was slightly dryer than those nearing the bone. Overall, we were happy with this. Loved the grilled vegetables too.

We were surprised when staff sent over complimentary love letters for us to try. Wow, that's a super nice gesture. Thank you!

Rose Love Letter (complimentary)

The kuih kapit (love letter) was crispy yet does not crumble that easily and managed to hold the cream pretty well. Lovely flavours and enjoyable.

We also ordered their popular dessert of Hot & Cold Orh Nee and the Childhood Memories.

Hot & Cold 'Orh Nee' @$12++

so pretty

Am inclined to think that the "Orh Nee" while it looked very instagramable and of a visual treat, the taste was rather mild. I made a mistake and probably subsconciously had the expectation that it'll taste like what was familiar but it doesn't. But still pretty lah.

Childhood Memories @$15++

The staff who served our last dessert, "Childhood Memories" said "There's a surprise in this." Then, she left. So mysterious ah? What's the surprise? Is it the popping candies or the milo dinosaurs? We never knew, 'coz she never say. Hahaaa!

But indeed, there was some popping candies in the concoction and am inclined to think, is popping candy the childhood food for friends in SG? In my hometown or my era, popping candy 'aint my childhood stuff. My favourite item in there was the wafer-like thingy that melts in your mouth. Was it made of Horlick's? I hope it was! This dessert was cute.

All in all, dinner service was good and we were there for almost 3.5 hours. Wow. 

QIN Restaurant & Bar

Address: 10 Cross St, Level 5, Singapore 048417

Website: https://www.qin.com.sg/

Contact: 6980 3535

Business Hours: Daily