[Tasting] George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer 乔治 海鲜 @ 81 Boat Quay

George Town Tze Char at 81 Boat Quay is a brand new alfresco dining destination that offers comfortable outdoor dining with a scenic view of the Singapore river. The restaurant specialises in traditional Penang favourites and delectable seafood. If you are headed there, it is very near to Elgin Bridge and within 10 minutes walking distance from City Hall MRT. 

(left) George Town Tze Char alfresco dining area

restaurant signboard

current promo

lovely view

Let me recall when was the last time I visited Penang...wow, 2014. That was such a long time ago! Never mind that, as we enjoyed all the dishes sampled here at George Town Tze Char by award winning Executive Chef George Tan, from Ayer Itam, Penang. Expect carefully selected fresh ingredients and well balanced flavours that's superbly executed.

dinner

Complimentary iced/warm water are offered to diners. While waiting for friends, how about starting with a tasting flight from Singapore's Leading Craft Beer; Brewlander Brewery. For $18, you'll get 4 x 150ml of each Brewlander; Love, Respect, Hope and Peace.

Tasting Flight of Love, Respect, Hope and Peace

Started with the lowest ABV of 4.5% that's HOPE, a Summer Ale that tasted hoppy. Heed my advise and do not to wait out too long before enjoying this light fruity beer. You're welcome.

Brewlander HOPE (150ml)

Brewlander RESPECT (150ml)

The one that stood out from this flight was RESPECT, a dark ale with ABV 5.8%. Tasted of strong coffee, malty and interestingly, somewhat reminiscent of the caramel flavour in those bottled chicken essence. Smooth and velvety with bittersweet aftertaste.

The favourite with the ladies, was unsurprisingly, LOVE. Aromas of all our favourite fruits of mango, pineapple and passionfruit, with a hoppy bitter aftertaste.

Brewlander LOVE (150ml)

complimentary nuts with every purchase of liquor

Okay, by now am hungry. Let's start dinner proper while we sip somemore, yes? 

XO Signature Hor Fun (XO三捞河粉) @$12

The hor fun was well cooked but not the 'saucy' type. The flat noodles were all buried underneath. Mix  them well and dig in! Loved those fried stuffs on top. Think there's dried shrimps, dried scallops amongst the mixture. Comfort food. My friends said it was spicy, but no lei.

jiak~

The portion of the noodles was good for one pax as main or, comfortably shared amongst 3 pax as a side. 

Next up, Pumpkin Prawns. Loved the sauce on the plump, crunchy prawns. Sweet, savoury yums. Wanted to eat more but limited to two pieces per pax. Hehe.

Pumpkin Prawns (金瓜虾球) @$20

enjoy!

Whoa, I was impressed upon first bite of the Rendang Beef Cubes. It was so good! The right texture that's of a good enjoyable chew and with robust flavours that's balanced yet strong enough to make an impression. Wow, this quickly became our favourite dish.

Rendang Beef Cubes (仁当牛丁) @$18

Delicious food calls for more wine, and one could try the white from Argentina of the Torrontes variant that pairs well with tze char or spicy dishes. The wine has a smooth mouthfeel, sweet aromas yet with an unexpected twist to the taste. Something different.

Crios Torrontes 2019 (Mendoza, Argentina) @$12 per glass

If you're a squid lover, go for the Thai Style Squid. Lovely good sized squid, battered and deep fried to perfection. Golden in colour, crunchy on its outside and tender and flavourful on its inside. The minimal drizzle of sauce was adequate. Goes well with ice cold beer!

Penang Thai Style Squid @$15

A dish that's good when dining out with family, would be the crowd favourite Thai Curry Fish Head. Good to share amongst 4 pax, and of course, you'll need rice with this. Yes, may even crave for rice. The sauce was that good! Typical fish used would be the  红哥里 or red snapper head.

Thai Curry Fish Head @$28

The fish quality was good, and its meat firm with natural sweetness. The sauce hits you straight up with its tangy-ness first, before the aromatics of the curry, lemongrass and tamarind were released. This was the reason why I kept reaching out for more sauce on my rice. So yummy.

more rice, more sauce

With so much to eat, let's continue on our vino journey. Are you a fan of New Zealand wine? How about a bottle of vibrant white from Matahiwi Estate for just $68? It has been garnering awards since 2016 and has a Vivino rating of 4.0. Here is a link to Vivino ratings.

Matahiwi Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2019 @$68 per bottle

Tasted fresh and zesty, with fruity acidity akin to lime with a subtle hint of light sweetness. To pair with seafood. Cheers!

If you need more finger food, there's the finger-licking Kungfu Pork Ribs. Baby back ribs glazed with a strong sweet, savoury glaze. For more heat, eat it with the pickled onion. Watch out for those tiny chili padi!

Kungfu Pork Ribs 功夫一支骨@$18

And for night cap, ended with Rojak GIN. Yes, you heard it right. George Town x Compendium is happening right now! Take your pick of Rojak GIN or Chendol GIN, or both *wink*

Rojak GIN @$12 per glass

Rojak GIN is distilled from fermented artisanal Thai honey, then re-distilled with juniper berries, lemon peel and torch ginger. Refreshing with lime, with semi-strong aroma of rojak. Easy to drink.

Overall, one gets quality, delicious and reasonably priced tze char at George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer, as well as a good selection of beer, wine and gin. The perfect place to chill and unwind.

And, do note that they are having a promotion of $1 oysters and $15 crab (terms & conditions applies) right now, so more dishes to enjoy!

Thank you Jennifer for the invite, Charles for your warm hospitality and George Town Tze Char for hosting the dinner.

Delicious meal shared with Kris, Hence and Tracy.

George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer 乔治 海鲜

Address: 81 Boat Quay, Singapore 049869

Website: https://george-town-tze-char-and-craft-beer-boat-quay.business.site

Contact: 6535 6277 

For bookings: Whatsapp 96823826

Business Hours:

Daily 12pm to 11pm

[Tasting] Wok Palace @ Fusionopolis

Wok Palace offers lavish tze char (煮炒) dining in a comfortable setting and originates from Wok Master and Coffee Hive family. Started from humble roots and now expanding its wings to bring a more refined dining concept with unique menu and inclusion of exciting new dishes while retaining some evergreen tze char favourites.

Thank you Damien and Angie for the invite, and special thanks to Anthony, Terence and Wok Palace for hosting the dinner.

comfortable dining space

Let's take a look at the colourful drinks that we had. The perfect thirst quenchers!

(right to left) Sky Blue Tropical, Passion Peach Tea, Lychee Mojito, Iced Lemon Tea and Honey Lemon

Or, one could opt for the beautiful blooming hot teas. So pretty with the flowers inside.

Blooming Jasmine Tea @$4.50

Do you love soups as much as I do? We started the meal proper with the Ginseng Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk. Is it just me, because I find that the texture of the sea whelk is pretty similar to chicken gizzard. Hehe!

Ginseng Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk (人参螺头炖鸡汤) @$12

Soup was boiled over a slow fire for many hours (close to a day's worth!) and it was love at first sip. Each spoonful contained all the essence (精华) yet not an overly rich taste. I enjoyed this a lot. Soothing and comforting.

loved every sip

the last few sips!

Next, we progressed to a light appetiser of Scallop Roll with Braised Daikon and Pork Broth. It looked interesting and I was wondering, where was the scallop... Can you guess?

Scallop Roll with Braised Daikon and Pork Broth (带子卷焖白胡萝卜扒猪骨汤) @$23.80

The outer layer turned out to be sashimi grade scallops made into a paste to wrap the minced pork, diced carrots, water crest, and shrimp. I loved the feels of how beautiful it looked with the dots of orange and green (from the diced items). The daikon was well braised and had absorbed the delicious pork broth. The scallop roll had a dense bouncy texture and the minced pork and shrimp package with the pretty diced carrots and water chestnut elevated the package further with a refreshing taste that complemented well with the overall sweetness.

pretty!

For tofu lovers, I would recommend the Homemade Kale Tofu. Nope, the tofu was not made out of kale! This dish is actually like any typical Chinese restaurant tofu spinach dish, just that it uses kale instead of spinach to top the tofu with crunchy savoury bits. The main reason why I liked this dish, was purely due to the soft, freshly made tofu. So yummy.

Homemade Kale Tofu (自制羽衣甘蓝豆腐) @$6

so soft~

How does braised beef cheek appeal to you? I'd normally have this at non-Chinese restaurant but hey, if Wok Palace has it, then yes let's try it!

Braised Beef Cheek with Organic Kale and Confit Tomato 红烧牛肉扒羽衣甘蓝 @$28

Visually, I was reminded of a Christmas tree. I kid you not. Pushing that thought aside, I appreciate the tower of kale. Yes, I needed my vegetables serving for the day and kale is one of the superfoods, so yay!

tender

The beef cheek was fork tender and leaned towards the sweet side. The sauce had hints of herbs and some Chinese spices. Familiar taste but sshhh, it's a secret sauce.

Wok Palace also serves dim sum and it takes pride on its roasted meat as well. If you had tried its roast pork before, you'll know that Wok Palace's version is different from the others. Take a look at the photo below and imagine the crunch of that top crisp skin.

2 Combination Roast Meat 烧味双拼 @$15.80

mustard dip for the roast meat platter

roast pork belly with biscuit-like crunchy skin

Signature Classic Roast Duck 经典烤鸭 @$17.80/$30.80/$58.80 (small/half/whole)

For more beefy taste, there's the Stir Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Red Wine & Black Pepper. The default doneness is medium well, hence do inform the service staff if you prefer medium or medium rare.

Stir Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Red Wine & Black Pepper (红酒黑椒和牛粒) @$28

For me, I'd go for the Kurobuta Pork Ribs with Honey Sauce. Deliciously sweet and sticky with caramelised sauce, and with meat that slids off easily from the bone. Messy but delicious.

Kurobuta Pork Ribs with Honey Sauce 黑豚蜜展排骨 @$28

If you're feeling extra indulgent, you might want to try the Lobster Broth with Crispy Rice. Served in a wooden rice bucket, anticipation builds as the lid was lifted off. The fragrance of shaoxing 紹興 or also known as hua diao 花雕 wine wafted towards us immediately.

Lobster Broth with Crispy Rice 上汤龙虾泡饭 @ market price

lobster broth

rice puffs in, and ready to be served

Once again, thank you Wok Palace for the introduction to the innovative dishes. Congratulations on your official launch!

Wok Palace

Address: 1 Fusionopolis Way, #02-01/02, Singapore 138632
Website: https://www.wokpalace.com.sg
Contact: +65 6909 9856
Business Hours:
Daily 10am to 10pm

[Tasting] Clementi Tze Char 金文泰煮炒 @ Clementi Tastebud Eating House

Located smack right in the middle of the newer residential blocks, Tastebud Eating House at Blk 208C would likely be the go-to place when hunger pang strikes for those who stays near Clementi Ave 6. There is a bus stop near the coffeeshop and one could get there via bus #188 or #51. Have you noticed the new tzechar (zichar) stall nestled amongst the other familiar ones? Clementi Tze Char 金文泰煮炒 has been in operation for over a month now and we were invited to have a taste. My interest was piqued by its claim of authentic traditional KL Hokkien Mee. Suddenly, there was a need to try!

the stall, and the people

First item to arrive on our table? The Hokkien Mee (yasssss!) nonetheless. Served in a steel pot, the portion looked pretty generous for one pax worth. There were lots of deep fried pork lard, fishcake slices, cai xin, prawns and pork slices. The noodles were on point but the colour was lighter than the actual ones.

Authentic Traditional KL Hokkien Mee  真宗KL福建面@$4 (U.P $4.50)

"Do you have the sambal belachan?" I asked. No, they don't have that. Whaaat! Now, that was an immediate minus-ing of points (imo only).

"Why don't you try it with this chili sauce instead? Not the one that you were looking for, but Chef's homemade version."

Ohhh, the taste was legit on first bite! Noodles done right, sauce and flavour were on-point! The chili sauce was nicely tangy and spicy and complements the noodles. Yes, finally! A place that serves up the taste of legit KL Hokkien Mee.

Chef's homemade chili

tai lok meen

Satisfaction was pumped up with the authentic traditional KL Hokkien Mee. We sampled another noodles dish and that's the sang meen (生面) which is done up ala Penang 江南生面, which I'm not that familiar with.

Penang 江南生面 (Jiang Nan Crispy Noodles) @$6 

The noodles were well fried and crispy without being oily. The sauce was lovely and not too overpowering. Loved the mix of ingredients on the plate. Plus, it has broccoli and black fungus! Now, that I don't see from the zichar stall at my workplace.

side profile

Now, if you're with family and would like to dine out, what would be the dishes to order from this stall? Let's get started with the rice dishes or what I'd call 吃饭叫菜 (in Cantonese).

First up was Marmite Chicken but the non-deep fried version. Served with chicken thigh meat (much like gong bao chicken) and the sauce was sweet and salty. Eaten together with the rest of the ingredients; julienned cucumber, sliced onions and sprinkled with sesame seeds, I was reminded of rojak somehow.

Marmite Chicken (S/M/L) @$10/$14/$18

We had the signature curry fish head and wow, the curry fragrance was so enticing when it was brought out. I could feel my saliva glands activated. The sauce was lemak yet not too over, flavour was awesome and rightly balanced. Doused the piping hot curry onto the white rice and scooped up some into the mouth. This dish earned a resounding yes from me, just by its sauce alone. It was that yummy.

Curry Fish Head 咖喱鱼头 @$20

The vegetables retained its crunch for a refreshing bite but I do prefer them slightly more cooked through. The fish was red snapper and its quality was superb. Meaty, firm and sweet. And very filling!

plenty of meat

For the finale, we had a preview of an upcoming dish (not in the menu yet) called 帝王富贵鸡 or Imperial Prosperity Chicken. Sounded like a CNY dish!

Half a kampong chicken (free range chicken) was wrapped up nicely with a loads of herbs such as 当归，杞子，玉竹，泡参，当参，维山，北其，川弓 before steamed for hours, resulting in slightly viscous soup and a very tender chicken in which the goodness from the herbs had seeped right into the meat.

Imperial Prosperity Chicken 帝王富贵鸡 

Depending on the size of the chicken, the soup could get oily. Indeed the essence from the chicken but preferably with lesser oil, ya.

Thank you Hence for the introduction and Royston for the invite and hosting the dinner. Compliments to the Chef and the service crew for the delicious food and friendly demeanour.

Tastebud Eating House and Clementi Tze Char

promotion

Watch out for upcoming dishes next month, and one of it I heard is the fish steamboat 鱼头炉. Happy eating!

Clementi Tze Char @ Tastebud Eating House

Address: Blk 208C Clementi Avenue 6 #01-01 Singapore 123208
Website: https://www.tastebud.com.sg/tastebud-eating-house-clementi
Business Hours:
Mon to Fri:11am to 2:30pm and 4:30pm to 11pm
Sat to Sun: 11am to 11pm