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
Happy to know that one of the dish that I had missed the most since the first visit, the flavourful Salt Baked Flower Crab is included in the delivery menu! Yay! Will have it for the next round, maybe with one of the affordable bottles. Hehe! At the moment, am also awaiting for their classic KL Hokkien Noodles to be included. Then, it'll be an order to reminisce the classics.
Thank you Jennifer from JY Consultancy for arranging the delivery this time round.
At the moment, one could enjoy additional 10% off for takeaways and 20% off for delivery till 27 May 2020. For delivery, there is a minimum order of $50 to fulfill. Note that there will be additional delivery surcharges from their delivery partner for orders during PH or PH weekends.
Here's a video of the food:
For food that are 'saucy' like the fish head curry, it was evident that extra care was put in place to prevent spillage. Lovely and shows that the restaurant is considerate towards their diners. Thank you!
carefully packed
Traditional Fish Head Curry 亚参鱼头 @$28+/$50+ (half/whole)
Would recommend the Traditional Fish Head Cury. Am impressed with the sauce. Lemak, rich and with a nice spicy punch. The half a head was meaty and fed 2 pax adequately. If there are leftover sauce, it'll make a nice dip for bread too!
I was having a zoom dinner session with my colleagues and showed them the charcoal tofu. They were rather curious about the taste and it made me realize that not many have tried this before! The tofu was well-fried and it was still beautifully intact when arrived. However, the enoki mushrooms can't be compared with dine-in as it had turned soggy. I liked the light savoury sweet sauce for the tofu.
Charcoal Beancurd with Enoki Mushroom 金针菇黑炭豆腐 @$16+
The Salted Egg Yolk Prawn with Italian Sauce had a curious name. Like, what's an Italian Sauce doing in a zhichar dish! Hahahaa. I think the Italian sauce here is the Golden Sand sauce that we usually see for the crab dishes. Truth be told, I thought it was just a thicker version of salted egg yolk sauce.
Salted Egg Yolk Prawn with Italian Sauce 金沙香草虾球 @$27+
Venison with Ginger & Scallion 姜葱鹿肉 @$18+
An enjoyable meal of zichar favourites. If you can take spicy, go for the Traditional Curry Fish Head.
Thank you Jennifer and The Famous Kitchen for the meal.
Let's support local businesses and if you opt for delivery, there's a 20% discount from 18 to 27 May 2020 and for takeaway, there's 10% off at the moment! What's more, is that Famous Kitchen was recommended by the 2019 edition of MICHELIN Guide Singapore, and specialises in delectable Nanyang cuisine. How's that for dinner tonight?
What other things to eat in Ipoh besides the famed beansprouts chicken, ipoh gai see hor fun or dim sums? Well, we went to check out their zichar and the only place with some hope for a seat (it was drizzling that night) was Sun Tuck Kee. Everyone else seemed too crowded. The photo of the shopfront below was taken on another day when they were less crowded.
restaurant facade
Waited for about 15 minutes before we got a table and another 15 minutes before anyone came to take order. Yes, they were super busy and my dad was getting grumpier by the minute.
menu
Ordered three noodles as mains and 3 side dishes. There's baby octopus that's pretty chewy and good with the chili dip otherwise, not much taste. The braised chicken feet was good and falls off the bones but skinny. Meatballs soup were good. These took forever to come actually.
side dishes of boiled baby octopus (@RM17), chicken feet (@RM7) and meatballs soup (@RM1.10 per piece)
We were still hungry by the time the noodles came.
Hokkien Noodles @RM17
Fried Tang Hoon @RM13
The Hokkien noodles were well fried and tasty but the sambal was a letdown. Fried Tang Hoon was surprisingly good and one of the better dish that night. Awesome flavour for this rustic looking dish.
Next, was the wat dan hor which warranted a double-take. Why? Because it's the first time I'm seeing this dish served in a large soup bowl. I was like, did we order soup? Hahahaa, the noodles were all drowning in the gravy!
滑蛋河 Ipoh style
yes, correct.. this is 滑蛋河
Actually, the wat dan hor was nice. The hot gravy was flavourful and tasty (from msg maybe?) and made it more satisfying for us who were really hungry at that time.
where has all the gravy gone to?
Overall, the food is good and reasonably priced.
Sun Tuck Kee 新德记
Address: 65, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Pusat Bandaraya Ipoh 30300 Contact: +60 12 514 2228 Business Hours:
Daily:12:00pm - 03:30am
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.
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
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!
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