The Chinese Kitchen 厨神私方菜 @ 20 Cavan Road

Hidden in an obscure location (at least for Westies like me), lies a popular place for Chinese cuisine. The venue is cafe-like but boasts a boisterous, lively vibe synonymous with celebratory dinners. Our group ventured out to this place to seek out the good eats. And to find out, what makes this place popular. +Ivan Teh @jellymagically @msginginly and myself gathered on a quiet Saturday evening to this part of the world that's somewhere near Lavender.

The Chinese Kitchen

Reservation is a must if you're heading there for dinner on a weekend. We barely managed to secure the 8pm dinner slot. Thanks Ivan for taking care of that aspect.

This place has its dishes curated by the former president of the Society of Chinese Cuisine Chefs (Singapore), Chef Austen Ong. Wow, surely it is a privilege to be able to try dishes that the top guy curates!

If one takes a look at the menu, The Chinese Kitchen menu is said to be of modern Chinese classics. The way I see it, it is flavours of yesteryear's created in our times, using currently available ingredients.

Four Beauties of China (四大美女) - Wang Zhaojun, Yang Guifei, Xi Shi and Diaochan

From the outside, it was seemingly quiet. Open the entrance door and be greeted with lively banter, and boisterous diners making merry. There was a large group of diners in their fifties celebrating birthday, a few tables of family dining together, one with young children and a table of adults in their thirties enjoying wine. The place seemed rather popular with the silver age group.

drinks counter

Our modus operandi is simple. Each choose one dish to order. The motto is not to over-order. Kris chose the signature dish of Garoupa in Old Fifties Collagen Broth (standard size). Jen chose the Charcoal Grilled Iberico Pork Neck, and my choice was the Old Sixties Style "Hor Fun". Ivan chose small plates of Pork Trotter Jelly and Deep Fried Tofu Coated with Sakura Prawns.

signature dish

menu

For drinks, we went with the staff recommendation of housemade herbal drink of luohan fruit. One jug of those serves 4 glasses. Just nice for our table. Can choose to have it warm or cold. The drink was thick and nicely sweetened. Good to have something cooling once in a while.

Luohan drink @$10 per jug

It was just a short wait before the food is out. As expected, the signature dishes arrived first. The Pork Trotter Jelly was very appetising and refreshing at the same time. The jelly was firm and flavours were balanced. I think I'd like this with wine too!

Pork Trotter Jelly, Passion fruit infused Cucumber (百香脆瓜猪脚冻) @$8

However, the cucumber wrestled the limelight from the trotter jelly. Well pickled and its taste was memorable. One of our favourite.

surprise star - passion fruit infused cucumber

Charcoal Grilled Iberico Pork Neck Fillet with Honey Pineapple Sauce (炭烤黑豚梅头肉) @$14

We love meats and the grilled iberico pork neck addressed this need nicely. It was a rather thin fillet, tender with light flavours on its own. A dip into the honey pineapple sauce jazzed the meat up to a savoury sweet, appetizing flavour. Yums.

Garoupa in Old Fifties Collagen Broth （五十年代老火炖汤红石板鱼) @$38

The signature dish of the Garoupa in Old Fifties Collagen Broth was served in a claypot. In it, there are chunks of fried fish, cabbage and some tomato. The broth was comforting and just rightly seasoned. Tasty but not too rich. In terms of similarity, it tasted somewhat like those charcoal fish head steamboat soup minus the yam.

Deep Fried Tofu coated with Sakura Prawns Crusts (樱花虾炸白玉) @$8 

The tofu was the last appetizer to arrive. It surprised me a little as I was expecting sakura prawns scattered onto the tofu. Instead, the sakura prawns are actually mixed into the thin batter coating the tofu. If you taste the tofu on its own, there's a hint of the sakura prawns flavour. Liked the flavour better after dipping it into the tartar/mayo sauce as it was a tad bland on its own.

Asked the young staff who was taking our drinks order on what is this "Old Sixties Style Hor Fun" and from his reply, it seemed that we should be expecting soft gooey flat noodles in braised sauce that's popular in the sixties. This plate of hor fun was also the dish that took the longest time to arrive at our table.

Old Sixties Style "Hor Fun" (六十年代炒河粉) @$14

Its appearance seemed simple. Light coloured braise sauce, well covering the noodles underneath. There are a few huge prawns, some lala (clams), greens and slices of meat. Dig in, and we found some thin hor fun (like those Ipoh hor fun kind) underneath. Yay!

old skool hor fun

Liked the hor fun and it was a pleasant comfort food experience. The crunchy kai lan was a bonus and there were chicken gizzard in there as well. Hints of wok-hei too.

Overall, it was a good experience, wholesome flavour and tasty food with reasonable pricing. The washroom is equipped with hand-railing. Useful for the older folks. Very thoughtful.

Friendly staff and good vibes all round. Expect to spend about $25 to $35 per pax.

厨神私房菜: The Chinese Kitchen

Location: 20 Cavan Rd, Singapore 209851
Contact: 6612 6024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechinesekitchensg/
Reservation: via Chope

[Media Invite] BurgerUP Express @ Northpoint City South Wing #B2-113

Did you know that there is a homegrown label for gourmet burger/sliders? BurgerUP may be familiar to some (especially those who frequents Punggol Waterway) and perhaps to many of us, the name may yet to ring a bell. BurgerUP is a local player in the fast-food market specializing in gourmet burgers/sliders.

So what maketh a gourmet food? Wikipedia defines gourmet as

"a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, often quite rich courses. The term and its associated practices are usually used positively to describe people of refined taste and passion. Gourmet food tends to be served in smaller, more expensive, portions."

Smaller portion is definitely correct, and gourmet is often associated with premium ingredients and a somewhat laborious processes in getting the final product.

At $9 and $10 nett respectively, BurgerUP Express at Northpoint City South Wing is serving customers the White/Black Series Value Meal. A single gourmet slider (ala-carte) is priced at $4.80 and $5.50 for the White burgers and Black sliders. Hence, the value meal will get you two sliders (White - Fish/Chicken, or Black - Lamb/Beef), a drink and a fries.

White and Black Series Burgers, with sides of mushroom and fish

Though gourmet, do not expect cutlery like fork and knife and plates for the burger. It is still served in paper boxes typical of burger takeaways. As all sliders are made upon order, so one will need to allow about 15 to 20 minutes of wait time before the order is ready.

ingredients are listed on the sticker

Was excited to see lamb on its menu, and that'll be the first target. The sliders are about 3 inches in diameter while a normal burger would be around 4 to 4.5 inches. Basic ingredients in all of its sliders would include melted cheddar, coral greens and a slice of tomato. For Black series, the handmade buns are charcoal buns while the White series, has handmade sesame buns.

65gms of lamb patty slider (Black series)

lifted to reveal fried emmental cheese

easy handling with one palm

The patty was thick and jus was oozing from the burger. Do eat it while it is hot, as that'll be the best time to get the crisp of the fried emmental cheese contrasting texture with the juicy lamb patty. A hint of bitterness from the fried cheese. Not much gameyness in the patty and that made it tough to discern whether it was lamb! Liked that they had kept the sauce to a minimum, and the flavours in the slider matched well.

thick, juicy lamb patty

If you don't like red meat, how about white meat then? Fish slider that's made out of the best part of the fish (no, not the cheeks as the yield is low) but the mid-part of the fish. Dory that's deep fried to a brown crisp, and one that was able to maintain its crispyness even after 15 minutes. The fish slider is the only slider that does not have the fried emmental cheese.

Fish Slider (55 gms) with sesame bun, mayo, tomato, coral greens, cheddar, tartar sauce

lovely fillet

The chicken patty is made up of minced chicken thigh meat, kneaded with cheese and cooked till a moist juicy center is formed. The chicken patty has an interesting texture and a nice flavour.

Chicken Slider with cheese center

Also tried the sides such as fried mushroom and fried fish bites. Liked the fried mushrooms as it was a huge juicy mushroom goodness!

Fried mushrooms

lovely shrooms

fried fish bites

Last but not least, the beef slider which is said to be the favourite amongst many. Expect nothing but thick meaty patty made of the fine cuts where Chef Alvin has mastered the art of lean to fat ratio. The chuck meat gave it a firm enjoyable bite.

Beef Slider (Black series) with its creator, Chef Alvin in the background

BurgerUP Express counter

The Black and White Value Meal series offers good value. With just $10, one could enjoy not just one gourmet sliders but two! (plus a drink and a side). BurgerUP Waterway is halal certified and BurgerUP Express at Northpoint will be following suit. They are also expanding into our neighbouring country so look forward to BurgerUP overseas!

Thank you Beth and Freda for the invite, and Chef Alvin and BurgerUP Express for hosting the tasting.

BurgerUP Express

Location: Yishun Northpoint City South Wing #B2-113

Website: http://www.burgerup.com.sg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurgerUpSG/

[Media Invite] Takumen Ramen Gallery ラーメンギャラリー 宅麺 @ 66 Circular Road

This small eatery located at 66 Circular Road (somewhere near Boat Quay), has a narrow entrance and a large Samurai statue holding a bowl of ramen. Takumen aims to deliver the flavours of popular ramen shops in Japan right at this Ramen Gallery, minus the queue.

ramen

step right in for delicious ramen 

Expect brands such as Honda Shoten, Sakutaya, Chibakara, Hajime, Bingiri and Do.Miso. Each of these brands specializes in flavours such as Tonkotsu, Iekei, Jiro-style, Toripaitan, Katsuraa-style Tantan-men and Tokyo-style Miso Ramen.

Was invited to try Hajime and Do.Miso. The experience felt somewhat like those cosy ramen bar in Japan, where one squeezed into the small space with the hope to enjoy a hot bowl of tasty ramen on a cold night. Except, instead of cold nights, often times, it will be hot and humid mostly. Not to worry, as ice-cold water (complimentary) or a mug of Asahi beer will balance that out. Noticed that they have a buy 1-get-1 free for alcoholic beverages on weekdays from 3pm to closing and all-day weekends. Terms and conditions applies, hence do check with the staff.

interior

Hajime

Do.Miso

The kitchen staff works tightly to deliver hot bowls of ramen to awaiting customers. It was interesting to see a lady in the kitchen of a ramen place.

soon to be filled bowls of delicious ramen

If you're feeling peckish, there's a bowl of hard-boiled egg at the small table near the entrance. Feel free to take as much as you need. I can barely finish a bowl of ramen on my own, much less to eat additional hard boiled eggs...

hard boiled eggs

What type of ramen do you prefer? The lighter or stronger flavours?

Do.Miso Ramen (front) and Hajime (back) - photo credit: @jellymagically

Ramen Hajime was a two-time winner for 2010-2011 Tokyo Ramen of the Year, in the shio ramen category. For Singapore, we can get its Tori Paitan ramen, which is a white chicken broth ramen served with tender, boiled chicken breast, spring onions and menma. The soup was silky smooth and creamy.

Hajime Tori Paitan 

Hajime Tori Paitan flavours are indeed light, yet creamy enough to have a hint of lip-smacking collageny goodness. The flat noodles were springy and delivers just enough of the soup to ensure a healthy tasting mouthful.

springy noodles in white chicken broth

Personally, am more of a fan of stronger tasting ramen and specifically miso or tonkotsu broth. These days am more into aka miso ramen.

Do.Miso speciaizes in miso ramen and uses a unique blend of 5-types of red miso (including sweet Edo Ama-miso and mild Shinshu miso) resulting in tasty, rich flavourful miso broth. Lovely. Just my type of ramen.

ど・みそ - bite-sized bowl when sharing with friends

The Do.Miso broth was not spicy and on first taste, one could savour the roasted sesame flavours. Nice. Each bite had a combination of sweet corn, miso broth and plenty of cabbages and beansprouts. This noodle variant is very much to my liking. Ajitama is a must-have for any ramen. If you ask me, I'd go for the 'everything also have' ramen bowl. Usually marked as special in the menu. The 'everything' usually simply meant that the ramen bowl comes with ajitama and char shiu.

The char shiu for the Do.Miso is of the belly and shoulder parts. Both equally tender and not too fatty. While we were there, we could hear other patron busy slurping his bowl of ramen. That's a good sign at any ramen shop!

Oh, you may want to try the gyoza if you are at Takumen. I heard that their gyoza is made of Iberian pork. For myself, I'd order up the karaage as a side-dish for the ramen.

In terms of favourites, it seems like Sakutaya ramen is the current 人气 ramen at Takumen. This style of ramen is said to be in the style of the famous Yoshimuraya of Yokohama. Maybe, I'll try this next time to understand more.

award winning ramen

signage

Thank you Shermaine for the invite and The Ramen Gallery for hosting the tasting. Takumen is at the same stretch as Hitsuji Club and Tendon Kohaku.

[Media Invite] King's Laksa Steamboat @ 17 Teck Chye Terrace

Steamboat, we have eaten alot. What is your favourite soup base? Soup base such as chicken, tomato, mala soup are the common ones. How about laksa? At King's Laksa Steamboat, you can have that along with chicken/mala/herbal soup, and buffet-styled. On top of that, it offers tasty cooked food such as har jeong gai (prawn paste chicken wings), fried tofu, luncheon meat, spring-rolls, tiny fish balls and mini man-tous. Wow, and the price per adult is just $26.80++ for dinner with dining duration of 120 minutes. Really 一个价钱，吃到饱! Last order for dinner is 10pm. And, did I mention there's free flow drinks, ice-cream and pudding too?

after that, will diet?

Location wise, it is somewhere near Boundary Road, Serangoon area. Within 10 minutes walking distance from Serangoon NEX. The dining area is pretty spacious. However, the buffet and drinks area is narrow, so it could be rather cramped when many wants to take their food or drinks.

dining area

buffet counter

drinks area

There is calamansi, sour plum and water chestnut drink from the dispenser. Otherwise, bottled unsweetened oolong (for sharing) is also available.

The main items could be ordered via an order plastic sheet. Just tick whichever items that you fancy, indicate table number and portions to order. Must-orders for cooked food are the prawn paste chicken wings, the fried tofu and man-tou. For the raw food, must-orders are the flower crab, pork belly, fish dumplings and squid.

let's start with these

all ready

We had the laksa and chicken soup bases in our yin-yang pot. Happy to see fried pig's skin and fried beancurd skin for the laksa broth. So matching!

mushrooms and vegetables from the self-service section

The portion of meat was generous but most were lean meat, hence, try not to overcook them otherwise, it would be pretty tough to chew. I liked the thinly sliced pork belly the most as it had a softer texture than the chicken (breast meat only) and the beef (no fats!). The lamb was special and cut into pretty tiny pieces. Gamey but not overly tough.

bubbling away

While the raw ingredients are getting their sauna bath, munch of the freshly cooked items. For lovers of luncheon meat, you can eat till your heart's content. Liked the fried tofu too. It was drizzled with sweet Thai chili sauce.

repeated orders for this!

belachan chili for the prawn paste chicken wings

deep fried platter - prawn paste chicken wings, luncheon meat and fried fishballs

fried tofu with sweet thai chili sauce

fried man-tou that's good on its own

The flower crabs were fresh and cooks easily in the boiling hot broth. Enjoyed it and it was on our repeat order. Loved the smooth texture of the fish dumplings. So good but we discovered it a tad late, meaning, we were too full!

flower crabs

fish paste dumplings (foreground) and beef (background)

The secret to the laksa broth was of the more premium dried shrimps used. The laksa broth was rich and full-bodied. It could get rather salty towards the end, so it would be best to kept it topped up. It wasn't spicy, so it can be enjoyed by most.

the secret

One tip when ordering meat is to order about half the number of pax. If not enough, then order again. This will keep the meat fresh and not sitting on the table for too long.

After all the heaty fried food, it was time to cool down with ice-cream. The ice-cream is located at the cashier. There are about 5 flavours; corn, yam, mint, chocolate, and strawberry. My favourite was the yam.

ice-cream!

Thank you Ivan for the invite and King's Laksa Steamboat for hosting the tasting.

King's Laksa Steamboat website: https://kinglaksa.com