[Tasting] Abundance of Happiness, Prosperity and Auspicious Lunar New Year at 金叶 Goldleaf Restaurant Katong Square

Goldleaf is a household name in Singapore and is an establishment that's widely known for its Taiwanese porridge. But I didn't realize that it has been in Singapore since 1971. Wow! Previously, it was located in Orchard but its current location is at Katong Square.

a mural of its original location

building exterior

entrance

Still hunting for a restaurant to celebrate CNY this year with your loved ones? Let's take a peek at Goldleaf's 2020 Lunar New Year menu:

credit source: Goldleaf

Let's start the meal with a boisterous toss to prosperity and good fortune with the Goldleaf Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng. Done in traditional manner, and the sauce had just the right amount of sweetness.

团员捞起 Goldleaf Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng

ready

收到!

huat ahh!

let's eat

Next, we tried the Fish Maw and Crabmeat in Superior Broth that's available in the Auspicious Set. Broth was flavourful and warms the tummy. Loved the strands of crabmeat in it too.

Fish Maw and Crabmeat in Superior Broth

蟹肉鱼漂羹

We enjoyed both types of fish served in the CNY menu; the Deep Fried Seabass in Sweet and Sour Sauce (from Happiness set) and the Steamed Red Snapper in Hong Kong style (from both the Prosperity and Auspicious sets).

We had good sized fish and the steamed red snapper had a natural sweetness to its firm flesh. Loved the parts with oil. Yums!

Steamed Red Snapper in Hong Kong style 港蒸红鲷鱼

However, my favourite fish vote went to the Deep-fried Seabass in Sweet and Sour Sauce. Lovely knife work on the fish, which allowed the fillet to curl beautifully upon deep-frying. Crunchy batter, meat that's well cooked and matching sauce with a good ratio of sweetness and tangy. I will gladly eat the whole fish! But no lah, must share ok...especially during CNY.

Deep-fried Seabass in Sweet and Sour Sauce 酸甜金目鲈

how to resist?

Another auspicious dish to eat during the New Year, would be the prawns so that everyone could 笑哈哈. The word 'prawn' in Cantonese has the same sound as laughter.

The premium Sauteed Prawns in XO sauce had such a homely taste that makes one want to suck on the prawn shell till all flavours are gone! It was that good.

Sauteed Prawns with XO Sauce

XO 酱炒虾

But, the Golden Cereal Prawns was also a scene stealer! It had a rich savoury taste with a touch of spice. And yes, I took a spoon to scoop up those delicious cereal to eat by them spoonfuls. Well, you'd be doing the same right? Right?

Golden Cereal Prawns 黄金麦片虾

pardon my dirty nail, but look at the prawn size!

Don't forget to eat your greens too! Lucky us had the Braised Broccoli with Scallops. I love scallops and broccoli. Two of my favs!

Braised Broccoli with Scallops 西兰花带子

Another dish that would please the older folks, would be the Mei Cai Kou Rou (梅菜扣肉) which is a traditional Hakka dish. The pork belly was well-braised although slightly lighter in colour and the flavours from the mei cai was simply awesome. Brings back memories with ah ma.

Stewed Pork Belly with Mustard Greens 梅菜扣肉

awesome rustic flavours

For the finale, we tried the Stewed Taiwanese Noodles with Crab Meat. It had genial flavours with a hint of sweetness. I liked it with some chili padi.

Stewed Taiwanese Noodles with Crab Meat 蟹肉炒面

For dessert, we had the Yam Paste with Gingko Nut and Goji Berry, or also known as Orh Nee (荔浦芋头). Doesn't taste oily and sweetness was just right.

Yam Paste with Gingko Nut and Goji Berry 福果芋泥

I've enjoyed the traditional homely taste of the Lunar New Year dishes at Goldleaf. Thank you Kris for the invite and Karen, Goldleaf Restaurant for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to the my foodie gang; Ivan, Rachelle, Alvin, Tiara, Hence and Tracy.

Goldleaf 金叶

Address: 86 E Coast Rd, #01-02, Singapore 428788
Website: https://goldleaf.com.sg/
Contact: 6344 1735
Business Hours: 
Mon to Thurs: 11am–2:30pm, 6–10pm
Fri to Sun: 11am–2:30pm, 5:30–10pm

[Media Invite] Bountiful Spring Reunion - 20 January to 09 February @ Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

With Lunar New Year just round the corner, let me show you what Food Capital under the helm of Executive Chef Jackie Zhang, together with his dedicated culinary team, has prepared for us.

But first thing first, there's an "Early Bird Discount" for Lunar New Year Eve Reunion Buffet Dinner and Fa Cai Yu Sheng Takeaway. Enjoy 20% off when you reserve by 5 January 2020. Hurry!

Fa Cai Yu Sheng

Let's start the year right by having a platter of this auspicious dish. Salmon or Abalone? Your choice.

mega sized Yu Sheng

huat ah!

Enjoy Lunar New Year Festive Buffet early, from 20 Jan onwards right till 9 Feb 2020. Available for both lunch and dinner at $68++/$88++ respectively.

Lunar New Year Eve Reunion Buffet happens on the 24 Jan 2020. Dinner: $98++/ $138++ (includes free flow of bubbly, house wines, soft drinks and juices).

Indulge in bountiful treasures pen cai, lap mei fried rice with seaweed crumb, stir-fried prawns with chili and curry leaves, yam paste with gingko nuts, dumpling with osmanthus honey and more.

festive decoration

pen cai (盆菜)

And I'd take a glass of M Wine red with the savoury flavourful food. Let's start with the salad aka the Yu Sheng. Traditional flavours and not too sweet. Lovely crunchy crackers in it.

Fa Cai Yu Sheng (发财鱼生)

M Wine Red

Next up, one could enjoy the cold seafood section from the buffet. And, the de-facto for me? Oysters, of course! Juicy, plump succulent oysters...so yummy!

plump, juicy oysters

One could pair it with a variety of sauces, ranging from sweet spicy to a bit spicier. Nothing too overpowering and the highlight, was indeed the lovely flavourful oysters. So satisfying.

fresh oysters and spicy sauces

After which, let's nourish our body and soul with a bowl of hot ginseng chicken soup. Boiled with seawhelk, chicken and bamboo pith, the soup had a slight bitterness to it that's attributed from the ginseng. Flavourful and felt awakened after that bowl.

ginseng chicken soup

Then, we moved on to the main highlight that was the pen cai. Noticeably, the ingredients for the pen cai included prawns, sea cucumber, abalones, roast pork, roast chicken, dried oysters, dried scallops, mushrooms, black moss (fa cai) and vegetables.

sea cucumbers

Here's a portion of the bountiful treasures of the pen cai. Flavourful plate with many treasures indeed.

bountiful treasures of pen cai

For the chili prawns with curry leaves, its pretty much localized flavours and with the prawn texture remained slightly crunchy.

chili prawn with curry leaves

To usher in the Year of the Rat, the fish has been transformed into a "Squirrel" 松鼠. I shall not comment on whether it is cute or not, but the fish was superb! Thought it was squirrel fish at first (in keeping with the theme) but Chef revealed that they used grouper as its meat was more suitable for this dish. Don't miss this dish if you see it!

"松鼠" 石斑鱼 (sweet and sour squirrel shaped grouped fish)

sweet and sour fish with pine nuts

Oh, if you still have stomach space (dessert space is separate, of course), I'd recommend the roast pork. I don't know how they did it, but the skin crackling was real good. Roast pork and yellow mustard combo ftw!

roast pork, char siew and roast duck

Another dish that's synonymous with Lunar New Year would be the lap mei rice. Or, is this a Cantonese tradition? Not so sure but my sis cooks this for us when we are in hometown for CNY.

Lap Mei Fried Rice with Seaweed (臘味炒饭)

End the meal with Lunar New Year dessert such as steamed nian gao, osmanthus jelly, yam paste and gingko nuts and many more. My favourite dessert was the carp shaped mango jelly. Refreshing after a heavy buffet meal.

steamed nian gao (蒸年糕)

mango carp jelly

pomelo sago in coconut milk in cute egg shell

yam paste with gingko nuts

Lunar New Year cookies

Thank you Gilbert for the invite and Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to Chef Jackie and team for the delicious food.

Here's wishing everyone, an Auspicious and Prosperous Lunar New Year! Huat ahh!

Food Capital

Address: G/F Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, 392 Havelock Rd, 169663
Website: http://www.celebrateatgcw.com/cny2020
Contact: 6233 1100
Email: dining.gcw@millenniumhotels.com
Business Hours:
Daily: 6.30am to 10.30pm

[Media Invite] GO Noodle House (GNH) 有间面馆 @ 313 Somerset

From across the causeway, GO Noodle House has made its way into the heart of Orchard. Located at basement of 313 Somerset, GNH uses a special family recipe for its superior fish bone broth.

menu

what would you like to have?

Have you tried their signature bursting pork meatball in superior broth with mi xian? The meatballs though had a dense exterior, its inside was bouncy and moist. The broth was indeed of a superior taste. The mi xian (米线) or rice noodles (looked like thick bee hoon) was done in Jiangxi province-style. The smooth strands of noodles were slippery and slurp worthy.

 Signature bursting meatball (pork) in superior broth with mi xian @$10.90++

mi xian 米线

Interesting to note that hua tiao wine (花雕酒) would be added to the broth when served. GNH has their own bottled hua tiao wine for customers to purchase and store on-site, so that you could add as much to the broth as you like!

hua tiao wine 花雕酒

For the noodles, the 5-years hua tiao wine is typically used. Had a taste of the 10-years hua tiao and it had stronger herb flavours when sipped slowly.

10 years hua tiao

To accompany the noodles, one could order fried snacks to munch as well. We tried the five spice meat roll (ngoh hiang), crispy fu chuk (fried beancurd skin), and gold coin bak kwa. The fu chuk was a tad oily but it was full of flavours! Loved the well fried treats!

Trio Platter (five spice meat roll, crispy fu chuk, gold coin aka bak kwa) @$12.90++

look at those skin!

Order up a bowl of handmade fish paste in superior soup if you want an unadulterated taste of the broth. More umami! The fish paste texture was surprisingly softer than anticipated.

Handmade fish paste in superior broth @$11.90++

For something 'meatier', go for the latest item in the menu; Fresh frog (田鸡) in superior soup with bee hoon. This was my favourite bowl. The meat was sweet, and the flavourful soup (loved the sliced bittergourd) was well absorbed by the thin bee hoon. Perfect combo!

Fresh (whole) frog (田鸡) in superior soup with bee hoon @$12.90++

thin rice vermicelli (bee hoon) - best pairing with the soup

For the beef lovers, you could try the Trio beef combo (premium beef slice, beef tendon & beef ball) with mi xian. The beef balls tasted rustic while the beef slices was lightly poached and flavourful. Wonder if it was marinated prior. The basil leaves added a refreshing touch to the beefy bowl.

Trio beef combo (premium beef slice, beef tendon & beef ball) with mi xian @$13.90++

loaded with ingredients

If you don't fancy the noodles soup (but why?!), you could try the Hakka sauce homemade noodles with century egg. In fact, I'd recommend the Hakka sauce noodles. It was that good.

This was my first time seeing century egg on a plate of noodles. There are fried lardo bits, shallots, minced pork, black fungus, and anchovies in there. Mix it well, and you'll get a plate of super flavourful noodles that had a hint of sesame oil to it. This plate was well liked by the group.

Hakka sauce homemade noodles with century egg @$9.90++

toss it well

Thirsty? Get a cup of the sweet and cooling dates wolfberry tea. I got the iced version.

dates wolfberry tea @$2++

Next, we also sampled a spicy noodles; the double bursting fishball (fish roe) in homemade spicy soup with thin bee hoon. The fishball had a gooey centre of fish roe. One needs to be careful when biting into this as its center would still be hot. I can't pinpoint the flavours of the spicy soup and it was probably just 0.5 out of 5 in the spice level. Not to worry as their house chili dip was really good and got kick. Just pour some of this over the noodles to enjoy a level up in spice!

Double bursting fishball (fish roe) in homemade spicy soup with bee hoon @$14.90++

hidden treasure inside

house chili dip

Thank you Tiara for the invite and GO Noodle House for hosting the tasting. My favourite bowls are the fresh (whole) frog in superior soup with bee hoon, the hakka noodles and the signature bursting meatballs.

GO Noodle House

Address: 313 Orchard Rd, #B3-37/38, 313@Somerset 238895
Website: https://www.facebook.com/gonoodlehousesingapore/
Contact: 6363 5323
Business Hours:
Mon to Sun: 10am – 10pm