[Tasting] Kyoaji Dining 京味 @ 111 Somerset

Kyoaji Dining is located at Level 2 of Triple One Somerset. Kyoaji means “Taste from Kyoto” and it is a place where one could enjoy the warmth of Japanese culture and cuisine. Chef John Phua, Executive Chef of Kyoaji, has over 30 years of experience in authentic Japanese cuisine and has garnered many regulars over the years. Thank you Kris for the invite and Kyoaji, Chef John for hosting the lunch tasting.

Kyoaji

entrance

enjoy a taste of Kyoto at Kyoaji

For the upcoming CNY in a few weeks time, Kyoaji has crafted a colourful Yusheng platter to suit the occasion. The yusheng had lots of ingredients including sliced mushrooms, kelp, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, pomelo, pine nuts, sunflower seeds and bonito flakes. By default, the platter is paired with salmon, but one could request to change the fish to another type, subjected to availability. Just need to enquire and make your reservation from the restaurant in advance.

Kyoaji Yu Sheng 京味鱼生 @$48++ (UP. $68++)

colourful yusheng

The Kyoaji Yusheng is by far, the most flavourful one that I had! Lovely textures from the crunchy, nutty bits, wonderful savoury flavours from the bonito flakes and mushrooms plus all the fresh vegetables drizzled with the housemade specialty plum sauce that had just the right amount of sweetness to it. Yums!

all mine

The Kyoaji Yusheng is available from 16 Jan - 8 Feb 2020 for dine-in and takeaway. The platter could easily feed about 4 pax.

We also tried appetisers such as the corn tempura, which was lightly battered and had nice golden hue. Can taste its sweetness from the corn.

Toumorokoshi Kakiage (Corn Tempura) @$15++

Chawan Mushi in XO and Zuwai Kani Tama Mushi

lovely balanced flavours of the Snow Crab Meat Steamed Egg

If your preference is towards stronger flavours, then go for the fully loaded XO chawanmushi. Interesting, as I have not come across anyone who had done any hard liquor chawanmushi before! My favourite though, was the Snow Crab Meat Steamed Egg. So good. Balanced flavours that's light on the palate.

Bento @$35++

For lunch, one could opt for the Bento, which came with a side of small salad, chawan mushi, unagi, tempura, sashimi of salmon and tuna, pickles, rice, miso soup and dessert.

unagi from the Bento

sashimi from the Bento

Other than that, we also sampled the Seared Beef Roll. The beef maki was a palate pleaser. Flavourful beef slice with just enough oil to stand out, wrapping around slices of onions and good mouthful of sushi rice.

Gyuniku Aburi Maki @$30++

All in all, we enjoyed good balanced flavours at Kyoaji and the Yusheng is recommended for its awesome flavours and if you could get it at the promo price, why wait? Make your reservations today.

Lunch with buddies Kris, Ivan and Hence. Special thanks to Chef John Phua for your hospitality.

Kyoaji Dining

Address: 111 Somerset Rd, #02-05/06, Singapore 238164

Website: http://kyoaji.com.sg/

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

Contact: 6694 3058

Business Hours:

Mon to Fri: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10:30pm

Sat to Sun: 11:30am–10:30pm

Exploring Ipoh at a Relaxed Pace - Kajang to Ipoh | Ipoh Downtown Hotel | Hua Nam Coffeeshop

Was my first time in Ipoh and my sis booked us a room at Ipoh Downtown Hotel. We travelled from Kajang to Ipoh Station via ETS train. Journey was about 3.5 hours from Kajang Station. Think it was less than SGD30 for a return ticket.

arrived - Ipoh Train Station

ETS Route

Reached Ipoh Station at about 1pm. The station was constructed in 1894 and it has a nice exterior painted in white. From there, one could take a taxi or Grab to downtown. If you intend to get Grab, most of the grab cars are not that big and could possibly fit at most 2 luggages of 23-24" in its boot. We had 7 adults with us, thus it took us 3 vehicles to transport all of us and our bags to the hotel.

Ipoh Train Station

It was just a 10 minutes ride from the train station to Ipoh Downtown Hotel. This hotel is located near "Tong Shui Kai" (糖水街) or also known as "Dessert Street".

Ipoh Downtown Hotel

hotel sign

hotel lobby

We were given rooms at Level 5. There's a small sundry shop at the hotel lobby where you could get instant noodles, chips, bread, or ice-cream but with a higher than market price. Good for rainy days where you don't want to walk out but there's a convenience store just a few steps away from the hotel.

hotel room with 2 double beds

view from room

minibar with complimentary drinks

instant coffee

complimentary bottled water

bathroom

bathroom supplies

After checking-in, it was about way past lunch time so we decided to try the nearby coffeeshop. We went to Hua Nam Coffeeshop.

Hua Nam @ Jalan Leong Sin Nam

fried noodles stall

char kway teow  with cockles @RM5.50

cockles 螄蚶

The char kway teow was good. Savoury, well-fried and had a hint of wok-hei. The cockles (seahum) was of a decent size. On another day, I tried their "Kap Dai" (及底) noodles and it was essentially just fried noodles. Preferred the char kway teow over that anytime!

Kap Dai" (及底) @RM6

Also tried the curry mee but think there was a mis-commucation. Ordered a bowl with additional roast pork, and when it came, there was no other ingredients in the bowl except roast pork! Hahaa.

roast pork curry mee @RM6

roast pork curry noodles

My dad ordered the "lam mee" (淋面) from the Penang Noodles stall. Hmm, no particular liking for this dish as I still prefer the lor mee back in Singapore.

Lam Mee (淋面)

The iced coffee from this coffeeshop is pretty good. Not too acidic, strong coffee and milk that's not too overpowering. They also have a plum drink which they soak the plum in a large container to steep out the flavours.

iced coffee

housemade preserved plum drink @RM2.60

Also tried fruits rojak at the coffeeshop, and it was good too. Just that the turnip slices was a tad tough. Other than that, the rest were ok. Tasty.

rojak

The caramel custard from the coffeeshop was not bad but it wasn't made in-house. They got it via a supplier. First one that I had, it disintegrated rather quickly as the custard had not solidify enough. Informed the lady-boss and she changed another one for me.

caramel egg custard

Kedai Minuman & Makanan Hua Nam 華南白咖啡茶室

Address: 45, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak, Malaysia

[Media Invite] Celebrate Lunar New Year with Authentic Southeast Asian Cuisine @ Famous Treasure

We are now back to the first of the Chinese zodiac sign; the Rat. What better way to usher in new beginnings than having delicious meals at Famous Treasure with your loved ones?

Famous Treasure is located at Level 2 of Capitol Piazza and is an extension of Famous Kitchen (located in Sembawang). Read about my first experience at Famous Kitchen and watch out for this space as I will bring you an updated version soon!

entrance to Famous Treasure

interior

Famous Kitchen serves Nanyang fare, a Southeast Asian cuisine style assimilated from cultures such as Teochew, Hokkien and Cantonese. The place has an elegant and cosy feel, and is able to accommodate up to 150 diners, and has 4 private rooms available for booking. Suitable for business dining as well.

menu

Chinese New Year Menu

Prosperity Shun De Yu Sheng 顺德鱼生

Shunde Yu Sheng @$118++/$180++ (for 6 pax/10 pax portion)

Shunde is said to be one of the origin of our Southeast Asia's yusheng as we know it today. Revisit the taste of original yusheng at Famous Treasure, and what I liked about the Shunde style Yu Sheng, is that there was no need to jostle for the few slices of fish. It will flow to you naturally as it will be individually plated. Keke, guaranteed win! When a restaurant uses yellowtail (hamachi) for its yusheng, you have my vote already. Just take my money!

Shunde Yu Sheng 顺德鱼生 - feat. hamachi

The yusheng is available as à la carte order and for takeaways. It is also available on normal days (non-CNY period) and is available with 3-days advance reservation.

Chicken Soup with Morel Mushroom and Peach Gum 羊肚菌桃胶炖鸡汤

Chicken Soup with Morel Mushroom and Peach Gum @$68++/$138++ (medium/large)

close-up view of peach gum and morel mushrooms

Peach gum is the resin from peach and is said to be rich in amino acid, which allows collagen to be quickly absorbed into the human body. The chicken soup has a natural sweetness from the essence of the chicken, and light earthy flavours of the mushrooms. Peach gum was like a soft, collageny blob.

Roasted "Silver Hill" Irish Duck 爱尔兰金牌烧肥鸭

Roasted "Silver Hill" Irish Duck 爱尔兰金牌烧肥鸭 @$58++/$108++ (half/whole)

drumstick view

Imagine well roasted duck meat that has a firm chew yet still tender to the jaw, and best parts were those with skin and fatty bits that oozes flavour! My favourite piece of duck would be from the breast. Roasted "Silver Hill" Irish Duck is a signature dish which is also availabe in the CNY Set Menus including Success Set B, Happiness Set C and Fortune Set D.

Steamed Marble Goby "Fisherman Stye" 渔夫蒸笋壳

Steamed Marble Goby "Fisherman Style" 渔夫蒸笋壳

The steamed Marble Goby "Fisherman Style" is available in Wealth Set A and Fortune Set D. Simple flavours with premium freshwater fish. The meat texture was firm, compact and smooth.

Steamed Marble Goby "Fisherman Style"

Wok-fried Prawn Ball with Traditional "Nanyang" Style 南洋风味炒虾球

Wok-fried Prawn Ball with Traditional "Nanyang" Style 南洋风味炒虾球 @$36++/$54++/$72++ (small/medium/large)

Can I just say that the wok-fried prawn ball done in Nanyang style is a crowd favourite? Nothing beats a plump, firm prawn, battered and fried with 'saucy' coating that exuded familiar Southeast Asian flavours. It just shouts "YUM". Available in CNY à la carte menu.

one is never enough

Prosperity Fortune Treasure Pot (Pre Order) 发财盆菜

Prosperity Fortune Treasure Pot (Pre Order) 发财盆菜 @$388++/$588++ (small/large)

The pencai is available on the CNY Takeaway Menu and CNY à la carte menu. Loaded with premium ingredients such as abalone, fish maw, dried scallops, dried oysters, sea cucumber, prawns, and fa cai. The connoisseur would not want to miss the tasty vegetables lining the pot as those would have absorbed all the lovely flavours.

pencai - individual portion

pencai pot

Good news is that one could buy a small Pencai and enjoy a complimentary small Yusheng, or get a big Pencai and enjoy a complimentary big Yusheng. Wow, that's a good deal!

The Auspicious Set Menus and Prosperity CNY Treats Takeaways are available from 13 Jan to 8 Feb 2020, while the Prosperity À La Carte Menu is available from 25 to 27 January 2020. Please make your enquiries direct with the restaurant.

Thank you Jennifer (JY Consultancy) for the invite and Famous Treasure for hosting. Happy New Year everyone!

Famous Treasure Chinese Restaurant

Address: 13 Stamford Rd, #02-28 Capitol Piazza, Singapore 178905
Website: http://www.thefamoustreasure.com/
Contact: +65 6881 6668/+65 9730 7548
Email: reservation@famoustreasure.com.sg
Business Hours:
Daily: 11:30am–3pm, 6–10:30pm