Chinatown Traditional Kitchen 牛车水传统小厨 @ Mosque Street

Located at 28 Mosque Street, near Chinatown MRT. Took bus #851 from workplace and alighted opposite of Hong Lim Complex. Walk towards Chinatown MRT and turn left into Mosque Street. From there, #28 is located at the far end of the road.

shop front

This eating place is flanked by a backpackers inn and a pub. During the night, the atmosphere becomes quite lively. Chef's from Ipoh, and the food here is Chinese zhichar (煮炒), or if one wants 'fast food' there's an economical rice too that one could point and choose those ready sides for their plate of rice.

table for 7 pax

Started off with radish soup (白萝卜汤). Light tasting and had plenty of meat. Those wobbly chunks of collageny goodness!

radish soup with pork @$4

Next was one of their signature dish, the KL Hokkien Thick Noodles with imported thick round noodles.

KL Hokkien Thick Noodles 吉隆坡福建面

One of the things I noticed about my friends whom are from Ipoh, is that they have skin that's fair and lovely. The Hokkien noodles here is also not as dark as their KL-cousin. The combination of sliced meat, cabbage, fishcake and prawns with the authentic round noodles plus topped with lard, offers diners a taste of KL without having to travel all the way there. This dish is best eaten hot, and with sambal belacan. The version of the sambal belacan here is different and more tangy.

sambal belacan

Next up, another signature dish - Salted Egg Yolk Chicken. A portion that's good for 2 - 3 pax, costs $8 only.

Salted Egg Yolk Chicken

moist, juicy, salty

Chicken was well fried, and retained that moist juicyness on its insides. Well coated with plenty of the salted egg yolk. Yums.

Claypot Snowfish, $12 onwards

My favourite dish for the night, was the Claypot Snowfish. If you cna order only one dish to go with the white rice, this would be it. Strongly flavoured yet not overly salty, and fish was amply fried till fragrant before cooking in claypot. Huge chunk of fish that's tender and smooth. This is one tasty dish!

snow fish, upclose

Fried Black Soya Sauce Prawns

The prawns' glaze was finger licking good, as it was both sweet and salty. It just takes abit of effort to peel off the shell.

Pork Belly in Fermented Beancurd

closer view of pork belly

The Butter Fried Fish Fillet is another dish that's a must-order, if you like heavier sauce. The curry leaves gave a nice lift to this dish. Best eaten while it is hot.

Butter Fried Fish Fillet

Also had a chance to sample their version of KL Wanton Mee. Nice mixture of sauces, well tossed and noodles was springy to bite.

KL Wanton Mee

Many thanks to HGW for the invite, and Samantha and Richard for your kind hospitality.

Chinatown Traditional Kitchen

Address: 28 Mosque Street, Singapore 059506
Telephone: 62229700
Opening hours: 8am to 11pm Daily (zhichar is available in the afternoon and evening)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChinatownTraditionalKitchen

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre (Pusat Penjaja Anjung Gurney) @ Gurney Drive Penang

Visited Penang island recently, and stayed at Evergreen Laurel Hotel at Gurney Drive. Did what most tourist would do, which was to explore the Gurney Drive Hawker Centre. It was a 15 minutes walk from the hotel.

evening walk towards Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Along the way, one would pass by coffeeshops, restaurants, cafes, malls, condominiums and finally, the hawker centre.

seafood restaurant where mostly tourist buses will unload

teochew food

Gurney Plaza shopping mall

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

One thing that I've learnt while in Penang, was on how to cross busy roads.

lots of choices

what to eat?

kangkung sotong

One local taxi driver divulged that locals won't be flocking to Lorong Selamat, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, Line Clear etc if they want good food. They would hunt down different stalls that sells tasty individual items. For example, a Malay stall along Jalan Macalister that sells very good stuffed fried fish or, a stall in Air Itam that sells assam laksa etc.

For myself, hawker centres plays the role of conveniently bringing lots of different types of food under one roof. Though, sometimes one need abit of luck (or do some research first) to get tasty good food.

Throwing caution to the wind, I didn't do any research on this one and just went around looking for things to eat.

what's a prawn lam mee?

Decided to try Prawn Lam Mee as I have not heard of this before.

just a small one and add a side of intestine

prawn lam mee

Soup tasted like regular Penang prawn noodle (or here they called it Hokkien mee) but not as robust. Ingredients were few and little. Almost meatless and with a thin slice of egg. Total cost was RM6.50 due to the added intestine (生肠). Would not recommend.

Feeling unsatisfied, walked around the hawker centre and spotted a stall selling apom.

snacks

Observed it a while, and looks quite good so bought some. Regretted not buying more!

sweet apom

small modern mini woks for the crispy ones

pancake making in progress

Two versions of the pancake, crispy or with banana version. Tried the banana pancake and it was good. Sweet, light and has abit of banana slice and some coconut shreds. RM3 for 6 pieces or RM2 for 4. One pax can eat 6 even right after dinner. It's really tiny, probably just 2 bites.

banan apom

with coconut

Platypus Lobster Shack @ China Square Central

Located at Nankin Row of China Square Central. Getting there was a breeze. Took the MRT to Outram, change to North East Line to Chinatown. Alighted and went up to Exit E/F and head towards the direction of Hong Lim Complex.

Am seeking out Platypus Lobster Shack as lobster roll seems popular in Singapore at the moment. Especially since that comparison article in The Straits Times last Sunday. Why Platypus Lobster Shack? Mainly because of its reasonable price point.

signs of good things to come

Not quite sure what's the situation so made a reservation, for just in case. Table for 2 on a weekend evening 630pm.

The place was rather small and cosy. Some tables are set as close as possible, leaning towards communal style dining, but not quite.

not quite share table

Most are here for its lobster rolls, though one may also want to order small plates (I'll share with you why). There's desserts as well.

Got a carafe of Momo-Lychee Ale, which was a simple cocktail of  Mexican beer and peach. It did look different from the ones at Platypus Test Kitchen last year. Not too sure if at Lobster Shack, this drink was supposed to come with the lychee fruit and mint leaves, or just plain naked like the ones we got.

Momo-Lychee Ale @$10++

Nevertheless, it was worth drinking. Sweet, fruity and thirst quenching. Serves 4 small glasses. For non-drinkers, fret not. A bottle of cold water would be placed on your table immediately, upon seated.

drink up, it's water!

How can one not order the Crustacean Bowl? Especially if it comes with a statement that read - Limited to 12 bowls each day. So exciting!

The bowl was served pretty fast, within minutes and what a beauty it was!

 

crustacean bowl @$26++

caviar, poached lobster, char-grilled cheddar cheese, uni creme, chervil leaves, honey ponzu

One word of advice? Order it as a main! The portion is not alot. It may even be too little for some. 

Shared the plate with my bro and both of us enjoyed this dish. Clean, healthy tasting and the smokey flavour of the grilled cheddar was interesting. Not too much, but enough to tease. The bowl had adequate lobster meat from various parts, and the meatier ones were sweet. Topping it with caviar gave it a luxurious feel. Well, anything with lobster already felt luxurious~

have you seen this guy?

The lobster roll did take quite a while to come. Glad we ordered the rice.

The Traditional @$22++ (set)

grilled buns, oh yes

butter poached lobster meat, roasted garlic mayo, chives and sea salt

The weight of the meat in lobster roll was good. Felt like it was value for money and of substance when held in the palm. The roasted garlic mayo didn't taste quite garlicky though. Overall, The Traditional had a very light taste. As a set, it came with salad leaves and potato chips. Couldn't quite taste the dressing in the salad though. Chips were a mix of spicy and vinegary.

Saw that Nicholas was around, so approached him with a question. Was curious to find know what is the most popular rolls that customers would usually order here.  Got to know from him that most locals seemed to prefer the Spicy Roasted Garlic and The Traditional. Am guessing that for those whom are trying for the first time, will likely get The Traditional. Akin to like, trying the original first? That was what my bro had told me when he made his choice. Thanks Nicholas for the snippet of info, and sorry if my approach was kind of sudden and out of the blue! Oops.

Actually, am much appreciative of all the folks in the food industry. Thanks to you guys, we got to taste good food without having to fly all over the globe. Glad that I finally had an inkling of how lobster rolls would taste like. 




Paid about $34 per pax for this meal.




 

Seasons Bistro New American Restaurant Gastropub @ TripleOne Somerset

Located at 111 Somerset, Orchard. Visited on a weekday evening, and just missed their 1-for-1 Happy Hour which ends at 7pm.

Place was fairly empty, and friend was apprehensive about dining here.

"This place is new. Let's give it a chance." I said. Truth be told, I was pretty much influenced by social media. So many had instagrammed, tweeted and blogged about this place. It was pretty compelling.

Restaurant was rather spacious. Liked the interior with its strong wood and dark furnishing. Wine glasses on the tables, lent a touch of class to the place.

sturdy table

on the streets of NY?

Started with a glass of Chardonnay from Domaine du Nizon, France. First thought? Such a small glass! Guess this was 125ml? Nice colour, slight fruity hint and clean tasting.

Chardonnay @$12++

Tried an appetiser and a main. Its tuna taco is well documented by fellow bloggers.

Seasons Bistro Famous Tuna Taco @$14++

with crispy shallots, avocado mayo, pickled onions

Pickled onions was nice, tangy pungent and sweet. Crispy shallots added that fragrance, and fatty tuna bites were the best. Tasty but didn't wow'ed.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken @$22++

Fried chicken was nicely battered and fried till deep brown. Batter has a kind of herb taste which I didn't like. Ate it with homemade catsup. Preferred catsup over ranch dressing. Succotash is a nice name for dish of corn, peas, red pepper cubes mix. Quite likeable with the cherry tomatoes. Was cleaning out the succotash while my friend wasn't looking.

Portions of food was not enough for the two of us, so added a snack of truffle fries. And, another glass of wine.

truffle fries with pecorino and rosemary sea salt @$7++

Not the best fries, but strangely addictive. Or maybe we were still hungry? Strong truffle smell, and thankfully not too salty. Goes well with the catsup/ketchup.

Hawkes Bay Chardonnay @$15++

Wine was nice when paired with the salty fries.

For desserts, tried their apple and plum pie, served with ice-cream. The (new) service staff that attended to us said it wasn't too sweet. Don't be fooled. It was sweet! Ice-cream was really nice.

seasonal pie - apple and plum pie

The above costs us about $144 in total, before AMEX 15% discount on ala-carte items. Expect to pay about $60 per pax.