7th Mile Seafood Restaurant 七英里海鲜 @ 18 Toh Yi Drive , Bukit Timah

Was invited to try this zhi char 煮炒 stall that is located within the 7th Mile Coffeeshop at Blk 18, Toh Yi Drive. Toh Yi Dirve is somewhere near Jalan Jurong Kechil. HDB dwellers whom are living nearby, could simply walk to this place for lunch or dinner. Very convenient.

communal dining

usual signage within a coffeeshop

Our host ordered plenty of food, and it felt almost like a wedding dinner!

First, we had the Steamed Sotong with Golden Garlic 金蒜苏东. I must admit. Never had this style of blanched squid dressed with soy and topped a plenty with minced garlic butter before. Very likeable. Tender sotong with nicely light soy sauce that's not too salty and fragrant garlic butter.

l

Steamed Sotong with Golden Garlic 金蒜苏东 @$25 (Medium)

Next, was what would become my favourite dish for the night. The 7th Mile Pork Ribs 七英里排骨. If the dish is labelled with the shop's name, it had better live up to the expectation! Verdict? I wasn't disappointed. The size of the ribs was huge, meat still retained a certain bite but not tough, and beautifully caramelized with such tasty sauce. Might come across as salty for some but I liked it this way.

7th Mile Pork Ribs 七英里排骨 @$30 (Large)

Next up, hae zhor 虾枣 or prawn rolls. Truth be told, have never seen such a big hae zhor before. As big as a golf ball! A mound of minced prawn and minced pork meat, with that occasional chunks of waterchestnut, wrapped with a thin beancurd skin and deep fried till golden brown. The meat has bounce and delightful to eat with the sweet sauce. Or, with the belachan for extra oomph!

hae zhor 虾枣 @$10 (Small)

Still missed the olden taste of hae zhor though. My hometown hae zhor would be smaller in size, with a ratio of more pork meat as compared to prawns and tighly wrapped before fried to a deep brown. To be eaten with watery chili that's vinegary, sweet and spicy. Yums!

Har Cheong Gai 虾酱鸡 @$8 (Small)

Big Prawns with Salted Egg 咸蛋大虾 @$25 (Medium)

The har cheong gai or prawn paste chicken was well marinated, battered and fried to the right colour and consistency. The wings were still juicy and best eaten with the housemade belachan sauce for that extra kick. Would have preferred the marinade to be of a stronger prawn paste flavour though.

The prawns were good and the light golden coating of the salted egg yolk was rather attractive.

How do you like your fish to be done when eating at zhi char stalls? Usually, my family would go for steamed fish.  The grouper that we had were slightly less than a kilo in weight prior to cooking, so expect the price to be around $55 to $60 per fish. For seafood that goes by market price, best to enquire from the staff prior to ordering.

Deep fried Grouper Fish @$6/100gms

Hong Kong Steamed Red Grouper @$7/100gms

Our final dish for the night, was the Crab Bee Hoon. A very imposing looking dish when presented. The crab was arranged as though it was protecting the bee hoon!

Crab Bee Hoon 螃蟹米粉 @$55/kg

The crab that we had, had probably weighed around 1.5 kg. Just take a look at its claws. So huge. Unlike other places, the version served here is of the dry bee hoon type. Expect to pay around $100 for this dish for similar crab size.

give it a good mix

let's dig in!

Dishes that got my vote for repeat orders (assuming a weekend dinner for 2 pax) , would be the pork ribs and the hae zhor or prawn paste chicken. Add a plate of greens as well. The crab bee hoon, prawns and fish would be for special occassions, or when cravings strike.

come on in for reasonably priced good food in neighbourhood coffeeshop

The restaurant does accept telephone reservations for food and table. In order to avoid long waiting time especially for larger groups, you might want to call them up ahead first so that food can be prepared prior to your group's arrival.

Special thanks to Mabel and Ken, and to the HGW team for the invite.

7th Mile Seafood Restaurant 七英里海鲜

Address: #01-97, Blk 18 Toh Yi Drive, Singapore 590018
Telephone: 64650833

P Bistro @ Owen Road

A quiet place to enjoy lunch. There is a lunch special for $15+ that comprises of a main and a soup of the day. On the day of visit, the lunch set had mushroom soup and for the main course; prawn and mussels capellini.

For munchies, we had the truffle fries. Pretty decent well-fried shoe-string fries. The capellini tasted somewhat like fried bee-hoon.

truffle fries

prawns and mussels capellini

Had the eggs benny breakfast. The version here is poached egg served on muffins and came with a side of baked beans and some salad. Liked the salad but the egg had strong vinegary taste to it, unfortunately.

eggs benedict @$15+

customary runny yolk

Service staff was helpful and took the initiative to assist when they saw me struggling with the ketchup bottle that stubbornly refused to pour out.

Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant @ Vivocity

"Let's go eat suckling pig!" Ivan suggested. We readily agreed. Moving about in a group has its advantages. To be able to enjoy this delicacy, one need to reserve ahead and to make a partial advance payment. Thanks to Ivan, these nitty gritty details were taken care off.

menu

here for this!

The restaurant was fairly empty on the day of visit. Practically had the entire section for ourselves! Was pretty interested in the wines displayed on the wine shelf. A bottle of Rioja, perhaps? Too bad the group eventually chose beer and cocktails over wine. Do note that this place charges for tap water at $2++ per glass and refillable.

plenty of room

wine

For a group of nine, we were able to order a whole piglet. A quarter of a piglet probably feeds 2 pax. I think a good suckling pig ought have good crackling with crisp skin, followed by thin layer of fat and tender meat. On top of that, the meat should be tasty as the marinade would have seeped in to add or bring out its flavour.

some paella to share

Ordered some tapas to start. Decided on octopus, brussel sprouts and deep fried baby squid. My choice of drink? Of course must try its house Sangria. I'd prefer mine red. How about you? Do you prefer red or white Sangria?

Sangria (red) @$16++

Pulpo Gallega @$19.80++

Pulpo Gallega or Galician style octopus, looks like a fairly simple dish with olive oil, salt and paprika. Was pleasantly surprised by the taste of this dish. The thin octopus slices were tender and tasty. Good to have it with a drink.

Chipirones Fritos @$18.80++

More bar food, in the form of Chipirones Fritos which was the fried baby squid with aioli. Well battered and fried to a crisp. Crunchy indeed. A pint of ice cold Erdinger, and a bite of crunchy squid sounds like a good pairing, yes?

Erdinger @$16++

White Sangria @$16++

We didn't forget about our greens, hence a customary plate of vegetable. In my entire lifetime, the probability of having brussel sprouts would be kind of low, so am happy that we got to eat some here. Turned out to be a good choice, as I enjoyed this dish quite a bit. The Coles Salteado or brussel sprouts with serrano ham was like a stir-fried style vegetable with savoury sauce.

Coles Salteado @$18.80++

For carbs, we had two types of Spanish rice; Paella Valenciana and Seafood Paella. Bomba rice is used and the stock for both seemed similar, and the difference was in its toppings. Valenciana has chicken, chorizo, prawns, squid, mussels and tomatoes while Seafood version has prawns, mussels, dory fish, and capsicum.

Seafood Paella @$58++

Paella Valenciana @$53++

Then, it was time for the star of the night. The arrival of the suckling pig, served on a wooden platter. Came with roasted skinless potatoes, served with a side of brown sauce, tomato jam and a small pot of its jus.

Whole Suckling Pig (serves 6 to 8 pax) @$308++ (promo price, usual @$388++)

cutting it up using a plate as a testament of its tenderness

all ready

Loved the suckling pig. Crispy skin, tender meat and non-gamey. All checkboxes ticked! Liked it best with the jam.  At first, would have thought that the jus that came from the piglet would be pretty salty, but it wasn't. Pleasantly mild, just like a broth.

yums

Thank you to the group of foodies that made the dinner possible. Made memories with you guys, of having had a whole suckling pig just for us.

Expect to spend about $80+ per pax.

Ginza Lion Beer Hall @ Suntec City

There were so many times that I'd passed by Ginza Lion Beer Hall when in Sapporo earlier in May. But, didn't try it there. Since Suntec has one, it's time to round up some friends to check out this place. Located at 3 Temasek Boulevard Level 1, aka somewhere at Tower 4. Nearest MRT would be Promenade. If walking from City Hall MRT, that'll take about 15 minutes or more. For me, thought it felt like an eternity...ok I exaggerate. But, it was far.

drinks

Happy hour (HH) till 8pm, so got myself a half and half @$10++ per glass. Half Sapporo and half Dunkel equates to slightly bitter deliciousness. For something sweeter, you might want to try the Iichiko Yuzushu (yuzu liqueur). By default, that's served on the rocks, but it tasted nice with soda as well. Soda cost a dollar more.

Half&Half @$10++ HH (non-HH $12++)

see through kitchen

For carbs, we got the truffle fries and the carbonara. Truffle fries was good, crunch on its outershell and soft in its inside. Strong truffle smell and adequately salted. The carbonara was lighter in flavour than expected but still enjoyable.

golden brown truffle fries @$11++

carbonara @$16++

For proteins, how can we not try the chicken wings? Was curious about its roast beef, so got ourselves two slices to share. The beef was pretty au naturel so use the horseradish or the wasabi to give some kick, but I think the ponzu sauce was quite necessary.

roast beef x 2 @$20++

chicken wings x 4 @$10++

Chicken wings, best eaten while still hot. Tasted like soy marinated and glistening when served. Goes well with cold beer.

Expect to spend about $35 per pax with a drink.

The Bap @ Velocity Novena Square

Located at Level 2, just next to Marco Marco. Business was brisk on a weekday lunch hour. Serves rice  bowls and ramyums. Styled similarly to fast-food joints, do the ordering at the counter and make payment. Food will be served to your table.

token to identify the table?

Chose "The Classic" which has beef. Top up $3.50 for a drink (limited selection) and a small side of kimchi.

The Classic (top-up for drink and kimchi)

green plum was not available, so pear will do

mix well and enjoy

The amount of rice in the bowl was quite alot for a small eater but would've been just nice for a guy. The kimchi was quite good. Liked the sauce used for the rice.

Expect to spend about $12 per pax for a main and a drink.