[Media Invite] The Peranakan Restaurant @ Orchard Hotel, Claymore Connect

The Peranakan is an authentic Straits cuisine restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Raymond Khoo. He brings to the table years of culinary experience and an arsenal of family recipes accumulated from three generations. Many of the dishes are labour intensive with complex preparation and requires long hours of cooking.  Lucky for us diners, we can skip all of those and just sit back, relax and enjoy Peranakan food at the restaurant with our loved ones.

Location: Claymore Connect is within walking distance of Delphi and Forum Shopping Mall. Was invited by Hence to join him and fellow foodies (Elle, Ivan and Justin) for a tasting session at The Peranakan.

Claymore Connect

The restaurant is interesting. Brightly lit by the many chandeliers, and at every nook and corner, there was always something that catches the eye. Porcelain items, beautifully crafted screens, tiffin carriers and even baju kebaya. It was like a treasure trove!

The Drink

Soursop/Passionfruit with biji selaseh @$8++

Had a glass of soursop passionfruit with basil seeds drink. Served in a tall glass and was a rather nice thirst quencher. Just that often times, the soursop fruit got stuck on the straw.

While waiting for the food to be served, one could munch on the complimentary prawn rolls. Yup, those tiny popiah looking that has hae bee hiam (fried dried shrimp sambal) inside. These were rather spicy and quite addictive too.

prawn rolls

The Food

For soups, what are the first things that came to mind? Yes, you are right. That'll be Itek Tim and Sup Bakwan Kepiting. The version at The Peranakan has a mellow and mild taste. The kiam chye (preserved vege) and duck taste was rather subtle.

Itek Tim @$9++

Thought it was pretty interesting to see in the menu that one could add sea cucumber to the soups by topping up extra $9++.

Sup Bakwan Kepiting @$9++

For appetisers, we tried the Prawn Ngoh Hiang. A rather more'ish meat roll that was fried to a deep brown and then cut. Served with homemade chili cuka (vinegar chili) and sweet sauce. The ngoh hiang has minced pork, prawn and chestnuts in it.

Prawn Ngoh Hiang @$15++

Liked it when all the dishes were brought out at the same time and quickly filled up our round table.

just missing a few more dishes

Suggest to skip the white rice and order their Nasi Ulam Istimewa. Loosely translated as Special Raw Herb Rice. This was a plate of refreshing zesty carbs. Consisting of  raw herbs, vegetables, minced fish and salted fish. Enjoyed this quite a bit. Sedap!

Nasi Ulam Istimewa @$17++

Every Peranakan meal would not be complete if these were not ordered. Ayam Buah Keluak, Nonya Chap Chye and Babi Pongteh. Do you agree?

Ayam Buah Keluak @$22++

Nonya Chap Chye @$15++

Kaki Babi Pong Teh @$19++

The buah keluak is a curious thing. According to wiki, the fresh buah keluak contains hydrogen cyanide and is poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. Since this seed is essential in the ayam buah keluak dish, then extra care and meticulous preparations are required before the fruit/nut is edible. Is this the 'fugu' of the plants?

The Ayam Buah Keluak dish at The Peranakan differs from others as one buah keluak here actually contained two portions. A quaint tiny spoon is provided to dig into the nut. Tried a bit of this and found it smooth. It is still an acquired taste and so I will just enjoy the meaty chicken thigh and the excellent thick sauce.

Sotong Masak Asam @$19++

The Sotong Masak Asam is a dish of squid cooked in tamarind, palm sugar and starfruit. Not as sourish as it sounds. In fact, it was more on the sweeter side.

Satay Babi Sum Chan @$19++

As you may have read at other blogs' reviews, there's nothing remotely 'satay' about the Satay Babi Sum Chan (三辰) dish. No peanut sauce, no skewers, nope so don't go asking for satay sticks nor was the meat grilled. This dish was of pork belly rendered down till the fats melted into the sauce for an overall slightly sweet meat'ish taste. The sauce was flavourful and I'd drizzled lots of it onto my plate of steamed rice. Yums.

In comparison of the two pork dishes, I preferred the Kaki Babi Pong Teh. Cooked for hours, the pork trotters were tender enough but not till the meat falls off the bones.

All meat and no vege? There was. The second vegetable dish was the steamed ladies fingers topped with sliced onions, and chincalok. Simple dish but so good to eat. Feels like home.

Bendeh @$12+

Save some space for desserts

Oh boy. When we said we'll have coffee and dessert, we didn't expect another mini feast. But glad that we did. Loved the Pulot Enti Kelapa and the Pandan Chiffon Cake with Gula Melaka and Durian. Recommend the Pot of Malacca Milk Tea too.

Pot of Malacca Kopi-O (served with kueh bahulu) @$6.50++

sugar, condensed milk or evaporated milk?

Pulot Enti Hae Bee @$6.50++

Pulot Enti Durian @$6.50++ 

Pulot Enti Kelapa @$5++

Make sure you try the Pandan Gula Melaka Cake with Durian. Chef had removed the fibre from the durian, so one gets a fragrant smooth sauce. The hot lemongrass tea is also a good option for those who like to have a not so sweet drink paired with the desserts.

Pandan Gula Melaka Cake @$6.50++

Pandan Gula Melaka Cake with Durian @$8++

Also worth mentioning is the Pineapple Tart. Buttery and with just the right sweetness of the fruit.

The Peranakan Restaurant also offers Peranakan High Tea from 11am to 530pm daily @$24++ and @$28++ per pax on weekdays and weekends. If you'd like to experience a Tok Panjang feast, simply order a day in advance so that Chef and his crew can prepare the ingredients prior to your visit. Tok Panjang is available @$45++ and @$65++ per pax. Both the High Tea and Tok Panjang requires a minimum of 2 pax dining. An 8-course degustation menu is available @$88++ per pax.

You may also let Chef Raymond decides on the menu via the Chef's Table experience. The Chef's Table seats 8 and requires 3-days advance booking notice. Yes, pretty much omakase-style of dining and its price of $288++ per pax is inclusive of wine and sake pairing.

Thank you Chef Raymond and his team at The Peranakan for their warm hospitality and Hence for the invite.

Loof Rooftop Bar @ Odeon Towers

Tucked away at Level 3 of Odeon Towers at 331 North Bridge Road, there lies a cool rooftop bar called Loof. Suspected that it's called Loof 'cause pronounced the 'lao hong' (漏风) way so instead of Roof, it became Loof. No idea, but could possibly be true, right?

signage

menu, please

It's menu has fun things in it, tapas style. We ordered Bacon Lollipop, Twisties Charred Corn, Ichiban Fried Lice (yup, that's correct spelling alright) and Loof Original Ramly. Most extravagant single item in the food menu is the Original Ramly @$23++.

view from the top

Ah, and since it is a bar first and foremost, one would keep the tab open by supplying a card.

bar

Yes, not forgetting the drinks. Our teetotaller friends had mocktails while the drinkers had cocktails. Mine was Little Pink Dot, a pinkish concoction served in a lightbulb. It's made of marshmallow gin (first time seeing this!), mandarin rice wine, dark plum, orange, pink grapefruit, egg white and lavender bitters. Overall, it has a slight powdery texture and sweet. Alcohol content, probably on the lower side. It was a rather small bulb after all.

Little Pink Dot @$19++

Jackfruit Bubble Tea @$21++

There's also a MaMa shop once you exit from the lift. Nice retro things. A blast from the past, if you may.

old school biscuits and accessories

my toy when I was a kid

Service was efficient and our food arrived after a short wait. Liked that everything was served at one go. Nice.

[anti-clockwise] Ichiban Fried Lice, Twisties Charred Corn, Lollipop Bacon and Loof Original Ramly 

The fried rice at one glance, did have a whole lot of ebiko loaded and that provided crunchy texture for each bite. Yums! There's sakura shrimp and edamame too. Enjoyable and hey, it's carbs!

Had high hopes for the Twisties Charred Corn as I do have a gold standard that all charred corn now had to match against. The version at Loof was not it, but still nice. Appreciate that the service crew indulged us in our request to have the corn removed from its cob so that the four of us could share it easily.

In terms of value, the fried rice provided a better value at $18++ per plate when compared against the corn.

Twisties Charred Corn @$13++

The Loof Original Ramly was a thick Australian beef patty, wrapped in egg dripping in secret sedap sauce and served with waffle cut truffle fries. But the sauce was rather mild though.

Loof Original Ramly with waffle fries @$23++

patty wrapped in omelette in sedap sauce

The winner in terms of taste with a decision by unanimous collective agreement, was the Bacon Lollipop. Four sticks of succulent juicy, shiny thick pancetta glazed with sweet maple syrup. Salty, so best paired with a drink.

Bacon Lollipop @$16++

Expect to spend about $40++ per pax minimum if you intend to have a cocktail and a bar bite.

Long Ji 龙记 @ 253 Outram Road

Mention Long Ji and almost automatically, one would associate it with wok hei crab bee hoon (龙记螃蟹米粉). A group of us foodies decided to trudge to this place to try out this popular dish. Reservations is necessary. The restaurant seemed to be favoured by tourists and there were many tables of foreign friends enjoying their meal day on our day of visit. Why, we too brought our foreign friends to try the famed dishes together!

menu

For a table of 11 pax, we ordered two plates of Long Ji Bee Hoon Crab with estimated price for each plate of crab bee hoon to be $70++ per plate, with the crab weighing in at 1kg each. Other dishes include deep fried tofu with cereal and pumpkin sauce, salted egg yolk fried pumpkin strips, green dragon vegetables, prawn paste chicken and fermented pork belly.

cover charge

The noise level in this restaurant was so high till normal conversation with your table mates were almost impossible. We could either shout till our voice gone hoarse, or just eat our meal in silence. The restaurant staff seemed harried as well and at times, could be quite difficult to get their attention.

Plates after plates of bee hoon crab were seen at each of the tables. It's almost certain that everyone who's here at Long Ji would be ordering this. Similarly, our cameras started working once the star dish arrived.

Long Ji Bee Hoon Crab 龙记螃蟹米粉 @ $70++

The first time that I had dry version of crab bee hoon was at De Classic Golden Spoon at Seng Poh Lane. The sauce was of a darker colour and minimal excess as most would have been soaked up by the bee hoon and the wok hei was the best then. That was the epitome of dry bee hoon crab for me. With that gold standard, I was eager to try the Long Ji version. Not sure if the kitchen was in a hurry that day, but while the broth was sweet it just didn't packed that umami punch. The bee hoon could have been braised a tad longer too. Thought the chili sauce provided along with this dish was really good and did its job to elevate the taste of the bee hoon with its spicy-kick and tangy-ness.

Shrimp Paste Chicken 虾酱鸡 @$18++

Shrimp paste chicken was well-fried with juicy moist meat but the shrimp paste taste was a tad lacking. This would be rather suitable for friends who dislike the strong pungent smell of shrimp paste.

The Green Dragon Vegetables is from the chives family. Reminds me of char kway teow, ee-fu noodles, kuchai kueh and the likes. Fried with bean sprouts and offered a refreshing change from the meat-heavy dishes.

Green Dragon Vegetable 青龙菜@$18++

Fermented Pork Belly @$20++

The appetiser somehow managed to appear along with all the main courses. Nevertheless, the Salted Egg Pumpkin was rather enjoyable. Golden brown, thick cut slices of deep fried pumpkin, well coated with that grainy tasty salted egg yolk sauce. Another well loved dish was the deep fried tofu with cereal and pumpkin sauce. There's something about golden deep fried that they did very well here.

Salted Egg Pumpkin 咸蛋金瓜 @$18++

Deep Fried Tofu with Cereal and Pumpkin Sauce 麦香豆腐 @$16++

All in all, it was great dining with fellow foodies. Great to have met @batamliciouz and @singaporeliciouz
and it was a pleasure to have gathered with Damien, Jennifer, Justin, Kris, Ivan, Shermaine and Tiara.

Expect to spend about $30 per pax for a group of 10 pax.

Long Ji 龙记

Address: 253 Outram Rd, 169049
Contact: 9790 5682
Opening Hours: 
Daily 5pm to 10.30pm

[Media Invite] 8 Eight Korean BBQ @ Shaw Centre

It has been so many years since I last dined at Shaw Centre. Sure, once in a while I'd go to the Isetan Supermarket nearby but that's about it. And, was surprised to find out that 8 Eight Korean BBQ had opened another outlet at Shaw Centre. You would've seen lots of reviews on its colourful 8 flavours Mangalitsa Pork BBQ amongst many of the blogs in Singapore.

Located at Level 4 of Shaw Centre, the place was easy to find. The place was fairly relaxed around 7pm but tends to get rather busy around 8+ in the evening. Hence, do make your reservations especially for larger groups to avoid disappointment. Click here to book.

menu

interior

For parents' who'd like to enjoy BBQ here and has a young child with them, no worries as 8 Korean BBQ seemed child friendly with baby chairs available. Plus, the staff will do the BBQ for you so you can tend to your baby.

selection of canned and bottled drinks

Thus far, 8 Korean BBQ is the only place that serves Mangalitsa Pork in Singapore. Mangalitsa or Mangalica? Literature has it that they are both the same. Yes, the modern lit. aka Google. Hmm, anyway...a brief on Mangalitsa. It is a rather hairy breed of pig originating from Hungary. Was breed way back in the 1830s by crossbreeding Hungarian breeds with an European wild boar and Serbian Sumadija breed. What's good with this Mangalitsa breed is that, it doesn't take much for it to survive out there in the harsh weather. And that's good, because not only it is a hardy breed, it also has a high lard producing capacity. Imagine succulent marbled meat...almost as though it was breed for...BBQ! Haha, joking.

Because we can only get Mangalitsa pork for BBQ at this place, it would be a crime not to order one set to try. Besides that, one could also order the mushrooms and squid for the BBQ and some seafood pancake, kimchi cheese fried rice to line the stomach while waiting for the grill action to start. For the stews, there's the usual Budae and Kimchi.

this is not an appetiser - radish to clean the grill

Free-flow side dishes or 반찬 is served for diners to munch on. There were four items; baby potato in sweet soy cane sugar glaze, parboiled spinach, preserved radish and leek.

banchan 반찬

Oh, if you have a bag or handbag and was thinking of whether it'll smell with all the BBQ and stuff, no worries. Simply store your bag into the seat. Lift up the round seat cover of the stool and place your items in there.

bag in

For drinks, I had the plum drink. Was rather diluted though so perhaps Yucha tea would be a better choice.

Korean Plum Juice @$4++

Quite liked the baby potatoes. I think I ate quite a few of those cuties!

baby potato in soy cane sugar glaze

Let's get the grill started and take a look at the foods that'll soon be in our bellies.

fire up!

8 Colours Set  (8 맛 삼겹살) @$98++

Each set comes with kimchi, beansprouts (both placed on the grill), lettuce (for wrap) and seafood bean paste stew.

Wild Mushroom Set (야생 버섯) @$18++

So while those sizzles and cook on the grill, we had our fill of cooked food such as the delicious seafood pancake and the kimcheese fried rice.

Seafood Pancake 해물파전 @$20++

Kimcheese Fried Rice 김치 치즈 볶음밥 @$20 ++

Liked the seafood pancake as the pancake dough had been nicely cooked with just the right thickness. Mix the kimcheese (kimchi and cheese) fried rice with the egg yolk and one gets a nice, moist bowl of tasty carbs.

ready to eat, say kimcheese~

Getting a bit thirsty? Try 8 Korean BBQ's own brew of makgeolli. There's organic brew (Joo brew) and a few slushed with yucha, organic honey or passionfruit.

Passionfruit Makgeolli 열정 과일 막걸리 @$35++

cheers 건배

A jug of the deliciously creamy homebrewed passionfruit makgeolli can be shared amongst 4 pax.

Grilled Squid 구이 오징어 @18++

waiting for the prized pork

As for the pork, here's a playlist of the recordings done. From the 8 Colours Set where one gets 8 flavours of mangalitsa pork, we'll be chomping our way through lighter flavours of original, wine, curry, garlic, miso, herb, kalbi and red pepper paste.

let's eat 먹자!

grilled wild mushrooms

Having had our fill of the meats and the fragrant mushrooms simply grilled with garlic butter, it was then time to cool down with Korean desserts. What comes to mind? Bingsu, of course!

Loved the chocolatey Choco Loco Bingsu. Dig deep and be rewarded with nutella-hazelnut fudgy find. So good!  The Bibimbap Bingsu was very pretty and this was one 'yolk' that will not ooze. Haha!

Choco Loco @$18++

dig in!

Bibimbap Bingsu @$28++

Enjoyable evening spent with good company. Special thanks to 8 Korean BBQ, Joanne, Shaun and their crew for having us and for their hospitality and HGW folks for the invite.

For those celebrating birthdays, perhaps you might want to get onto the Seoul Train?

Seoul Train boarding now