Anzu @ Japan Food Town Wisma Atria

Have I tried all the restaurants in Japan Food Town? Not yet, but have tried many. I've done Rang Mang Shokudo, Nabe Seizan, Yomoda Soba, Yakiniku Heijoen, Inaniwa Yosuke, Hokkaido Izakaya, Sabar, Kyoto Grill Taki and Bar Nippon.

Let's add one more and that's Anzu. Visited on a Thursday evening, and decided on Thick Katsu Pork Loin Set which was reasonably priced at $25 nett. Staff were non-Japanese but that's alright.

kitchen view

menu

Hot green tea was served immediately upon seated. It is always nice to have complimentary green tea/water in a restaurant. For the set, there was a choice of miso or clam soup, and white rice/black glutinous rice. Though we didn't order any alcohol, there was a plate of appetiser served. Tasty, slightly sweet salty and would be a good accompaniment for the beer.

otoshi (お通し) appetiser (complimentary)

The first item served after one had ordered, was the salad. Sliced cabbage and some lettuce. Yuzu-soy dressing was provided and there is a white 'herb' dressing available on each table.

large salad (shared) with yuzu-soy dressing, toasted sesame and chawanmushi

'herb' dressing for salads

I actually liked the white 'herb' dressing which tasted of perilla leaves as compared to the yuzu-soy dressing which is slightly leaning towards the salty side.

grind the sesame

Chawanmushi was smooth and not too sweet. Pretty good with the shitake mushrooms. Was beginning to feel full after having just the salad and chawanmushi, haha! But, one must eat meat!

thick pork loin katsu set

Can't say I wasn't impressed when the thick pork loin katsu was served. Gorgeous golden brown battered meat cutlet, a small bowl of Japanese grains, clam miso soup (which tasted like regular miso btw) and small plate of pickles. There were two types of tonkatsu sauce. Existing on the table is the original version and the one that was brought to the table, is a sweeter version. I preferred the sweeter version as it was more flavourful.

'sweet' tonkatsu sauce

look at that thickness

Joshu pork from Gunma Prefecture is used for this set and the more premium version would be the Ginjo pork. Joshu pork has a rich taste and a gentle velvety texture especially if that part has some fats. The meat is predominantly lean and solid to bite but yet, tender. As advertised, it was a good thick cut of pork. Lovely! Drench it in tonkatsu sauce, add those fragrant toasted grounded sesame and a dab of yellow mustard for a satisfying taste.

flavourful

Not sure why, but some of the meat was a tad bland, so the sauce became a necessity. The clam soup tasted like regular miso soup and mine only had a single clam shell in it. The pickled radish helped to refresh the tastebuds.

For JPassport users, one could redeem a free ice-cream during this promo period, so I did.

matcha ice-cream (redeemed via JPassport)

Overall, the meal was enjoyable and satisfying. Liked the nett pricing and quality obtained. Value for money.

Thank you Anzu. ごちそうさまでした!

[Taiwan] One Night in Taichung @ Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市

This is my second trip to Taiwan and this time round, we (Tracy, Hence and Ivan) the 4 Makanteers decided to stay in Taichung for one night and we got to explore the famed Fengjia Night Market. We stayed at Hotel 7 Taichung, and Fengjia Night Market was only a short 5 minutes walk away. At least, to its entrance.

entering the night market from our hotel direction

But, I was a tad hungry as we only reached Taichung around 8+pm and by the time we walked to the night market, it was near to 9pm. Passed by a stall selling fried pork ribs 排骨酥 and just got to get myself a small pack. Small pack has about 6 to 8 small pieces of pork ribs. Most of it have bones. The meat itself was well marinated and served piping hot. Good enough to satiate the hunger while we source for other eats.

Wu Ji Pai Gu Su stall

吳記排骨酥 small for NT$50 (~SGD2.50)

As we walked around the night market, here are some of the sighted stalls. Many many stalls selling fried chicken, plenty of stalls selling seafood and clams seemed to be in-trend at this area! Was also excited to spot a Malay food restaurant in the vicinity.

seafood stall

Malay food!

Drunken Chicken stall

German Pork Knuckles stall

Our Taiwanese friend, Sam, shared that the one of the must-eat at Fengjia is the Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang (sausage wrapped glutinous rice). With that information, I needed to sample one. As there wasn't any queue, quickly ordered one and indicated mild spicy (小辣).

stall front

tattoo'ed guy preparing my order

Got my sausage pack in less than 10 minutes. It was piping hot! It was tightly wrapped and walked around with it before tucking in. To eat, just open the top and squeeze its bottom out. Twist, turn and bite. There's bamboo shoots in it, and that added extra flavours to the package. Pretty good and it filled up the tummy real-well. Mild spice was not spicy actually.

大肠包小肠 (sausage wrapped glutinous rice) - NT$50

Was feeling pretty full from that one sausage (must be due to the glutinous rice!) as no one wants to share with me.

Let's take a look at the other snacks we've tried:

suckling pig stall

suckling pig skin and meat - NT$200 (~SGD9+)

It was unfortunate that the suckling pig skin tasted like it was chao tar (burnt). Crackling yes, and even biscuit-like texture. Meat was a tad dry and the sauce did not help. Let's leave suckling pig to the restaurants.

Next up, we rested our feet at a dine-in stall with seats. Oden on a hot and humid night? Why not! The way they write oden in Chinese, literally translated to mean "black wheel".

Oden stall 黑轮店

Simple modus operandi. Observe what you want to order, pick up a bowl and start putting things on it. Much like how we do with our yong tau foo (酿豆腐).

oden 黑轮 - take your pick

The price of the ingredients are all displayed on the boards. Some of the pricing is meant for x3 of the item. That was how our bowls ballooned up with even more ingredients!

Guess what went into our bowls.

fried beancurd skin, crystal dumlings, taupok, blood sausage with glutinous rice, meat balls

showing more of the pig's blood curd

Since we don't get to eat pig's blood in Singapore anymore, that would be one of our must-order when in Taiwan. The soup of the oden from this stall was much less flavourful than expected as the 7-Eleven version had tastier soup. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the abundance of the ingredients and two bowls came up to about NT$250 in total. Loved the beancurd skin soaked in soup. The pig's blood curd (猪血) doesn't have any funky taste, so that was good. Much like an iron-laden tofu. Warm soup did wonders to comfort the tummy. The crystal dumplings were unusual as this version not only did not contain any meat, it was like-sweet? Meaning, it had the mung bean fillings so it tasted like ang ku kueh but less sweet and placed in soup. Hmmm.


We walked and documented our trip with a picture of the Fengjia University landmark. How come we don't have night markets like this near our Singapore universities? Hmmm.

Fengjia University landmark

stalls everywhere

There are many other non-food stalls selling clothes, shoes, bags etc. Stopped by a t-shirt stall and bought 3 t-shirts for NT$500. That's about less than SGD8 per piece.

Claw machines are all the craze in Taiwan and no exception at Fengjia with large brightly lit shops housing claw machines. Co-existing with these shops are also shops selling toys that you could find as prizes of the claw machines. Usually, the toys retails for between NT$100 to NT$290 each, depending on size and material.

claw machines shop

toys, toys, toys!

If you're thirsty, don't forget to stop by the tea shops. Sam brought us to one of his favourite ones in Fengjia and has tea from the tap! Pretty cool concept.

Sam (in grey polo) getting our tea

This tea shop uses fresh milk and added to about a quarter of the cup. Next, you'd have to pull the tap to get your favourite tea. There are 4 flavours, but I could only remember the original retro flavour (古早味), or winter-melon tea. One could also mix and match from all four taps. The boss said we can. Hahaha, but we didn't. I tried the original flavour red tea and the sweetness level was just nice. The tea mixed with the fresh milk has a pleasingly smooth taste. Not too overpowering and refreshing on a hot and humid night. Taichung's weather that night was about 30 degrees Celcius.

DIY - Pull the tap like beer

press the green button to seal the cup

enjoy a tall cup of 自己来红茶鲜乳 (Do it yourself red tea fresh milk)

We had walked from one end of the night market to the other. Overall, Fengjia Night Market is not too crowded, even on a weekend. Maybe because we were there a bit later. The crowds are pretty much younger crowds and seemed not too touristy yet.

the other end of the night market

We asked Sam, what is the best fried chicken in Taichung and he recommended Ji Guang. This brand is also available in Ximending. Tried it, and it was more of the popcorn chicken variant. I still prefer my favourite Monga fried chicken.

1973 Ji Guang Fried Chicken

that blue tako mascot looked so cute!

what the devil is this?!

That's our adventure for the first night of our Taiwan trip, where we made a pit-stop at Taichung. Thank you Sam Hong, our chauffeur and local guide for two days. Do stay tuned for the next post on our trip to Sun, Moon Lake! Of course, special thanks to Tracy, Hence and Ivan for making this trip possible.

Here's a list of shops in Fengjia that we visited:

吳記排骨酥

No. 236, Fuxing Road, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407

阿华黑轮

 No. 55, Wenhua Road, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407

自己來紅茶鮮乳 台中逢甲店

No. 21, Fengjia Road, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407

Journey to the West for Good Food @ 155 Bukit Batok Street 11

Our 西游记 to suss out good food. Many prolific bloggers had been reviewing the west side story, so it is now our turn to just makan! First destination was to 233 Bukit Batok East Avenue 5 and we had enjoyed good plates of chicken feet, 牛腩面 beef brisket and also Cantonese porridge (粥). Full? Nah, that's just starters. Now let's go for Part 2, we'd say.

Hence, Ivan, Kris, Jennifer, Tiara and myself managed to land ourselves in 155 Bukit Batok Street 11. Each of us went and ordered for the group. It was pretty amazing how we didn't end up with the same foods! (but that's because we comms'ed each other prior, keke)

Fatty Weng 肥仔荣食摊

We felt like having meat that day. Lots of it. So Ivan went to get these substantial looking meat platters. A quarter roasted duck and double-meat of roasted pork and char siew. These slices of meat fed the 6 of us very well.

Fatty Weng's roasted meats

The roasted duck looked nondescript but it was good. Each bite was tender and flavourful. Some of its skin parts came with a layer of fats. Would it be jelak? I'd thought but still, it went into the mouth. Wow. That feeling where the oil oozes out and just gently greases the tasty meat with added texture was simply amazing. Definitely impressed.

Roast Duck 烧鸭 @$15

Actually, the first bite went to the siu yuk 烧肉 (roast pork) to test the crackling. Still crispy even after 15 minutes. I can say that I've been eaten roasted pork since I was a kid. Maybe since I was a 3-year old? Chunky bites always worked for me. Unfortunately, the char siew was too lean for most of us. It gives a good workout for the jaw.

叉烧烧肉 (double roasted meat platter) @$15

Ah Lipp Famous Penang Prawn Noodles 槟城虾面

For first timers, we tried the big prawns noodles. The soup looked potent with its dark red hues. Sip it while it is hot and one would have been transported into umami-land. Such bliss! All the goodness of seafood is in that bowl of soup. For photography purpose, we got the dry-version. Personally, I'd much prefer a soupy version of Penang prawn noodles, anytime.

大虾面 Big Prawn Noodles (Dry) @$10

The prawns were huge, and firm to bite. Very 扎实 (solid). My favourite combo for prawn noodles would be pork ribs and regular sized prawns. But, the soup must be good. If the soup is no good, then it is a no go for me, regardless of what ingredient the noodles came with.

Another taste test for Penang fare, would be its assam laksa. I still remembered my first time when I had a taste of it. Probably around age 6 or 7? I thought it was horrible. But as they say, our taste buds change over time and I learnt to appreciate it better.

Ah Lipp Assam Laksa @$4

The chunky white rice noodles seemed right, the ingredients abit too well laid for a hawker fare but on first sip, I was disappointed. The soup was too light. There's plenty of fish in the bowl though, and that was a plus point. Since the broth makes or breaks a dish, my preference went to the prawn noodles.

Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee

Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee (minus baby squids because they ran out of it!)

This is one very popular stall. Plenty of customers and people kept coming up to order. But they worked fast. The zhao pai 招牌 seemed to be the baby squid prawn noodles but ran out of baby squids by the time we ordered. So one regular plate of hokkien mee would have to do.

The noodles were moist and plenty of sliced pork, some seafood and topped with pork lard, and a dash of sambal on the side. For any good plate of hokkien mee, pork is one of the important ingredients besides the broth. I think the meat gave the dish some depth in flavours. Yummy and recommended!

It was a fun day, exploring our hawker centres/coffeeshops with this group of foodies. Thank you Jen, Kris, Tiara, Shermaine, Hence and Ivan for a full-filling day. 你吃饱了吗？

camera eating already!

Master Tang 鄧師傅鳳城面家@ 233 Bukit Batok East Avenue 5

Instead of cafes, we went neighbourhood coffeeshop hopping. A small group of us (Jennifer, Kris, Ivan, Hence, Tiara and myself) ventured off into the (wild wild) west of Bukit Batok, going past Little Guilin (小桂林) and into East Avenue 5 Block 233.

We were there for former Head Chef of Crystal Jade, Master Tang Siu Nam's beef brisket noodles. A soft spoken man at a young age of 86, Master Tang was busy blanching plates after plates of noodles. His wife usually takes the order but she was busy with other things so Master Tang himself will ask the customer what he/she wants. Spoke to him in Cantonese and he smiled. Saw that the stall has congee too, so we got ourselves a bowl of century egg congee to try.

Master Tang works at his own pace but he is systematic. His wife helps to scoop the ingredients onto the noodles that he had prepared.

云吞鸡脚面 (wanton noodles with added chicken feet) @$4.50

牛腩筋面 (beef brisket tendon noodles) @$6

The portions for the beef brisket tendon noodles were generous. Maybe 3 to four chunks of stewed beef and about 3 pieces of those quivering soft tendons. The stew sauce was flavorful yet rather subtle. It was unfortunate that the beef pieces, especially the leaner ones were a tad too tough. Those that had a small later of fats worked best. Preferred the tendons over the brisket.

Liked the green chili pickles too. It gave the noodles a tangy lift. The noodles itself was on a softer side and the overall flavour was pretty rustic.

For me, the must-order from Master Tang would be this dedicated plate of chicken feet noodles. The feet were pretty deceptive-looking but it packed some heat. Would gladly have the entire plate for myself! The skin falls off easily and it was such a joy to suck off the skin and spit out the bones.

鳳爪面 / 鸡脚面(chicken feet noodles) @$4

It is quite rare to see a wanton noodles stall with congee, so we got ourselves a bowl to try. There were two flavours; the century egg version (which we got) and the meatballs with vegetable version which should be interesting.

 皮蛋艘肉粥 (century egg congee) @$4

The texture of the congee was good as I preferred it not to be too overly smooth. Generous portion of ingredients but I did not put in any soy nor sesame oil. Should've added some to lift up the flavours (体味) as Mrs Fong （方太） always said it. I liked watching 方太美食廣場 when I was in my teens.

The flavours of Master Tang's congee is just like those that we eat in Hong Kong restaurants and tasted healthy without any extra condiments except spring onions. Lovely.

Will go back for the chicken feet!