Luna and GO! K-BBQ @ Amoy Street

For our first dinner at Telok Ayer where we were doing a staycay at The Clan, we actually whatsapp'ed a place to reserve but unfortunately, no response by dinner time. Dropped by the said place and was informed that, sorry, the earlier reservation did not go through. Hence, we walked around and decided to try GO! K-BBQ, one of the many Korean BBQ places around the area. Left our name in the waitlist and walked over to Luna for some dessert first.

The shop had some tables left, so we sat down comfortably and ordered some cakes and drinks. Can see the cakes on display, make your order and pay at the counter. Return to your seat and the friendly crew will call you when the order is ready.

Gula Melakaya (back) and Matcha Opera (front) @$8 per slice

Gula Melakaya

Truth be told, I thought the cakes looked rather dry. But, I'd soon discover that after taking one big bite, that was not so, as the layer of cream complemented the texture and taste. Sweet but not overly. Gula Melakaya tasted of pandan and coconut-ey.

Matcha Opera

There's a bit of edible gold flake on the Matcha Opera, so that gave it an instant chic feel. As the fork cuts through, one could feel the denseness of the cake. This is matcha gao gao (strong matcha taste). Of matcha mousse, ganache and chantilly cream. Very likeable and recommended to share.

Luna

Address:  53 Amoy St, Singapore 069879

Website: https://www.luna.sg/

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 12–6:30pm

Sat: 12–6 pm

Sun: 12-4pm

By 8pm, we went back to the BBQ place to check if it was close to our turn. Alas, not quite. So we guai guai stayed in queue. Think there were about 3 to 4 groups ahead of us still.

GO! K-BBQ

let's eat meat!

Noticed that the Manager running the place was super busy. He does almost everything from attending to the customer queue, cutting up the meat and serving the tables, and that's pretty impressive.

looking at pictures while waiting

We finally got a table around 9pm and the floor manager was pretty apologetic about the long wait. No problem but first up, let's order meat! Left it in the good hands of Tracy and Hence to recommend while I made a quick dash to the washroom.

By the time I returned, the table was starting to get crowded.

side dish and wraps for the BBQ, the pickled leaves should be 깻잎 장아찌

lots of lettuce 많은 상추

salad

steamed egg 찐 계란

let's have a big bite

Big Beef Rib Soup 큰 쇠고기 갈비 수프 @$22++

It was comforting to have the hot food. Steamed egg was soothing and the beef soup was good, with bits of ginseng and red dates. The meat was good with a dab of salt.

Have you tried beef tartare / yukhoe before? I had it in Busan and it was good. But in Singapore, this was my first time trying. A bit squeamish when you see those reddish hue of the liquid from the pear mixed with the raw meat. Taste wise, it was enjoyable and non-funky.

Yukhoe 육회 @$28++

Let's wash it down with some soju. I'd prefer flavoured soju but this original one, was not bad as well.

Jinro Soju @$15++

But let's get some BBQ action going, shall we? Guests can sit back and relax as the staff will do the grilling for you. Jerome was assigned to our room and he's pretty quick.

Beef

let it sizzle

almost done

ready to eat

Within a few minutes, we finished consuming the first place of meat. Not enough, let's have some more. This time round, let's try pork. As with aged meat, there was some smell emanating from it but the taste was alright and the texture was nicely tender.

pork neck and pork belly with tteok 돼지 목과 삼겹살

let's brown it

not yet

almost

I think in total, there were 4 portions of meat, 1 yukhoe, 1 soup, 1 egg and lots of vege, all consumed from within 1.5 hours. Yes, we were that hungry!

finale, of iron pressed pig skin

If you like QQ, then the last bit of pork skin will appeal to you. For me, not so much in this manner and moreover, our dinner was more like supper hence, felt sinful after inhaling all the meat.

Food adventures with Tracy, Hence and Ivan.

GO! K-BBQ

Address: 76 Amoy St

Contact: 6423 0308

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10:30pm

Sat - Sun: 5:30–10:30pm

Enjoyable Time Delicious Food @ Bonding Kitchen Orchard Gateway

Decided on Bonding Kitchen for a mini gathering with Secondary schoolmates as the dishes by Chef Danny are something that I enjoy having, plus location is rather central. Reservation was made and confirmed via WhatsApp, a week earlier. The place is usually busy during PH and weekends, hence do make a reservation to avoid disappointment.

interior

lovely colour scheme

Set Menu

Decided on the Set Menu for 4 pax as that allows us to enjoy the signatures plus enough variety to try. And, as I mentioned during first visit, I'd be back to try the wine. The group prefers white, so we tried the Sauvignon Blanc. Tasted fresh, easy to drink with lemony notes.

let it pour

Gold Trees Sauvignon Blanc @$38++

Fish and Belinjau Keropok with fiery Sambal

Kueh Pie Tee Set for 4 pax

The kueh pie tee is a fun set, as the components were nicely laid out and diner could try their hand assembling it prettily. If you have friends that do not want to do that, someone in that party will have to step up as the assembler for all. Hahaaa!

beautiful prawn

lava quail egg? So dainty

kueh pie tee, assembled

The kueh pie tee was pretty to look at, and tasty with crisp shell. Just don't leave it out for too long. Loved that there's pork lard topping for those who enjoy.

For mains, we started with Wagyu Beef Rendang, followed by our choice of Ayam Buah Keluak. Enjoyed with blue pea rice (included in the set).

Wagyu Beef Rendang

Ayam Buah Keluak

blue pea rice

The wagyu beef rendang tasted as good as the first time, and those kerisik goes so well with the rice. Was impressed with ayam buah keluak. The sauce and those tender chunks of chicken were so good to eat. It's hard to stop at just one bowl of rice.

Sotong Masak Hitam

My friends were surprised by the taste of Sotong Masak Hitam. I know, because that was my first reaction as well. For me, the Nyonya Chap Chye at Bonding Kitchen is the tastiest from all the nyonya chap chye I've tasted by far.

Nyonya Chap Chye

While it was tempting to add another bowl of rice, actually one is enough as there's still dessert!

Gula Melaka Panna Cotta

The dessert was good too! Panna cotta was so wobbly and soft, yet retained abit of sticky-ness. Loved the gula melaka sauce as well with the right sweetness and fragrance.

yummy

I liked all the dishes presented in the Set Menu and everything was tasty. Come try!

Bonding Kitchen Singapore

Address: 277 Orchard Rd, #02-18, Singapore 238858

Website: https://bondingkitchen.weebly.com/

Contact: 8860 9087

Business Hours:

Sat - Thurs: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10:30pm

Fri : 11:30am–3pm, 5–10:30pm

[Tasting] New Drinks and Tasty Eats at George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer @ 81 Boat Quay

Back for more Hitachino Nest (bottled craft beer), and this time round, managed to try the Red Rice Ale. Previous visit, I had the Dai Dai and also a sip of White Ale. Wouldn't that means, 3 out of the 4 flavours tasted? My favourite is now the Red Rice (红曲米) Ale. It has a definitive fragrance of the red rice, mildly sweet and refreshing. Plus, very good price during Happy Hour. Cheers indeed!

bevy of beauties - bottled craft from Japan

Brewdog Bottled Craft Beer from UK

For food to go with the drinks, we had the small squares of golden brown homemade chestnut tofu, and freshly fried. Yummy! However, there was less of the crunchy chestnut that I enjoyed from the previous visit.

Crispy Chef's Homemade Chestnut Beancurd @ $12++

introducing Chuga Soju with Milkis

Salted Egg Yolk Soft Shell Crab would be perfect munchies for the beer.

Salted Egg Yolk Soft Shell Crab @$18++

Happy to see soju on the menu, so we tried the lychee, green grape and watermelon flavour, in preferential order. Happy Hour promo, one gets 3 bottles for $36++. Mix it with cold Milkis for a change.

On rainy days, the best thing to eat would be Claypot Mutton Stew with Beancurd and Radish. A pot of well braised tender mutton with a good chew but the surprise was in the radish. Bursting with savoury satisfying flavours! Drizzle all the 'zup' onto a bowl of steamed rice and relish in simple pleasures. It was like a putting the final piece of the puzzle together. So good. No funky business here, only tasty stuffs.

Claypot Mutton Stew with Beancurd and Radish @$25++

Penang Laksa Steamed Fish Head @$28++

If you missed eating assam laksa, why not give Penang Laksa Steamed Fish Head a try. This newer version has been slightly tweaked.

a toast with Brewlander Love (Wild IPA)

Next dish, was a good sized Tilapia for the Penang Crispy Fish. Loved the crisp edges of the fish and remember to scoop the sauce from underneath the fish. This dish paired well with beer as well as soju, and I'd reckon some red too. Just that I wasn't drinking any red wine that night. Hey, it's just Monday!

Penang Crispy Fish (Tilapia) @$28++

For the finale, we were served the Golden Chicken. It is special because underneath the chicken skin, there's a layer of fish paste. The result was a pleasant surprise due to the difference in texture and taste, yet still maintained a familiarity from the crisp roasted chicken skin. 

Golden Chicken - $20/$38 for half/whole chicken

close up view

I enjoyed the refreshing soju, cold beers (bottled craft/tap) paired with tasty tze char food. From what I've tried, it paired quite well so far. Try it and do share if there's any particular combination that stood out to recommend to others.

Thank you Jennifer for the invite, Charles for your kind hospitality and George Town Tze Char for hosting the dinner. 

George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer 乔治 海鲜

Address: 81 Boat Quay, Singapore 049869

Website: https://george-town-tze-char-and-craft-beer-boat-quay.business.site

FB: https://www.facebook.com/georgetowntzechar/

Contact: 6535 6277 

For bookings: Whatsapp 96823826

Business Hours:

Daily 12pm to 11pm

[Closed] Dong Fang Hong 东方红 Restaurant @ 92 Telok Ayer Street

After an early check-in to our hotel at The Clan, we went in search of lunch. Literally a minute away from the hotel, is this Korean-Chinese restaurant called Dong Fang Hong. I wanted to try their jajangmyeon (짜장면 / 炸醬麵 ).

entrance

is time to refresh the banner?

We walked-in close to 1pm on a Friday, and most of the guests seemed to be have almost completed their meal.

menu

There are 3 types of jajangmyeon available but one was only available for dinner. I chose the DFH Jajiang Myeon  (东方红 炸醬麵) as that bears the namesake of the restaurant as well as being the traditional jajangmyeon. The other one was the seafood version.

Legendary Noodles

Am pretty amused by the wordings in the menu as it states "Legendary" or in Chinese "传说中". Can't blame the guests if the expectations rose by ten folds!

What caught my eye, is an appetiser called Menbosha (멘보샤) which was trending in Korea not too long ago. This is essentially fried shrimp toast which existed long ago but became rare through the years. Have not found any other restaurant in Singapore offering this, and if you know of one, do let me know!

We ordered one portion to try. Was thinking of whether we could do the wang mandoo (steamed dumplings) as well but decided not to overestimate our stomach space.

appetizer menu

Staff is efficient and friendly. They'll bring you the side dish which consist of kimchi, szechuan pickles and white pickled radish.

complimentary refillable side dish and pickles

A tumbler of cold water is brought to the table as well. Food arrived within minutes after order was taken.

DFH Jajiang Myeon (东方红 炸醬麵) @$12++

getting dizzy mixing the noodles

let's eat 먹자

The jajangmyeon sauce was tasty but leaning on the sweeter side. Portion was good to feed two pax. And like many others, we also ordered tangsuyuk to go along with the jajangmyeon. It's almost like a food pair.

Pork Tangsuyuk @$28++ (small)

Frankly speaking, my impression of tangsuyuk so far, isn't good. The batter ratio seemed to be of much more batter than meat. Had it the first time in Busan and we didn't finish the plate.

The version at DFH had a rather pale looking appearance and that didn't help visually. The sweet sauce (or syrup) was already poured onto the meat and I wonder if serving it separately would have helped to maintain the crisp of the batter for that little while longer?

I concluded for myself that tangsuyuk is an acquired taste and I very much preferred our sweet and sour pork or gu lou yuk (咕嚕肉), thank you.

Legendary Spicy Seafood Noodles Soup @$15++

I like the broth in the Spicy Seafood Noodles Soup and despite its name, it wasn't that spicy. The cabbage absorbed well the soup and the mussels were nice to eat.

My favourite dish from this place is the Menbosha (fried shrimp toast). Well fried to a golden brown, crisp outer and doesn't feel oily. Flavourful.

Menbosha (멘보샤 / 面包虾) @$18++

my favourite dish

Lunch with Hence and Tracy as part of our staycay adventures at Telok Ayer.

Dong Fang Hong 东方红 Restaurant

Address: 92 Telok Ayer Street #01-01, Far East Square, 048472

FB: https://www.facebook.com/DongFangHongSg/

Contact: 6327 9036

Business Hours:

Sun Closed

Mon to Sat: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10pm