[Tasting] Sichuan Alley 川巷 @ 51 Telok Ayer

If you're around the vicinity, and has cravings for some noodles or, a cocktail or two with small plates, Sichuan Alley may have just the thing that you're looking for. Fuss free and straight forward. Let's have a look at their menu. This was an invited tasting.

Sichuan Alley

If you're thinking that the location looks familiar, you're right. This was formerly occupied by Basdban.

Sichuan Alley caters for a variety of diners. There's plenty of small plates between $5 to $14 to enjoy along the oriental cocktails. Or come for their daily Happy Hour between 2pm to 9pm, and enjoy a pint of beer (selected) for only $8++.

For noodles lovers, we tried a few and it was tasty, plus generous portion!

food and beverages menu

food menu

I was curious about their cocktails which had very Oriental sounding names, like Bamboo Breeze? Hehe, it turned out to be a cute looking panda soaking in a bamboo container. Cute.

Bamboo Breeze (bamboo green tea gin, pineapple, peach, jasmine) @$16++

Bamboo Breeze was light and refreshing. Tasted predominantly of green tea and jasmine. I think this might be the Oriental version of 'Long Island Tea'? The panda, is made of chocolate but it was a tad too hard for my teeth. Only managed to bite off a bit of the ear.

Mister Kiwi (vodka base) @$18++

Chengdu Fizz (gin, kumquat, chia seed, sparkling water)

Had mistaken Mister Kiwi and Chengdu Fizz to be mocktails as it was sweet and seemingly looked like a cooler/thirst quenchers. But, we checked with the bar, and indeed, it has alcohol! So, probably not a good idea to gulp it down too fast.

With drinks on hand, let's have some food. Small plates first.

"Zhangfei" Beef Slice @$11++

Mala Black Fungus @$5.50++

The beef was smoked and thinly sliced. Tasted natural and light flavours of the meat. The spices added a touch of flavours but non-spicy. The black fungus dish hits the spot with a punch of flavours. Garlicky, crunchy and spicy. Am biased towards black fungus. One of my favourite.

My first time having smoked liver and I can say, am not a fan. There's nothing funky about it though, but the texture was something that I didn't find it appealing. 

Smoked Pork Liver @$7.50++

egg yolk in the center

Been wanting to try the fried intestines and finally managed to have it here. It was nicely deep fried, and the addition of leek is a good idea as the leek provided some natural sweetness to the dish. Doesn't feel greasy but has a good mouthfeel. Lovely with alcohol. Will order again.

Fried Pig Intestines @$7.50++

Eat, drink (responsibly) and be merry!

Ume Plum Wine @$18++

cheers!

Ume plum wine was deceptively easy to drink as well. Like a dessert wine. 

And when you have more drinks, then there's got to be more food. Bite sized dumplings that's familiar in taste with ample meaty flavours. The sauce looked fiery but actually, pretty mild. Not to worry if you're not too good with spices. This one is only at level 0.5 in terms of heat. Yes, looks can be deceptive. The mala fungus was probably more spicy than these two.

Crispy Pork Dumplings @$6++

Hot & Sour Pork Dumplings @$6++

Braised Ox Tongue @$11++

Other unique finds would be the Braised Ox Tongue. On-point texture and pretty tasty with all the sauce and condiments. Thank you Chef Eugene for the never ending line of food on our table!

Braised Beef with Bamboo Shoots @$9++

Braised Beef with Bamboo Shoots managed to win me over with the superbly tender beef. There's some smokiness in the bamboo shoots. Will order this again.

Lalalala Fried Chicken @$22

The Lalalala Fried Chicken is still available and still as tasty as the previous time. Portion size and the price has been reduced slightly. No, we didn't have it with rice this time round to save some tummy space for the noodles.

Let's slurp up some noodles at this point in time. Noodles are main course portion sized.

President Noodle (Red) @$24.50++

President Noodles would be what I deemed as "all-in" version. It has a big bowl of noodles soup, fried egg, some shanghai greens and side dishes of braised beef cheeks, intestines, crispy chickpeas and pork ribs.

At first, I thought the side dishes of the meats looked a tad dry but it was tender and easy to chew. Good. Was this spicy? Actually, not quite.

If you prefer the earthy mushroom-my flavours, then go for the Mushrooms with Chicken Broth Noodles. Wholesome flavours for a cooler evening.

Mushrooms with Chicken Broth Noodles @$11.50++

While I was wowed by the variety of sides that came along with President Noodle, the best tasting noodles for me that night, was the Fresh Chilies Minced Beef Noodles.

Fresh Chilies Minced Beef Noodles @$13.50++

give it a good mix

enjoy!

For me, this has the strongest and tastiest flavour profile of all the noodles that I've tasted that night. Thoroughly enjoyed this noodle dish.

No.3 Lady @$18++

No.3 Dry Gin, Lychee Liquer, White Wine, Pink Grapefruit, Rose

Tried a bit of the Black Plum Iced Tea (non-alcoholic) and it was good as a thirst quencher plus, it helps to cut through the fullness of all the food we inhaled. And, it's a sweet drink. Not sure why but initially it didn't occur to me that this drink will be sweet so I was surprised when I first drunk it. Haha!

Black Plum Ice Tea @$8++

Mini Hotpot @$14++

One thing about the noodles, is that it absorbs the soup pretty good so after a bout of drinking, usually I'd like to have some warm soup. The Mini Hotpot is perfect for this. Spicy 'malatang' with tiger prawns, tofu, homemade liang fen and mushrooms. Careful as the pot will continue to bubble for a little while after it was served. The warmth in the tummy was comforting.

It's a vibe here at Sichuan Alley and No. 51 Telok Ayer has a chic, vibrant nightlife feel, while next door at 51A Telok Ayer has a more casual feel to it. Both spaces share the same menu.

Thank you Kris for the invite, and special thanks to Chef Eugene and Sichuan Alley for hosting the dinner.

Sichuan Alley 川巷

Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, #01-01, Singapore 048441

Website: https://www.facebook.com/sichuanalley

Contact: 9755 1058

Business Hours: 

Mon-Fri: 10:30 am–10 pm

Sat-Sun: 10:30 am–9 pm

Breakfast at Baba Chews Bar and Eatery @ Hotel Indigo Katong

Was doing a staycation at Hotel Indigo and the weekend getaway package came with daily breakfast at Baba Chews, which is just downstairs.

let's get some breakfast

So let's see what's for breakfast then!

interior

cafe latte

Was greeted by friendly Merry, and upon seated, she offered to get me a cup of coffee. A latte it is and thanks Christian (barista) for the lovely latte art!

Breakfast was a self-service semi-buffet kind of affair, so I started off with a mini bowl of teochew porridge to warm the tummy.

self-service porridge station

my mini congee bowl

DIY orange juice bar

It was interesting to see a DIY orange juice counter, but if you're not into making your own juice, fret not as there is a fridge with ready-to-drink juices such as mango and apple.

 mango juice

As the place wasn't that busy yet as I was down for a early breakfast at around 7.40am, Christian came over to ask if I would like to have a bowl of Singapore laksa as that's one of the specialty for that day. He also recommended the eggs royale from the regular breakfast menu. Yes, of course I'd try if he promise that the laksa would be a small bowl. Hahaha, can't eat too much as I was meeting Hence, Tracy, Ivan and Kris later for lunch.

Baba Chews Singapore Laksa

Do note that different days will have different items for the breakfast hot food menu. Laksa was available for Saturday.

sweetish, savoury laksa

The laksa was of milder flavours and there was plenty of ingredients in that small bowl. Quails egg, fishcake, taupok (beancurd puff) and small shrimps.

Eggs Royale

The Eggs Royale was very likeable. The yolk was runny, the hollandaise sauce had hints of truffle, plenty of smoked salmon (if not enough, the semi buffet section still has more!) laid ontop of the muffin. Tasty stuffs!

let it flow

I like the minimalistic cheese section, so took a little bit to try. There's cut fruits and the watermelon was nicely sweet. Good to see there's jambu air (rose apple).

small platter of fruits, cheeses and dried fruit and nuts

orange pineapple shot

Christian gave a delightful service to guests as he went around offering juice shots. Thank you!

For dessert, I had the mini egg tarts which was also a special for that day.

mini egg tarts

I enjoyed breakfast as well as the service from the staff at Baba Chews.

Baba Chews Bar and Eatery

Website: https://babachews.com.sg/

Address:  86 E Coast Rd, Katong Square, Singapore 428788

Contact: 6723 2025

Business Hours:

Daily: 6:30 am–10:30 pm

Staycation @ Hotel Indigo Katong Singapore

Been saying it for a while and finally, decided to book a 3 days 2 nights stay at Indigo Katong. This was my journey to the East. 

exterior

entrance

Arrived at the hotel and check-in was a breeze, thanks to Kelly. Guest was offered a complimentary welcome drink of tea/coffee. Guess what I chose.

reception area

welcome drink - iced latte

My room was up at Level 8, after enjoying the cold latte, Kelly walked with me for a short distance to the lift lobby. Loved the decor at the hotel with Peranakan motifs.

King Bed Standard Room 30sqm

spacious room

Room was of a comfortable good sized and was looking forward to explore the nearby areas. I thought I could play carrom while I was there but, that's just a table that looked like a carrom board... hahaha.

view from the other side

bathrobe

bathroom

retro seat and washbasin for the tired feet

'sole' purpose

The toilet is near the room door while the bath area is way at the back of the room. No complaints, as both areas have their own sink.

Thanks to housekeeping for keeping the room clean and tidy! Bumped into her at the corridor too, friendly and cheerful lady.

glass bottle

view from 8th floor

lovely tiles

shower area

The shower area is rather spacious and shower strength was good and easy to adjust between the rainfall and the handheld.

is it visible to the outside? 

The room is equipped with a coffee machine and a kettle. Minibar is empty saved for milk shots in lieu of creamer for the coffee. Not an issue as there is NTUC Finest just a few minutes walk away to stock up on any drinks of your liking.

so cute the cups

sweets

illy, I like

time to stock up

room decor points elevated

With all the trinkets/decor in the room, it's probably challenging to maintain but glad to see everything's pretty well kept at Indigo Katong. Kudos to the team!

lovely cushion covers

Went to check out the swimming pool at Level 11 and bumped into an exercise class being held at the pool. Cool!

let's go up

let's visit the rooftop pool

basking in the sun

can dine at the rooftop when it is cooler in the evenings

view from rooftop

Hotel was rather sweet to arrange a delivery of a slice of ondeh ondeh cake for the birthday girl.

for the birthday girl

thanks for the lovely cake~

Will post more on the hotel breakfast, as well as other things to do in this area. See ya soon!

Hotel Indigo Katong

Address: 86 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428788

Website: https://www.ihg.com/hotelindigo/hotels/us/en/singapore/sinki/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-IN-_-SG-_-SINKI

Contact: 6723 7001