Lee's Taiwanese @ JEM Jurong East

Had dinner there on a Friday night with the family. Less crowded as compared to say, Din Tai Fung. They do have staff that sounded Taiwanese, so that added that bit of authenticity. We were seated next to the window. The self-service area was right at our back. You need that cold/warm water, more chili, some pepper, more serviettes? Just go towards the self-serve area.

interior

menu

Family was having the Premium Set Meal (4 pax @ $17.80 per pax) and I got a Deluxe Set Meal for 1 pax @$15.80.

Both sets comprised of 1 main, 1 side dish and a drink.

mini sausages, braised large intestines and salt & pepper chicken (part of Premium Set)

beancurd strips (part of Premium Set)

For the premium side dishes, the braised intestines and salt & pepper chicken (盐酥鸡) were the better choice. The beancurd strips (豆干) were rather bland. Chose the chicken wing as side dish for Deluxe. When the menu stated 2 pieces, it really was just 1 mid-wing and 1 drumlet.

pork belly rice (Premium)

The Pork Belly Rice (扣肉饭) came with quite a few pieces of pork belly (more lean than fats), half an egg, some beancurd strips, half a mini sausage and some pickled vege. The meat came across as too lean and somewhat tougher than expected.

I had the rice vermicelli (mee sua) with intestines and pork balls (大肠肉丸面线).

pig intestines and meat ball mee sua

The mee sua was served piping hot, and the soup tasted quite garlicky. Would've preferred if it was oyster mee sua with intestines. That would be major yum. Anyway, the intestines were firm and no funky taste nor smell.

Service was alright, but it was rather difficult to differentiate some of the cold drinks because the drinking glasses used were colored hence, the colour of the drink was kind of hard to decipher. For example, red milk tea and green milk tea. So the one that brought the drinks to our table had to call her colleague to help decipher which was which.

I guess we were there for the novelty of dining in a shop that has same surname as ours. In reality, the prices are rather steep.

Paradise Dynasty @ ION Orchard

Located at Level 4 of ION Orchard. Used to see long queues at this outlet. Walked in on a Tuesday evening and was ushered to the inner section of the restaurant. Two of us sat at a table meant for four. Spacious.

I've dined at Paradise Dynasty at Lot 1, so this one at Orchard just feels that little bit more of grandeur and that bit more space. Otherwise, the menu is the same.

three eggs side dish

The chinese name for this dish sounded like 'horse brain' something something. Even the wait staff couldn't pronounce the last two words. Anyway, the it looked pretty but taste wise, so so. Friend found it too salty, but I just thought the salted egg yolk part was hard. Not something that I'd order again.

drunken chicken

Biased towards chicken, what more chicken thigh. If you like cold smooth, tender chicken thigh with that bit of chinese wine taste, then this dish did alright.

stir fried spinach with garlic bits

Spinach was nice as it was served piping hot. Stalks were tender and easy to eat.

Shanghai fried rice

Orhh..Shanghai fried rice has soy sauce in it. Have tried the preserved vege fried rice and seafood fried rice. Actually preferred those. The rice here that night was a tad too dry and dense.

seafood la mian

Between Shanghai fried rice and Seafood la mian, I'd recommend the la mian. Though it's seafood ingredients, the soup tasted like pork bone soup. Came with half an egg, scallop, xiao bai cai, prawns, fish bits, bamboo pith and kelp. The soup here tasted nicer as compared to Choa Chu Kang branch.

The back area where we were seated were actually quite cold. Had to leave the place to avoid being frozen stiff. For two ladies, we couldn't finish all the food. I think two mains, and at max two side dish will suffice.

Thanks Wendy for the treat!

Morganfield's Ribfest 2013 @ The Star Vista

Located at Level 2 of Star Vista, next to Buona Vista MRT. This place is known for its Sticky Bones aka ribs! Only lunched there once, and was pleasantly surprised to be invited to Morganfield's Singapore 1st Birthday Party, Ribfest 2013. Can't wait to sink my teeth into 'em sticky bones! WoOhoO!~

Happy 1st Birthday Morganfield's Singapore!

Story of Morganfield's

ticket to delicious food, boisterous crowds and music!

Sticky Bones board

The interior of the restaurant have an American wild wild west kind of feel. Just the right ambiance to chug down a mug of beer while tearing the meat off a rack of ribs *grrowwl*

Alas, in reality, the welcome drink was a whole lot tamer. Sweet, citrussy and fizzy. Refreshing after a long day at work.

tasted kid-friendly

Guests were quickly ushered to their table while waiting for the event to start. The table setup includes an apron-bib for diners to wear. You wouldn't want hickory bbq sauce on that white shirt, do you?

it's gonna get messy!

psst, a secret compartment?

Morganfield's has arranged for live music that night. Powerful vocals to bring the house down, yeah!

getting rapt attention

And so, the stage was set...all that's missing? Food! So, let the feast begin! Started off with a salad. Light and gave off a healthy feel. Variety of stuffs in that bowl. Greens, cherry tomatoes, corn, chickpeas, beans...never be bored with just one taste.

ample greens

Then, the meats arrived. Chicken, fish and grilled sweet corn.

two baby chickens, sweet corn and fish

closer view of barramundi

Barramundi's texture would probably be considered 'harsh' as compared to cod. Not the delicately sweet and smooth texture, but yet has its own merits.

What was my favourite on this platter? Why, the grilled baby chickens of course. *licks lips* Hahaha, ok. That sounded a bit wrong! But the chicken was seriously tender, maybe just barely cooked. Didn't even mind eating the breast meat. But why have white meat when one can have drumsticks. Muahahaa!!
When queried on what seasoning were used. The reply was "Some secret rub..." Okaay...

juicy chicky, flavoured by special rub

best way to eat (credit to Rong Ge for lending his hands. Literally.)

Don't worry about fork and knife. Best way to enjoy the food. Use hands. Clean ones, of course.

sweet corn

How about some happy juice? Sure, let's bring out the wine. One white to go with poultry dish. Good life.

a glass of white, please

fruity, slight acidity, smooth

The party was going on great. Ample food, free-flow of drinks, boisterous crowd, live music but it was about to get even better! The unveiling of 'Mega Rib', touted as the biggest rack of BBQ pork ribs in Singapore! Whoa, this we gotta see!

Mega Rib ~ 2.5kg of a monster pork ribs!

5 flavours of Sticky Bones, united in Mega Rib

Not a trivial feat. To be able to cook that humongous slab of ribs evenly, as well as ensuring that the differing flavours came out as intended. Kudos to the chefs!

The 5 flavours were hickory bbq, garlic bbq, smoked peppercorn, tuscan baked spicy and honey rum! Sounds like a good platter to have for parties! One-shot try all! Unfortunately, Ms Chui May Yee (Marketing Manager of Morganfield's Singapore) revealed that Mega Rib will not be available on a day-to-day basis as the huge slab of ribs needed to be pre-ordered in advance.

a single bone, covering the diameter of the plate

The Sticky Bones BBQ Pork Ribs were well-cooked, generously coated with tasty sauce and basically, a dream come true for meat lovers. Some parts were more charred and gave more bite than others, while some remained tender and moist. Fatty bits were fun to eat too!

Sauce-wise, had always thought that the original Hickory BBQ was something that I'd stay true to. But Garlic BBQ managed to sway that preference. And, after munching through all those BBQ flavours, the Tuscan sauce with its tangy spicy tomato was like an oasis in the desert. So, the choice is yours!

While the meat was all good, the corn muffin was very likeable too. A tad too sweet (a quarter of a notch down on the sugar would be good!) but I'd eat this even if too full from all the meat.

sweet sweet muffin

browned crust, soft moist golden hued corn muffin

As the night drew on, it was time for one final speech.

Mr Kevin Chung, Managing Director of Morganfield's Singapore, thanking the crowd for their support

Happy Birthday, Morganfield's and birthday girls~

all smiles

Congratulations to Morganfield's Singapore on its 1st Birthday! For people who thinks Star Vista is a bit too far to travel to, fret not. Watch out for Morganfield's nearer to town, come next year in 2014.

Thank you to May Yee and Kevin for the invite and for your gracious hospitality. And not forgetting Morganfield's friendly service crew that took care of us that night. Cheers!

Was great sharing a table with the sporting Rong Ge and wife, and pretty Gin from Ginevi. Thanks for being such good company!

sweet endings, honey rum dessert, on limited time promo

Morganfield's

Location:    1 Vista Exchange Green, Unit #02-23, The Star Vista, Singapore 138617
Telephone:  66943635
Fax:            66943651
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorganfieldsSingapore

Sū Korean Cuisine (千秀) @ Far East Plaza (Part 2)

Located at Level 1 of Far East Plaza, somewhere near the corner. Have always thought that this level was basement since we needed to walk down the stairs from road level.

Haven't visited for quite a while (maybe two years), and everything still looks the same. Noticeable difference was the inclusion of buffet option, and of course, a brand new service crew.

menu

just need to add water to expand

While waiting for one of our friend to arrive, two of us decided to have seafood pancake and some apple soju to stave off the hunger pangs.

apple soju 500ml (@$19++)

The apple soju tasted probably of 97% apple juice and 3% soju.

seafood pancake (@$15++)

Didn't like the seafood pancake. Had better ones elsewhere.

refillable banchans (complimentary side dishes)

kimchi

pancake

beansprouts

non crispy anchovies

fishcake strips

It was actually quite filling, by the time we were half-done with the pancakes and had a round of the banchans.

Set meal for two consist of a soup, two plates of meat for BBQ, 2 plain rice and 2 lime juice. Customers can change up to two items in this set. For us, we changed the default kimchi soup to spicy seafood soup.

grill on

Diners can opt for service staff to grill the meat or DIY. We chose the latter. More fun!

pork and beef

Two strips of pork and two smaller strips of beef. The beef was really good! Tender and well marinated. Only managed to have one piece since my friends walloped the rest!

spicy seafood soup

clams, prawns, tofu, egg and radish (probably)

The soup wasn't that spicy though.

watermelon hearts

The meal costs around $35 per pax. Service staff was efficient. If not wrong, the dinner buffet is also about $35++ per pax. Hmm, maybe buffet might be a better choice if one wants more meat!