Sunday, September 8, 2019

[Tasting] Wok Palace @ Fusionopolis

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Wok Palace offers lavish tze char (煮炒) dining in a comfortable setting and originates from Wok Master and Coffee Hive family. Started from humble roots and now expanding its wings to bring a more refined dining concept with unique menu and inclusion of exciting new dishes while retaining some evergreen tze char favourites.

Thank you Damien and Angie for the invite, and special thanks to Anthony, Terence and Wok Palace for hosting the dinner.

comfortable dining space


Let's take a look at the colourful drinks that we had. The perfect thirst quenchers!

(right to left) Sky Blue Tropical, Passion Peach Tea, Lychee Mojito, Iced Lemon Tea and Honey Lemon

Or, one could opt for the beautiful blooming hot teas. So pretty with the flowers inside.

Blooming Jasmine Tea @$4.50

Do you love soups as much as I do? We started the meal proper with the Ginseng Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk. Is it just me, because I find that the texture of the sea whelk is pretty similar to chicken gizzard. Hehe!

Ginseng Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk (人参螺头炖鸡汤) @$12

Soup was boiled over a slow fire for many hours (close to a day's worth!) and it was love at first sip. Each spoonful contained all the essence (精华) yet not an overly rich taste. I enjoyed this a lot. Soothing and comforting.

loved every sip
the last few sips!


Next, we progressed to a light appetiser of Scallop Roll with Braised Daikon and Pork Broth. It looked interesting and I was wondering, where was the scallop... Can you guess?

Scallop Roll with Braised Daikon and Pork Broth (带子卷焖白胡萝卜扒猪骨汤) @$23.80

The outer layer turned out to be sashimi grade scallops made into a paste to wrap the minced pork, diced carrots, water crest, and shrimp. I loved the feels of how beautiful it looked with the dots of orange and green (from the diced items). The daikon was well braised and had absorbed the delicious pork broth. The scallop roll had a dense bouncy texture and the minced pork and shrimp package with the pretty diced carrots and water chestnut elevated the package further with a refreshing taste that complemented well with the overall sweetness.

pretty!

For tofu lovers, I would recommend the Homemade Kale Tofu. Nope, the tofu was not made out of kale! This dish is actually like any typical Chinese restaurant tofu spinach dish, just that it uses kale instead of spinach to top the tofu with crunchy savoury bits. The main reason why I liked this dish, was purely due to the soft, freshly made tofu. So yummy.

Homemade Kale Tofu (自制羽衣甘蓝豆腐) @$6
so soft~

How does braised beef cheek appeal to you? I'd normally have this at non-Chinese restaurant but hey, if Wok Palace has it, then yes let's try it!

Braised Beef Cheek with Organic Kale and Confit Tomato 红烧牛肉扒羽衣甘蓝 @$28

Visually, I was reminded of a Christmas tree. I kid you not. Pushing that thought aside, I appreciate the tower of kale. Yes, I needed my vegetables serving for the day and kale is one of the superfoods, so yay!

tender

The beef cheek was fork tender and leaned towards the sweet side. The sauce had hints of herbs and some Chinese spices. Familiar taste but sshhh, it's a secret sauce.

Wok Palace also serves dim sum and it takes pride on its roasted meat as well. If you had tried its roast pork before, you'll know that Wok Palace's version is different from the others. Take a look at the photo below and imagine the crunch of that top crisp skin.

2 Combination Roast Meat 烧味双拼 @$15.80
mustard dip for the roast meat platter
roast pork belly with biscuit-like crunchy skin

Signature Classic Roast Duck 经典烤鸭 @$17.80/$30.80/$58.80 (small/half/whole)

For more beefy taste, there's the Stir Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Red Wine & Black Pepper. The default doneness is medium well, hence do inform the service staff if you prefer medium or medium rare.

Stir Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Red Wine & Black Pepper (红酒黑椒和牛粒) @$28

For me, I'd go for the Kurobuta Pork Ribs with Honey Sauce. Deliciously sweet and sticky with caramelised sauce, and with meat that slids off easily from the bone. Messy but delicious.

Kurobuta Pork Ribs with Honey Sauce 黑豚蜜展排骨 @$28

If you're feeling extra indulgent, you might want to try the Lobster Broth with Crispy Rice. Served in a wooden rice bucket, anticipation builds as the lid was lifted off. The fragrance of shaoxing 紹興 or also known as hua diao 花雕 wine wafted towards us immediately.

Lobster Broth with Crispy Rice 上汤龙虾泡饭 @ market price

lobster broth
rice puffs in, and ready to be served



Once again, thank you Wok Palace for the introduction to the innovative dishes. Congratulations on your official launch!

Wok Palace

Address: 1 Fusionopolis Way, #02-01/02, Singapore 138632
Websitehttps://www.wokpalace.com.sg
Contact: +65 6909 9856
Business Hours:
Daily 10am to 10pm

Saturday, August 31, 2019

[Tasting] Clementi Tze Char 金文泰煮炒 @ Clementi Tastebud Eating House

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Located smack right in the middle of the newer residential blocks, Tastebud Eating House at Blk 208C would likely be the go-to place when hunger pang strikes for those who stays near Clementi Ave 6. There is a bus stop near the coffeeshop and one could get there via bus #188 or #51. Have you noticed the new tzechar (zichar) stall nestled amongst the other familiar ones? Clementi Tze Char 金文泰煮炒 has been in operation for over a month now and we were invited to have a taste. My interest was piqued by its claim of authentic traditional KL Hokkien Mee. Suddenly, there was a need to try!

the stall, and the people

First item to arrive on our table? The Hokkien Mee (yasssss!) nonetheless. Served in a steel pot, the portion looked pretty generous for one pax worth. There were lots of deep fried pork lard, fishcake slices, cai xin, prawns and pork slices. The noodles were on point but the colour was lighter than the actual ones.

Authentic Traditional KL Hokkien Mee  真宗KL福建面@$4 (U.P $4.50)

"Do you have the sambal belachan?" I asked. No, they don't have that. Whaaat! Now, that was an immediate minus-ing of points (imo only).

"Why don't you try it with this chili sauce instead? Not the one that you were looking for, but Chef's homemade version."

Ohhh, the taste was legit on first bite! Noodles done right, sauce and flavour were on-point! The chili sauce was nicely tangy and spicy and complements the noodles. Yes, finally! A place that serves up the taste of legit KL Hokkien Mee.

Chef's homemade chili
tai lok meen

Satisfaction was pumped up with the authentic traditional KL Hokkien Mee. We sampled another noodles dish and that's the sang meen (生面) which is done up ala Penang 江南生面, which I'm not that familiar with.

Penang 江南生面 (Jiang Nan Crispy Noodles) @$6 

The noodles were well fried and crispy without being oily. The sauce was lovely and not too overpowering. Loved the mix of ingredients on the plate. Plus, it has broccoli and black fungus! Now, that I don't see from the zichar stall at my workplace.

side profile

Now, if you're with family and would like to dine out, what would be the dishes to order from this stall? Let's get started with the rice dishes or what I'd call 吃饭叫菜 (in Cantonese).

First up was Marmite Chicken but the non-deep fried version. Served with chicken thigh meat (much like gong bao chicken) and the sauce was sweet and salty. Eaten together with the rest of the ingredients; julienned cucumber, sliced onions and sprinkled with sesame seeds, I was reminded of rojak somehow.

Marmite Chicken (S/M/L) @$10/$14/$18

We had the signature curry fish head and wow, the curry fragrance was so enticing when it was brought out. I could feel my saliva glands activated. The sauce was lemak yet not too over, flavour was awesome and rightly balanced. Doused the piping hot curry onto the white rice and scooped up some into the mouth. This dish earned a resounding yes from me, just by its sauce alone. It was that yummy.

Curry Fish Head 咖喱鱼头 @$20

The vegetables retained its crunch for a refreshing bite but I do prefer them slightly more cooked through. The fish was red snapper and its quality was superb. Meaty, firm and sweet. And very filling!

plenty of meat

For the finale, we had a preview of an upcoming dish (not in the menu yet) called 帝王富贵鸡 or Imperial Prosperity Chicken. Sounded like a CNY dish!

Half a kampong chicken (free range chicken) was wrapped up nicely with a loads of herbs such as 当归,杞子,玉竹,泡参,当参,维山,北其,川弓 before steamed for hours, resulting in slightly viscous soup and a very tender chicken in which the goodness from the herbs had seeped right into the meat.

Imperial Prosperity Chicken 帝王富贵鸡 

Depending on the size of the chicken, the soup could get oily. Indeed the essence from the chicken but preferably with lesser oil, ya.

Thank you Hence for the introduction and Royston for the invite and hosting the dinner. Compliments to the Chef and the service crew for the delicious food and friendly demeanour.

Tastebud Eating House and Clementi Tze Char
promotion

Watch out for upcoming dishes next month, and one of it I heard is the fish steamboat 鱼头炉. Happy eating!

Clementi Tze Char @ Tastebud Eating House

Address: Blk 208C Clementi Avenue 6 #01-01 Singapore 123208
Website: https://www.tastebud.com.sg/tastebud-eating-house-clementi
Business Hours:
Mon to Fri:11am to 2:30pm and 4:30pm to 11pm
Sat to Sun: 11am to 11pm

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Sampan @ 63 Boat Quay

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And so, we decided to have dinner at this place called "The Sampan". It's been a long long while since I last visited Boat Quay.

exterior
interior
Was there super early, so got myself a drink. Requested for a rum based cocktail and was presented with Cuba Libre. Rum and coke it is then. Was pretty good.

Cuba Libre

sampan
Ivan, Hence and Alvin soon arrived and we ordered some bar snacks to start. We ordered 4 types of snacks. The emping belinjo was well fried and enjoyable with the homemade green chili dip. Was disappointed with the calamari portion though. The pani puri was surprisingly good and we were confused about the nuts below the pani puri. Some of us had actually tried to bite onto those before we were informed that it was for decoration only...oops.

Emping Belinjo @$5
Calamari with Wasabi Mayo @$10
Vegetarian Fritters @$8
Pani Puri @$6

Loved the vegetarian fritters too! So tasty.

Mango Chili Smash @$17

We were in a party of 5, so we ordered 3 meats and 2 carbs to share for the mains. The portion of each main is suitable for one pax.

Crispy Thai Beef Salad @$16
After the snacks, we started with a Crispy Thai Beef Salad which was tangy and appetising. Crispy beef wasinteresting as well. Lovely.

Fresh Local Seabass @$21

Seabass (different view)

The soy glaze gave the fish a delightful flavour that everyone's familiar with and nothing beats the texture of a fresh produce. The potato puree was so good to eat as well. Likewise, the pickled salad served with the dish. Yums!

Beef Cheek Rendang @$26
Couldn't believe it when I first took a bite of the Beef Cheek Rendang. "What sorcery is this?" I thought. The rendang flavour was best! So so good. Wish we could have more of the steamed rice cake (ketupat) to mop up all the delicious sauce. The beef was tender but the magic was in the sauce.

Kampung Bali Fried Rice (Beef) @$15

Unfortunately, the fried rice was a tad too dry for my liking. Flavour was good but just not my thing.

Whole Baby Chicken @$22

The baby chicken looked innocent but it was so dangerous! That aubergine sambal, was wow! The spicy punch hits you faster than a lightning bolt and I was coughing away before I knew what was happening. It was interesting that this dish was served with lontong. Why ah?

steamed rice cake with chicken

And, by this time, if you're still hungry, there's always mee goreng. When it arrived, it looked like mee pok! Well, it tasted like fried mee pok too. The noodles were al-dente but I was already very full by then.

Indonesian Mee Goreng (Seafood) @$15

My favourites were the seabass and beef cheek rendang. Kudos to Chef Ahmed and his kitchen crew for the fine execution. Lovely flavours using local produce!

Of course, to end our meal, we'd order dessert. Turned out that two of our dessert were green! The first one was described as 'breakfast' in a glass. Think Coffee Tuille, kaya mousse and Charred Bread Ice Cream.

Local Coconut Pudding @$13
Pandan Pancakes @$13

The pandan pancakes reminds me of min jiang kueh (面煎粿). The green dessert were very likeable but the ice-cream melted way too fast!

mochi brownie with ice cream

My favourite dessert was the mochi brownie with ice-cream. This was not in the menu yet and Chef Bjorn brought it for us to try. Loved it! That layered feel when you bite into the crisp thin layer at the top of the brownie, then sink into that slightly denser texture of the brownie before encountering chewy mochi was so memorable.

The crew at The Sampan are friendly and they'd constantly be checking on their guest. Water was topped up regularly too.

We enjoyed dining at The Sampan. Thank you all!

The Sampan

Address: 63 Boat Quay, Singapore 049851
Websitehttps://www.thesampan.sg/
Contact: 6732 1698
Business Hours: 
Mon to Fri: 11.30am to 12am
Sat: 5pm to 12am
Closed on Sun
 
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