Sunday, July 5, 2020

Tan Yu 探鱼 @ Somerset 313

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Grilled fish is one of the favourite things to eat (according to my ex-colleagues from China) and so I joined them, on one fine evening. This is a throwback post, to reminisce on life before.

Sometime in Nov 2019, long queues were to be expected for weekend dining, so we delegated the task of queuing up to one of our 小妹 (the younger ones in our group) who happened to be at that area earlier. She has gotten the queue number at about 5+pm and was free to roam around till our number is called. The expected waiting time, was about 30 mins before the dinner peak period. Where was I prior? Well, at the arcade as usual...

We congregated at about 5.30pm and gotten our table at about 5.45pm. The service staff led us to our table and briefly glanced at the interior along the way. Quite hip, the place! Dark, cosy and modern. Crowds are mainly young adults. Atmosphere was lively and noise level pretty high as the sound seemed to ricochet all over.

To order, just tick the items that you would like to have on the order chit. The steps are simple. First choose flavour then choose fish. After which, decide on add-ons and drinks. My group have tried all flavours and for first-timers like myself, they recommended the "Grilled Fish with Green Peppers" because it is not so spicy, they said.

menu

For fish type, one could choose Limbo (凌波) fish, Qingjiang (清江) fish or Seabass (金目鲈). Seabass was out-of-stock that day, so we chose Limbo fish since to us, the Limbo fish and Qingjiang fish are equally foreign. My friends said they typically would order seabass most of the time.

I must say that the pricing is really steep for one fish, with prices starting from $40 onwards. Apparently, Limbo fish is a type of catfish and we waited in high anticipation on how it'd turn out since all of us were having it for the first time.

sides and drinks

In every group, we'd have one friend that would want to order more and one that will try to control. Which type best describes you? For me, personally, I think it has something to do with age. The older I get, the more I'd try to persuade people from over-ordering especially if I had dined with the person prior and somewhat understands their tendency. Hahaha!

waiting for food to arrive
Lemon and Lime @$4.80

Liked that the drinks served is of a larger size. Cold drinks to quell the fire later, if any. The wait for food was rather long actually, so the food better not disappoint!

Whoa, the fish was huge! Or, was it because it was butterflied? Hahahaa. The add-ons like enoki mushrooms, pork belly slices etc were all placed underneath the fish. We were actually wondering if it was forgotten, only to discover that it had been bubbling away underneath the fish!

Grilled Limbo Fish in Green Chili Peppers @$45.90+
a how-to enjoy guide

The fish was indeed tender and with minimal bones. Enjoyable and yes, initially the sauce was not too spicy yet still got oomph! But, it did get saltier and spice level more prominent after some of the liquid evaporated as it was bubbling away.

still hot

We also had some cooked dish like chicken wings, eggplant and roasted squid. These are the 3 popular sides (according to the icons in the menu!) I loved the eggplant but it gets a bit too much when shared amongst two pax.

Roasted Squid @$2.90+
Grilled Eggplant @$4.90+

At about 6.30pm, the staff asked our table if we could finish our meal soon as there was a long queue waiting. She was apologetic and we paid the bills soon after.

All in all, the food was tasty and strongly flavoured plus we got acquainted with a new fish name. Price point could be better though.

the alluring taste of grilled fish

Tan Yu 探鱼

Address: 313 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238895

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Kiyoshi Restaurant @ 75 Amoy Street (Available for Takeaway/Delivery)

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Kiyoshi きよし Restaurant is a Japanese izakaya (居酒屋) that now offers takeaway/online delivery services.

Recently tried their reasonably priced bento set and a few side dishes. Sushi Moriawase had 5 pieces of sushi (tamago, ebi, hotate, unagi and sake), 3 pieces of maki, 3 slices of salmon and blanched spinach with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Loved the gari (pickled ginger) and the pickled radish in the bento set. Plenty of wasabi, but they forgot the shoyu!

Sushi Moriawase @$19.80+
start with the vege
my favourite was the scallop sushi!
wished it was thicker!
love the crunch from the ikura

Let's try some side dishes besides sushi! A must order in any Japanese restaurant, is the tamago yaki. Best eaten when freshly cooked. But often times, most restaurants serve it cold.

Tamago Yaki @$4.80

The tamago felt more like a dessert as it was leaning on the sweeter side. Still enjoyable nonetheless. The tebasaki chicken wings were skinny. Marinade was flavourful and had a hint of alcohol. Unfortunately, it arrived cold and hard. I guessed that I should probably heat this up before eating but I was hungry!

tebasaki @$2.80 per stick (from yakitori menu)

all side dish on one plate


Thank you Jennifer for arranging the sampler set and Kiyoshi for the meal.


For orders, please call 6223 0995 or email info@kiyoshi.com.sg or 93666 419.

Islandwide delivery is available at $11 and minimum order of S$30 is required. Do drop by their Facebook and join their FB Live, because you might get a good deal from there as well! Plus, their fresh shipment of seafood comes every Tues and Thurs.


Kiyoshi Restaurant

Address: 75 Amoy Street, Singapore 069894

Friday, June 12, 2020

[Taipei] 独立牛肉面 Du Li Beef

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In 2019, I was determined to try at least one meal of beef noodles, which Taipei is famed for. Wanted somewhere that's not too far off from the hotel, and I was staying at 璞漣商旅西門館 Hotel Puri Ximen Branch. According to Google Map, it takes only about 7 minutes from the hotel to the beef noodles shop. Great! If Google estimated 7 minutes, that's probably 15 minutes for me. My sense of direction is not that great... hahahaa, but eventually found it. Across the street, there was a dumpling shop and I was tempted...

shop front

But I didn't waiver because beef noodles was what I came for, and I shall be eating that!

The interior of the shop feels like a cafe. Mostly young adults were seen in there. Was greeted by the staff once the sliding door is opened. Awkward as that will also cause the patrons in the shop to look at who's walking-in. Lone diner will be directed to the window seats.

nice sunny day

The shop is manned by just the staff and the Chef in the kitchen. Pretty efficient. I liked the shop decor. Cosy and plenty of natural light.

shop decor
write down your order

The place is semi self-service, and one orders by ticking the desired items in the order chit. It's in Mandarin though. Heng, I can agak-agak (guess) a bit.

Once you have decided and indicated on the paper, pass it to the staff. She was kind of taken aback when I asked if I need to pay first when submitting the order. Hahaa! She patiently informed that customers will pay after they're done with the meal. Oh, and I was happy that she asked how I'd like the tendon to be, as she mentioned that most customers liked it chewy. For me, I wanted mine to be soft.

As it was past typical meal time, Chef started to prepare my bowl almost immediately. The staff will bring the noodles to your table. For utensils, napkin and chili oil, one can take from the common area.

红烧牛肉麵 (半筋半肉)
pretty bowl of piping hot beef noodles
a good bowl of beef noodles, 好吃


yellow noodles

Soup was lightly beefy and fragrant with herbs. Not too overpowering, clean tasting and served piping hot. Noodles were smooth and easily slurped. There were plenty of beef pieces in there and I was a tad worried if it would be tough. I was all smiles at first bite. Wow. Beef was well cooked and fork tender.

so yummy

Tendon was soft and gelatinous. So goood! Overall, happy with the place, the food and the service. It was a good choice!

hi there

One could have a meal here at a relaxed place as there are no long lines outside, pressurizing you to eat quickly. Although, the boy who sat next to me managed to finish his up-sized noodle bowl within 30 minutes. Can see that he too, was satisfied with his meal.

Once done eating, diners usually would collect their empty bowl, used utensils and return it to the staff.

Spent NT$190 (~ SGD9) for the beef noodles.


独立牛肉面

Address: No. 31, Section 2, Guiyang St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/DuLiBeef/?fref=ts
Contact: +886 981 738 089
Business Hours:
Mon to Sat: 11.30am to 2.20pm, 5.00pm to 8.30pm
Closed on Sundays
 
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