Sunday, May 1, 2022

이태원짜장 Itaewon Jjajang @ 64 Peck Seah St

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We were nearby for our staycation and decided to drop by Itaewon Jjajang for lunch. Unplanned, and without reservation. Walked to it and saw a good number of pax queuing up. Hmm, to persevere or to give up? Decided to stay in-queue and after 10 minutes, we were rewarded as the staff allowed us to wait inside the restaurant.

unanimous decision



Decided on the menu while waiting and soon, we were informed that our table was ready. To our surprise, the staff let us into a private room. Wow!

Yes, we ordered Set A and upsized the jjajangmyeon plus added a fried egg to top it up. Additionally, we got the seafood pancake.

Set A - tangsuyuk + jjajangmyeon + jjampong (not in photo)

jjampong  짬뽕




Interestingly, one could choose the spice level for the jjampong at Itaewon Jjajang. Tracy selected Level 3 out of 4 levels and the staff was amused. She asked us if we really wanted to do Level 3 as it will be spicy. Keke!

Indeed, the jjampong turned out to be spicier than what we normally would order but still bearable (if one doesn't drink up the soup!) The spicy kick was sharp and noticeable once you drink the soup, stays only for a short while in the mouth (thankfully!) and then it travels down slowly to the belly while freeing up the tastebuds again.

Next up, I've long heard about the jjajangmyeon here so was excited to try it. The sauce was thick and gooey, and flavourful. Enjoyable.

Jjajangmyeon 자장면


To tell the truth, I was more interested in the tangsuyuk rather than the noodles on that day. The version here was pretty good with the batter remained crisp and the sauce not overly sweet.


tangsuyuk 탕수육


Unexpectedly, we were wowed by the seafood pancake. For me, it tasted eggy with crisp edges. Plus, not too oily. Eating this makes me want to have beer, or makgeolli!


seafood pancake 해물파전

yummy


I liked the pickles here, and we ordered seconds for the pickled cabbage. So good!

my favourite pickles


The staff here are pretty friendly and efficient. Thank you!

Enjoyed lunch with my staycay buddies; Ivan, Hence and Tracy.

이태원짜장 Itaewon Jjajang

Address: 64 Peck Seah St, Singapore 079325
Contact: 6223 1600
Business Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11:30am–2:30pm, 5–10pm
Sun: 11:30am–2:30pm, 5-9:30pm

Friday, April 15, 2022

[Tasting] COCA Leisure Park Kallang

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My first time at COCA although I have long heard about this restaurant. Been around for as long as I can remember! Was blessed to be invited for a tasting at COCA Leisure Park Kallang by Jennifer Yeo Consultancy.

Located at Level 2, the restaurant was easy to locate since it was either at this end of the escalator or the other.

entrance

buffet

typical table setup

Doing the regular buffet dinner, priced @$49++ per pax and with about 70 items from the menu. Diners would be able to order through the tablet device on each table.

For the hotpot soup, the staff recommends us the new Laksa broth and Hua Diao Phoenix Pot.

let's see the soup

Laksa and Hua Diao Chicken Hotpot

While waiting for the ingredients to be served, diners could get their sauce from the sauce counter. Remember to mask-up when moving there. Noticed that when staff was not busy, they would assist the customer in mixing the sauces.

COCA original sauce (front) and my original anyhow made sauce (back)

for Hua Diao Chicken soup


Thanks to the staff who prepared the Hua Diao Chicken for us.

immersive experience

all in

let it simmer

suitably dressed

For drinks, one could have the option of lemongrass, lime juice or water chestnut. It is refillable.

water chestnut, lime juice

let's begin!

thinly sliced meats, seafood, prawn paste, dumplings

Fish Fillet 鱼片

Fish Maw 鱼鳔

Green Noodle 菠菜面

Prawns 虾

Thinly Sliced Mutton 薄片羊肉

House Special Shrimp Paste 特制虾浆

vegetables, beancurd skin and mushrooms

table-full, so beauty-full

cooking the Fish Glue 鱼滑

The quality ingredients one gets from COCA, translated into a delicious meal. Fresh seafood is their strength and goes well with laksa and also the hua diao soup.

prawn paste

fresh prawns


If you would like to enjoy COCA Laksa Hotpot at home, here is the info and the order link is provided below:

Laksa Hotpot Set (Serves 3-4pax) delivery only - $88

- Complimentary Mala Fried Rice

- Complimentary Mala Fish Skin

- 2 soup base 两种汤底  (2 Liter each)

- Thinly Sliced Pork Collar 薄片猪肉 200g 

- Chicken Fillet 鸡肉片 200g

- Prawns 鲜虾 8pcs

- Chicken Meat Paste 鸡肉浆 80g

- Shrimp Wanton 云吞 4pcs

- Fishball with Roe 鱼包蛋 4pcs 

- Chinese Cabbage 大白菜 200g 

- Local Lettuce 生菜 100g 

- Emperor Shiitake 皇帝椎茸 100g 

- Green Noodle 菠菜面 2 portion

- COCA Chili Sauce  COCA泰式辣酱 (200g)


Thank you COCA for hosting the dinner, and special thanks to COCA staff at Leisure Park Kallang for your care.


COCA

Address: 5 Stadium Walk #02-01, Leisure Park Kallang, Singapore 397693

Websitehttps://coca.com.sg/

Contact:

62413833

Business Hours:

Daily: 11:30am–3pm, 6–10:30pm

Order Onlinehttps://cocahotpot.oddle.me/en_SG/product/8a818ed07f3442ca017f3ed8f28d3f85

Sunday, March 27, 2022

One Night Staycation @ Goodwood Park Hotel, Dinner @ Thai Village Restaurant and Afternoon High Tea Buffet @ L'Espresso

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Goodwood Park Hotel

This was decided on a whim as my friends would like to utilize their voucher before it expires. Haha, I am voucherless but got quite a good deal from Agoda.com so it was still ok.

Booked a Deluxe Mayfair room and checked into the hotel on a Saturday afternoon (after 3pm) and got upgraded to Premium Deluxe. Slightly bigger room size? Why not?

The hotel layout got me confused actually. Went to the wrong wing and ended up having some difficulty in find the room. Same level, but different direction. Hahaa!

let's go find my room

Premium Deluxe Room 39 sqm

first thing, is to look for the bedroom slippers

comfortable work desk

my favourite seat


Ok, one thing to note is that Premium Deluxe Room does not have a bath tub. Standing shower but that's alright and the shower area is elongated, plenty of space!

standing shower

such a big weighing scale

temperature was easily adjusted

soap

bath things

Instant coffee and TWG tea are available in-room. The mini fridge is empty saved for the small sachets of milk for the instant coffee.

would you like to have some coffee?

all that glitters

or, do you prefer tea?

All's well but unfortunately this room does not have a view. So, most of the time the curtains are drawn.

hey there, little green thing

nice looking room keycard

my favourite view


We ate dinner at Thai Village Restaurant which is just 5 minutes walk away. Reservation is recommended as the place was bustling on a Saturday evening.

night view


Thai Village Restaurant


restaurant signage

round table

typical table setting

peanuts and achar

tea


Felt like a typical Chinese restaurant. Busy atmosphere and plenty of diners. Service staff are friendly and efficient. They do give you the time that you need to decide on what to order.

The food did arrive pretty quickly.

Crispy Beancurd in Thai Style @$18 (S)

Baked King Prawns with Vermicelli @$34 (S)


Salt Baked Chicken Drumsticks @$20 (S)

Baked Duck Web @$20

first time eating duck web


Realized that all the claypot stuffs are very strongly flavoured. Hence, the pot of tea became a necessity.

After dinner, we went for a stroll around Orchard. The only 7-eleven store seemed to be the one at Far East Plaza stretch of road.


L'Espresso - English Afternoon Tea with Local Favourites


High tea, I've been to a couple last year, but none of them was buffet style. For L'Espresso, one gets two drinks and hot water for the teapot is refillable, complimentary. Yes, do make reservations as the place was bustling on a Sunday morning at 11am. 

Weekend price is $62++ per adult and $36++ per child. Hotel guests and Citibank card-holders enjoy 15% discount at the moment. Do check with the restaurant directly.

started with tea

Darjeeling Black Tea


The tea looks like it could go well with scones but unfortunately, I didn't try any. The irony! I ate more of the local favourites, I think and became super full thereafter (as usual). 

Pan-fried Seafood Gyoza (front), Singapore Chilli Crabmeat with Mantou (back)

Crispy Yam Cake with Garlic Chilli Sweet Sauce, Pork with Peanut Sauce, Korean Chicken


The lady Chef at the local favourites counter, was super nice and she recommended the Crispy Yam Cake with Garlic Chilli Sweet Sauce. My goodness, that was indeed super nice! Totally a must-eat here. Pork skewer with peanut sauce was nice but abit cold.

Most hotel seemed  to have their own signature laksa and likewise, Goodwood Park too. The broth was nicely hot and simmering for a few hours as I had this at about 1230pm.

Laksa with Condiments

quail egg, taupok, prawn, beansprouts


Let's eat something from the Western counter.

selection of cold cuts and cheeses, and petite sandwiches


The cheeses; Bresse Bleu, Comte & Camembert were all lovely. Not too pungent. I liked all the cold cuts. The Parma Ham, Gherkin & Cream Cheese Bagel was ok only but the small tartlets (open-faced sandwich?) were all very good.

The best one was the chives tartlet. Super tasty! Must-eat.

Another must-eat is the Roasted Pork Neck with Caraway Crust and Shallot Jus. Chef Francis was rather generous. Keke, can get like 6 slices at one shot. The pork neck was tender and of a nice chew. Not fatty.

Roasted Pork Neck with Caraway Crust & Shallot Jus



chicken wings, tempura prawns and turkey quiche (mini)


I was intrigued by turkey quiche... like it isn't even December! But alas, not very turkey'ish? It felt airy and hollow.

turkey quiche


The mid-wings were flavourful but cold.

Then, it was time for our second drink. I chose vienna coffee. Hot brewed coffee with cold whipped cream. Nice.

 Vienna Coffee


For dessert, one could take their pick from the dessert counter. I got mine from Good Ol’ Days Desserts Trolley that went around the place. Old school dessert. I chose castella cake and mini pandan donut.

Castella Cake

Mini Pandan Donut


As we ate, chatted and photographed... time flew by and it was time to go home.

Happy Birthday to Tracy! And may we have many more travel, staycay and makan adventures!
 
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