noms.: chinese

chinese

Showing posts with label chinese. Show all posts

never expected to want to eat chinese food while in london, but upon hearing J's enthusiastic recommendation of the place, i decided that C and i had to make a trip there, even though it was quite out of the way. i'm a sucker for chinese fusion, so it was right up my alley.

went for breakfast, because their breakfast/lunch menu was different from dinner. there were so many things i wanted from the menu that it was hard to choose- the only limit was how much our stomachs could fit, really.

service was quick. the first item to arrive was the rice & peanut milk (£2.70), followed by the egg bing (£5.50), which was basically a chinese scallion pancake with a glorious sunny side up sandwiched in between.

the pancake was crispy and yet not greasy- i could almost pretend that it hadn't been pan-fried in oil.

the laundry full (£10.50) arrived next. it was a great way of trying what the restaurant had to offer, since it had a bit of all their morning plates- braised beef, peanuts, tea egg, king oyster mushrooms, julienned potato, bacon and what they called milky little buns (basically fried mantous with a drizzle of condensed milk). i loved the milky little buns, especially paired with the other items. the sheer variety made it a fun eat- kind of like a chinese fusion version of a big breakfast, really.

the shrimp cake benedicte (£12.50) was the item i was eyeing all along, and was adamant about ordering it. theoretically speaking, it should've been great, but it wasn't- let down, perhaps, by the shrimp cake. i was imagining something plump and juicy, but it was overly crisp and to me, it barely qualified as shrimp cake. would've liked more of the peanut brittle, too- i could hardly find it, and it was one of the components that had excited me about the dish. probably should've ordered something else- the savoury tofu did call out to me.

C was really full after the meal, but i felt it was just nice. i did like the food in general- just not the shrimp cake benedicte. i would probably go back again to try their other items. i'm sad that i don't have more stomach space, really.

chinese laundry
107 upper street
N1 1QN
http://chineselaundryroom.co.uk

i ate a lot in london (and C, who has the stomach of a bird, had no choice but to try to keep up). it makes sense, then, for me to blog about what i ate. i usually plan our food pitstops, but we chanced upon bao in the most singaporean way ever. we were wandering around in soho, rounded a corner, spotted a queue for a restaurant that was across the street, and decided to just join the queue. of course, after that, we googled as to what exactly we were queueing for, and it enticed us enough to stay in the queue.

we'd really lucked out, though, because we'd reached just prior to them opening for lunch. even so, we waited for about half an hour.

we were handed an order chit while in the queue. so many things on the menu tempted me it was hard to narrow it down (figuring that the baos were minuscule in portion we were planning for this to just be a snack). with the help of google we made our decision, and proceeded to entertain ourselves by watching people go up to the storefront, ask for a table, then get told by the staff that the queue was there, and... *cue shocked face*.

we got a table by the bar, and quickly placed our orders. service was quick and efficient. first thing that came was the peanut milk (£2). two baos came shortly after- the classic (£4) and the confit pork (£4.50). i was more excited by the confit pork initially, but it proved to be too fatty for my taste, and i ended up liking the classic better. it was basically pulled pork (a very aromatic rendition) with fermented greens and a generous dusting of peanut powder sandwiched between fluffy, pillowy buns.

but my favourite, however, was definitely the lamb bao (£5)- the pulled lamb shoulder matched really well with the coriander sauce. i was initially hesitant about ordering it because i'd have to eat it alone (C refuses to eat lamb) but i was so glad i did. C doesn't know what she's missing out- i offered her bites but she plainly refused (more for me, then).

the only letdown, i felt, was the eryngii mushrooms with century egg (£4). i could hardly taste the century egg. should probably have just stuck to the baos.

food was good. fusion at its best, really. if i lived in london i'd probably brave the queue for it again. it was surprisingly filling, too. never intended for it to be lunch, but we ended up being so full that we couldn't eat anything else until dinner.

bao
53 lexington street
W1F 9AS
http://baolondon.com

for X's birthday dinner, i'd initially planned something else, but full of luck club had just opened. it sounded like exactly her kind of thing, so i suggested going there instead. i was honestly quite enticed by the baos (ever since eating at bao in london) and the fact that they serve chinese small plates- what a great idea! so i made a reservation for a weeknight dinner, and we headed to holland village.

liked the decor. liked it even better that we got a cozy corner table.

we ordered a variety of small plates, and the food came so quickly we were startled. first to arrive on the table was the baos (2 for $9.80). i initially wanted the portuguese pork chop, but they were out, replaced by smoked duck. even better, because i like duck anyway.

X was fixated on the salted egg yolk prawn bao, so that was the other bao we got. what i didn't realise was they had two different types of bao- the smoked duck one came with a fried bao, which i found too biscuity and crisp. much preferred the regular bao, which was pillowy and soft. the baos were not bad, but i couldn't help but compare them to bao in london... and they don't quite measure up.

the rest of the food arrived together (always a good thing) and it filled up the small table quickly. we were initially worried that we hadn't ordered enough, but it turned out to be just nice. the duck (half for $35) came served on a board and was shredded on the spot, with hoisin sauce, cucumber, spring onions and steamed chinese pancakes as accompaniments. we were supposed to eat it à la peking duck wraps, but we didn't quite take to the pancakes (way too thick) so i ended up just dipping the duck in the sauce and eating it with cucumber. the duck was admittedly a little on the dry side, but with the sauce it was alright, so i didn't mind.

the dimsum we ordered we both good, though! got the steamed scallops and vegetable dumplings ($6) and the shrimp dumplings ($7.20) that were both translucent, thin-skinned and packed with ingredients. the stir fried radish cake with XO sauce ($6.80) was good too, and this is coming from a person who doesn't even eat radish cake usually. yum.

i was intrigued by the golden sand corn with (what else) salted egg yolk ($4.80). it was certainly an interesting eat- made for a good snack.

the highlight of the dinner though, was probably the fortune cookies. fortune cookies are so silly (i know that logically) but they're such good fun. especially when i took a bite of mine BEFORE reading what it said.

just proves that i'm a glutton, really.

service was quite good, too. they cleared our plates quickly and were pretty attentive. on the whole, quite liked what we had there. X liked it so much that she vows a return.

full of luck club
243 holland ave
http://fullofluck.club

there is seriously a tart craze going around- first cheese tarts, and now egg tarts. while i'm not about to queue two to three hours for cheese tarts (i have better things to do) i didn't mind braving the queue for egg tarts, given that it was reportedly about half an hour. especially for awesome egg tarts! these are the ones that C hand carries back from hong kong for me, so i was interested to see if they were as good as those she brought back.

the queue looked deceptively short when i first reached takashimaya's basement, but i knew better. poked my head around and saw that it looked short only because it was separated into sections so as not to disrupt traffic. still, it wasn't too bad, though, so i joined it. time actually passed fairly quickly because... i was entertained by people who thought that the queue ended there, but then were taken aback when they were notified by a staff member posted there to join the queue behind. (and then there were people who got curious because of the snaking queue, and poked their head around wondering what it was for.)

the system was, thankfully, a pretty efficient one. the staff posted at the sectioned off part also did double duty as order taker. payment would be made later along the queue (cash only- which i thankfully had) with collection after that.

i spent the time being fascinated by them making egg tarts. they were making them right on the spot- filling the tarts with egg mixture, baking them, and taking them out of the tart case. (i never knew that the tarts weren't baked with the disposable aluminium casing- they had to take them out of the baking cases and then put them into the aluminium casing. all while piping hot.) they worked really quickly and efficiently- pretty impressive.

the tarts were literally fresh out of the oven when i got my hands on them, but i didn't have time to eat it on the spot. i brought it home and heated it up in the toaster later that evening, and it was just as good as the ones C brought back! i especially love the tart base- buttery, slightly milky, and crisp. totally worth the queue, given that i only waited slightly more than half an hour. (then again i went at an off peak timing- and was still surprised by the number of people there. don't people have to work?! okay, i know the same could be said of me.)

tai cheong bakery
pop-up, takashimaya food hall

technically not my first visit to keng eng kee- i went previously when my colleague wanted to treat us to crab. i was in charge of the googling that time, so my search brought us there. we'd made a reservation for a weekday lunch, so even though there were only four of us, we got an air-conditioned table. i remembered the chili crab to be not bad, so when my mum said she wanted crab (what's new), keng eng kee immediately came to mind. my sister called for a saturday night reservation, and was told that if we wanted a table, we'd have to go at 5.30, which frankly speaking, is kind of a weird timing for dinner. way too early for us to have dinner, so we decided to just show up at 6, assuming that it would be alright.

due to unforeseen circumstances, i ended up being the first to reach at 6. the chaos that greeted me at the restaurant (really more of a coffeeshop stall that has taken over the entire coffeeshop space) was alarming. i was really glad we'd made a reservation, because there were groups of people waiting around and queuing for a table. the staff was harried and the entire place was buzzing with activity. i had to wait around for a bit before i was even ushered to the table, and was told that i'd have to order immediately because the food would take about 25 minutes wait, and we had to turn over the table by 7 (!).

so after consulting my sister on the phone, i placed the order. the guy who took my order gave me raised eyebrows when i was almost done ordering, prompting me to ask, is that too much food? he squinted at his notepad, laughed, and said that it would be okay for the five of us if we have good appetites. that sounded about right, so i just went with the order.

the food arrived right on time at about 6.30, but some dishes didn't make their appearance until much later.

i'd wanted to try the mingzhu roll ($12 for six pieces) since the other time i was there, so of course, i ordered it. it was fried taupok stuffed with SALTED EGG YOLK, prawn, ham, mushrooms and parsley, but i could hardly taste the salted egg yolk. it was alright, but not something i'd get again.

for the requisite vegetable fix, i picked the chinese spinach with three eggs ($10), because eggs! to be honest i've never had this dish, though i know it's quite common at zi char places. i liked it, but then again i like most things with eggs. it was comforting, soupy, and best of all, not oily.

our zi char orders never go without the yam basket ($20) if it's available. my dad commented that it's smaller than usual, but i found it to be of an okay size. best of all, it was yummy! i liked how the fried yam basket wasn't too greasy (though that probably prompted me to eat more of it than i really should).

and of course, we had to get the moonlight horfun ($5), which is their signature dish. my parents, who are traditionalists when it comes to chinese food, said that it was a non-traditional version of horfun and expressed concern over the raw yolk perched on top. but then they cleaned out the dish anyway, so... i did remember it to be nicer the previous time i was there, though! much more wok hei, for one.

we ordered several other dishes- fried rice ($4) which my parents liked better than the horfun, cereal prawn ($18) and sweet & sour pork ($10). (didn't bother with pictures because i was too busy stuffing my face.) the food was good though, especially the super crispy cereal prawn- though my sister did get food envy seeing salted egg yolk prawn served at other tables. they even offer an option of deshelled prawns, but i didn't go with that- it's the crackly shell that adds extra texture and flavour.

but of course, the star of the dinner was the chili crab ($65/kg) which, fittingly enough, appeared last. i was too lazy to get my hands dirty (crab is way too much work for too little meat) so i only tasted the sauce. ordered mantous to dip into the sauce, because that's what chili crab is for, isn't it? instead of serving fried ones, they served steamed ones, which my colleagues didn't like previously, because it was way too soft. my family, surprisingly enough, liked the steamed mantous. kind of pricey though- i think they go for $1 each. my mum (who is a crab fiend) and grandmother basically cleaned out the entire crab between the two of them- the rest of us, like me, just aren't that into crab. she commented that the crab was fresh and pretty good, so i'll take her word for it.

of course, given that the crab only appeared at close to 7, we finished our food way after 7. no one came to chase us away (i think they were too busy) so that worked out fine. the bill came up to about $30 per person, which is quite reasonable given that we had crab. weekend dinners are a no-no without prior reservations, though!

keng eng kee seafood
block 124 bukit merah lane 1
#01-136
http://www.kek.com.sg/#!/home

timbre+ has, naturally, been on my to-visit list since its opening. its concept embodies all the stuff i like- plenty of interesting food in a non-restaurant setting. the only thing that was stopping me from going there was its location in the west side. thankfully had some time on a weekday, and decided to head there.

made a loop around the place before deciding on wong kee- i've heard a lot of good things about its noodles and dumplings. (though, of course, i was distracted by other stalls, like dusk by slake. another time, perhaps.) to be honest, i was also half attracted by the queue at wong kee, which was shorter than i expected, perhaps because it was late for lunch (and also, the only stall to have a queue). i had time on my hands, so i didn't mind the queue, and besides, i didn't have to queue that long, anyway. there were perhaps six people in front of me, and i waited for about 10-15 minutes before placing my order.

while queueing, i was pondering what to order. i knew that i wanted the dumpling soup ($4) but i also wanted the beef brisket noodles. i did want to try the beef brisket, but i'm really not into carb-based dishes, especially after whole 30. so while in the queue, i'd decided to just get the dumpling soup and not be greedy. for some reason though, after i'd ordered the dumpling soup, i decided to be brave and ask the guy if only sold the beef brisket on its own. understandably, the guy went like !!! and consulted the girl who was cooking the noodles. maybe carbs are really unfashionable or something, but she got it straight away, and said, "you just don't want carbs, right?" so she special-ordered my dumpling soup by adding beef brisket to it, charging $6.50.

so glad i decided to be brave and ask, because the beef brisket was pretty good! (i would probably ask them to put the beef brisket separately next time though. the girl did ask if i wanted it separate, but i was already embarrassed enough about my order that i just said no.) i would definitely go back again, especially after they were so nice about my (seriously weird) special order.

the dumplings were even better. they were huge! its skin was silky smooth, super thin, and packed with a juicy, flavoursome filling. there were even bits of water chestnut and black fungus in it. one of the best dumplings i've eaten.

i'd definitely come back for more of their food. i've heard that lunchtime queues stretch up to half an hour, though, and that's kind of scary. i'd stick to the late lunch timing if i go back.

wong kee wanton noodles & roasted delights
timbre+
#01-06
https://www.facebook.com/wongkeewantonnoodle/

it was purely by chance that i discovered this stall. needed a quick lunch in the CBD area, so we settled for hawker food. the layout of the hawker itself makes it difficult to discover new places- it has two levels, and each level is segmented in such a way that you'd be disinclined to venture beyond where you're seated to look at other stalls.

my friend chose a particular row, because she wanted wanton mee, so i just went with it. didn't have the luxury of time to be picky, anyway. i was first tempted by the dumpling soup at another stall, so i got that, but then the curry rice stall, with its perpetual queue, lured me in. so... i decided to be greedy and got a plate.

it was two-thirty, so they'd run out of their more popular items, including the char siew and the cabbage. i don't usually eat curry rice, so i didn't mind. i got the pork chop, beansprouts, beancurd skin and a generous ladle of curry over rice ($2.80).

it was pretty satisfying, especially considering how cheap it was. the pork chop was still crisp, though it was prepared a while earlier. also liked the curry, especially paired with the beansprouts. i could understand why there was a queue.

came back for a takeaway for my dad the next morning. at nine-thirty in the morning, they had all of their stuff available.

managed to get the char siew this time, along with the braised cabbage. only tried the char siew, but i liked it. i can absolutely understand it'd be sold out. it was lean yet not tough, and well marinated.

nothing fancy. it was simple food done well. i'll be back if i need a quick lunch in the area.

hock gooi curry rice
#02-35 golden shoe food centre

to be honest, london fat duck has never been on my to-try list, as reviews online have been mixed. but my friends tried it previously and loved it, so we came by for dinner on a weeknight.

no reservations allowed, but thankfully we didn't have to wait long for seats (probably five minutes or so), even though the restaurant was crowded.

the menu consisted of roasts and the usual dim sum items. we ticked the items that we wanted on an order chit and passed it to the waitress (it was only later that my friend remembered that there were ipads available to do ordering on). food came really quickly- like within five minutes, which was awesome!

i was most excited by the black pepper london duck buns ($4.80), which my friends had had previously and raved about.

didn't look like much, but it was awesome. it came piping hot, with a crispy, sugary crust that reminded me of tim ho wan's. i would come back just for this.

that's not to say that the rest of the items weren't good. they were, too. i found the rest of the items to be pretty competent. standouts were the char siew ($14.80), the dumpling soup ($8) and the crispy london duck snow bun ($4.80). the snow bun was essentially a black pepper-less version of the black pepper duck bun, so of course i liked it, especially since it had the same crackly crust. we didn't get the duck to share, because my friend and i aren't fans of fatty duck, but my other friend who wanted to try got the london roast duck noodle ($7.80), which he enjoyed well enough.

perhaps the only item i didn't like was the golden custard bun ($4.80). as promised, it did flow, but the filling had none of the fragrant saltiness i love about salted egg custard.

i don't eat dim sum often, but i found the prices to be quite reasonable given the quality and the location. we ordered freely and were stuffed at the end of the meal, yet the bill came up to only about $85 for three people, including chinese tea at $1 per person. it was a pretty satisfying meal, and i'll be back for the buns.

london fat duck

#b1-16/17 scotts square

www.londonfatduck.com.sg

noms.

london: chinese laundry, islington.

london: bao, soho.

full of luck club, holland village.

tai cheong bakery, takashimaya.

keng eng kee seafood, alexandra.

wong kee wanton noodles & roasted delights, timbre+.

hock gooi hainanese curry rice, golden shoe food centre.

london fat duck, scotts square.

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