Showing posts with label Singaporean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singaporean. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Travel - Taipei, Aug 2011 (Day 4 / 4)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Travel - Singapore (Feb 2011) - Part 2/3
My previous Singapore post I discussed on my justifications behind my humble opinion on hawker centers, their necessity to the city to be exact. For this post, in addition to froyo and more food adventures, my leisure walks over my few days there somehow heightened my sense of ... observations or perhaps released my urge to express myself via writings on subjects more than just food. It is a refreshing attempt but I quite enjoy this little change. One of the reasons for my visit to Singapore was to experience the cultures as well as the environment, both living and perhaps working as well. Moving to Singapore to work / live crossed my mind several times (for various reasons) but before doing so I wanted to travel there at least for once or spend more time there. While I weight the option of moving there, I noticed the increasing number of Singaporeans (of all ages, mostly in the mid / late 20s) in Hong Kong, especially in the Central Business District and perhaps all around Hong Kong to be honest. Now here is the million dollar question, why on earth am I planning to move to Singapore while many are making their move to Hong Kong or other major cities around Asia or even the world?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hainan ShaoYe 海南少爺
There are quite some buzz on this place recently in various food publications in Hong Kong and I actually went during the first week of their opening a a few weeks ago. I guess it is time to share my experience. First of all, many foodies usually visit a new establishment after at least a couple of weeks or sometimes months of operations to ensure quality consistency. While it is understandable for a new resto to require time to "settle in" in terms of operations, it is not an excuse for inconsistency with food quality and etc. As long as you are open for business, day 1 or day 1000 should not make so much of a difference in my opinion. My experience at Hainan Shaoye fell into the disappointing category.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Sh!ok
When it comes to Hainanese Chicken Rice, I honestly don't know anyone who hates this dish, almost all can recall a memorable experience with this dish. We didn't come here just for the Hainanese Chicken, which I love to eat in every possible opportunities, we are here to try out some of their signature Singaporean specialties.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Nam Ah Restaurant 南亞 1964
Someone told me recently that when one has a craving for certain types of food / cuisine, it means one lacked the certain nutrition that can be found from that particular food or cuisine. Your body somehow stimulated your brain to have certain food craving for your own good. I think it is true to a certain extend. The main concern I have is that I am always craving for various types of food and cuisines, sometimes the range can be quick extreme as in one moment I want Indian curry with Naan and then soon after I would crave for a salad followed by ice cream! Does it mean I am in a really bad shape in terms of a balance diet? In lack of various nutriments? humm ....
After getting my haircut, I wandered around the Causeway Bay area in search for something quick for dinner. When I passed by the the Brunch and Supper Club, I really had the urge to go up for some egg Benedict but after recalling my previous visits here, I decided to continue my search. The mere thought of the egg Benedict reminded me of chicken and suddenly I had a craving for chicken. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was Nam Ah Restaurant and its Hainan Chicken which they are famous for. It was a good time to give it try. The last time I visited was almost 2 years ago, also after my haircut session. Without spending much time on the menu, I ordered my craving item, chicken, Hainan Chicken Rice. The environment is causal and decor is fairly contemporary in a sense. It was bright and fairly cozy but a bit noisy even when it was only half full.
(1) Hainan Chicken
From the slightly chewy texture of the meat, it seemed to me it was of free range chicken but lack the strong chicken flavor I wanted. The same applies to the rice but it was soft and moist which was good. The sauce was a bit of a disappointment because the "ginger onion" lacked a lot of minced ginger!!! I heart this type of sauce and I can literally have a bowl of plain rice to go along with it. However, not the sauce here; not only did it lacked the amount of minced ginger, it had an excessive amount of oil and the green onion was chopped too big in my opinion. I remember cooking my own "ginger onion" sauce to go along with a simple steamed chicken back at university years when I was the so-called "chef" of the house. My housemates finished the whole chicken and all the sauce, I guess that was a sign of it being fairly decent right? or maybe they were just too hungry after waiting the whole evening for me to finish cooking. The soup that accompanied the set was alright, with "dried vegetables" and pig's kidney and live, fairly traditional in terms of ingredients but not of taste because it was rather light in flavor in my opinion. When the set was being served, it reminded me of my childhood days because the whole set was placed on a plastic tray with handles on the two sides like you find in some canteens or school cafeterias.
I wish my Singapore trip can come sooner so I can enjoy some wonderful Hainan Chicken Rice there!!!!
After getting my haircut, I wandered around the Causeway Bay area in search for something quick for dinner. When I passed by the the Brunch and Supper Club, I really had the urge to go up for some egg Benedict but after recalling my previous visits here, I decided to continue my search. The mere thought of the egg Benedict reminded me of chicken and suddenly I had a craving for chicken. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was Nam Ah Restaurant and its Hainan Chicken which they are famous for. It was a good time to give it try. The last time I visited was almost 2 years ago, also after my haircut session. Without spending much time on the menu, I ordered my craving item, chicken, Hainan Chicken Rice. The environment is causal and decor is fairly contemporary in a sense. It was bright and fairly cozy but a bit noisy even when it was only half full.
(1) Hainan Chicken
From the slightly chewy texture of the meat, it seemed to me it was of free range chicken but lack the strong chicken flavor I wanted. The same applies to the rice but it was soft and moist which was good. The sauce was a bit of a disappointment because the "ginger onion" lacked a lot of minced ginger!!! I heart this type of sauce and I can literally have a bowl of plain rice to go along with it. However, not the sauce here; not only did it lacked the amount of minced ginger, it had an excessive amount of oil and the green onion was chopped too big in my opinion. I remember cooking my own "ginger onion" sauce to go along with a simple steamed chicken back at university years when I was the so-called "chef" of the house. My housemates finished the whole chicken and all the sauce, I guess that was a sign of it being fairly decent right? or maybe they were just too hungry after waiting the whole evening for me to finish cooking. The soup that accompanied the set was alright, with "dried vegetables" and pig's kidney and live, fairly traditional in terms of ingredients but not of taste because it was rather light in flavor in my opinion. When the set was being served, it reminded me of my childhood days because the whole set was placed on a plastic tray with handles on the two sides like you find in some canteens or school cafeterias.
I wish my Singapore trip can come sooner so I can enjoy some wonderful Hainan Chicken Rice there!!!!
Likes:
- Free Range Chicken (I assumed)
- Causal and relax environment for a quick meal
- "Ginger Onion" sauce - not enough minced ginger
- not enough chicken flavor for the chicken
Nam Ah Restaurant
G/F, 17-19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2187 3487
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Katong Laksa Prawn Mee 加東叻沙, 蝦麵
I had a sudden craving for Laksa this afternoon and with my friend's recommendation for this outlet in Wan Chai, I decided to give it a try. Since there are a few items I wanted to try in addition to the laksa, I decided to call up my friend (around 5:30pm) who works nearby to join me on this little food venture on a Tuesday evening. With such short notice, my friend actually said yes and together with my friend and her mom, the three of us headed down soon after work.
It was not as crowded as I expected when we arrived around 7pm, so we can actually pick our seats. The restaurant is of a very casual but cozy style with relatively strong air conditioning (which is good!). Before I forgot, I have to give this place two big thumbs up for their impeccable services! Not only was the service very attentive, it was detailed and responsive as well, way beyond my expectation. Read on and you will see what I mean.
(1) Laksa Supreme
(with Prawns, cockles Fish Cakes, Egg, Shredded Chicken, and dried bean curd) According to my friend who introduced this place to me, one of the rare items in the laksa is the cockles (鮮蚶 ) which is not a common ingredient you find in Hong Kong while it is standard in laksa served in Singapore or Malaysia. I liked it. Anyhow, back to the rest of the laksa! Based on my humble knowledge, a so called traditional laksa should consist of a mixture of clear and "oil" noodles but what was served consisted of only clear noodles. Almost all laska I tried in Hong Kong use only one type of noodles. Nonetheless, the clear noodles served was slightly chewy and together with the moderately spicy soup, it was delicious! I only wish the soup was a little bit more thicker, richer and with more coconut sauce / paste. Alright, at this point I need to talk about its great service! While I was serving the laksa to my friend and her mom, I was being very careful because of the possible splashes of the soup when serving the noodles. The staff came over and asked me if I need a big napkins to protect my pretty white shirt from the possible splashes. Wow, I did not expect such detailed observation and responsiveness from the staff, I was, and I am still, surprised and greatful to get such services.
(2) Hainanese Chicken
It looked tasty but it was actually relatively light in flavors and was a bit dry. However, if you eat with the skin, then you can get more flavors out of it (together with the various standard sauces)
(3) Beansprouts and "Tung Choy"
A simple and delightful dish of vegetables without much oil. Simplicity is the secret formula sometimes.
(4) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
At this point, our plates and bowls had been replaced by cleaner sets because our plates were full of chicken bones and the next serving was the Bak Kut Teh. Again, unexpected service level. The soup was hot and the taste was strong but lacked a bit of the Chinese herb flavors I heart for. Sabah's Bak Kut Teh has a very strong Chinese herb flavors in my opinion.
(5) Singapore Satay
Not sure why they called it Singapore Satay, maybe of some secret ingredients from Singapore in the sauce? Anyhow, we ordered 3 skewers of chicken and 3 of beef. It was hot off the grill because I almost brunt my tongue eating the chicken skewers. I prefer the chicken over the beef because it was more tender and the seasoning / spices used complimented the chicken better than the beef when eating without the sauce which was a bit weak in flavors by the way.
It was not as crowded as I expected when we arrived around 7pm, so we can actually pick our seats. The restaurant is of a very casual but cozy style with relatively strong air conditioning (which is good!). Before I forgot, I have to give this place two big thumbs up for their impeccable services! Not only was the service very attentive, it was detailed and responsive as well, way beyond my expectation. Read on and you will see what I mean.
(1) Laksa Supreme
(with Prawns, cockles Fish Cakes, Egg, Shredded Chicken, and dried bean curd) According to my friend who introduced this place to me, one of the rare items in the laksa is the cockles (鮮蚶 ) which is not a common ingredient you find in Hong Kong while it is standard in laksa served in Singapore or Malaysia. I liked it. Anyhow, back to the rest of the laksa! Based on my humble knowledge, a so called traditional laksa should consist of a mixture of clear and "oil" noodles but what was served consisted of only clear noodles. Almost all laska I tried in Hong Kong use only one type of noodles. Nonetheless, the clear noodles served was slightly chewy and together with the moderately spicy soup, it was delicious! I only wish the soup was a little bit more thicker, richer and with more coconut sauce / paste. Alright, at this point I need to talk about its great service! While I was serving the laksa to my friend and her mom, I was being very careful because of the possible splashes of the soup when serving the noodles. The staff came over and asked me if I need a big napkins to protect my pretty white shirt from the possible splashes. Wow, I did not expect such detailed observation and responsiveness from the staff, I was, and I am still, surprised and greatful to get such services.
(2) Hainanese Chicken
It looked tasty but it was actually relatively light in flavors and was a bit dry. However, if you eat with the skin, then you can get more flavors out of it (together with the various standard sauces)
(3) Beansprouts and "Tung Choy"
A simple and delightful dish of vegetables without much oil. Simplicity is the secret formula sometimes.
(4) Pork Ribs Soup with Herbs 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
At this point, our plates and bowls had been replaced by cleaner sets because our plates were full of chicken bones and the next serving was the Bak Kut Teh. Again, unexpected service level. The soup was hot and the taste was strong but lacked a bit of the Chinese herb flavors I heart for. Sabah's Bak Kut Teh has a very strong Chinese herb flavors in my opinion.
(5) Singapore Satay
Not sure why they called it Singapore Satay, maybe of some secret ingredients from Singapore in the sauce? Anyhow, we ordered 3 skewers of chicken and 3 of beef. It was hot off the grill because I almost brunt my tongue eating the chicken skewers. I prefer the chicken over the beef because it was more tender and the seasoning / spices used complimented the chicken better than the beef when eating without the sauce which was a bit weak in flavors by the way.
Likes:
- Service, Service and Great Service
- Laksa - not bad, would be better if the soup was thicker and with more coconut sauce.
- Singapore Satay - especially the seasoned chicken skewer
- Not enough Chinese Herb flavors in the 肉骨茶 (Bak Kut Teh)
- Hainanese Chicken - relatively weak in flavors (unless you eat with the skins)
Katong Laksa Prawn Mee
Shop D1, G/F,
155 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 3168 2478
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