Balestier Bak Kut Teh at Ion Orchard

I agree I'm a Bak Kut Teh freak for a recent period of time. Oh..and not to forget, a Beer Market freak too almost everytime after having Bak Kut Teh, I would be trying out beers that I have yet tried. The number of check-ins on fb are the prove! I'm hooked on the Bak Kut Teh at Song Fa's and that's when I keep having it.

Finally I'm kinda sian with Song Fa and I tried out Balestier Bak Kut Teh at Ion Orchard with bf, Kevin.

The main. Unlike Song Fa's, it has a peppery soup base. Free flow of soup avaliable. Meat texture, not the toughest I have tasted so far.  Overall is just acceptable.

Salted vegetable. Neither too salty nor too bland. 

Braised peanuts. Always go well with teochew porridge, isn't it? Anyway, recently, I patronised a restaurant and they served this too but they don't call it peanuts.  Don't remember what is it called. I only remember mum and the Chinese International waiter were bickering about it. Haha..

Comes in a set with all of the above and a drink for $10++.

After patronising, till now, I still wonder if it is authentic i.e. Is it the same as the Bak Kut Teh at Balestier Road? So, anyone know?

Lastly, I vowed myself not to touch Bak Kut Teh for the time being!


Address: 
Basement Level 2 (located inside the Foodcourt)
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801

Simply Peranakan at Esplanade

Peranakan cuisine is one of my top favorite cuisines. The detailed preparation, strong flavoring and more than just food - the culture, attract me. Anyway, Mum, Sis and me went to try Simply Peranakan for dinner last Saturday.

We ordered Twin Pax Set Meal though there are three of us. 二人世界 sounds pretty romantic eh! haha...

Achar - common food served in a Peranakan restaurant while waiting for order. The sweetest one I ever tasted so far.

Ayam Buah Keluak - combining chicken pieces with nuts from the Pangium edule or kepayang tree to produce a rich sauce. It's a distinctive and MUST try dish in Peranakan cuisine! As I know, the preparation process is very tedious. Nuts have to be soaked in water and boiled for several times in order to get rid of the poison in them. You can simply taste the goodness of the sauce by just eating it with a bowl of rice! 

Nyonya Chap Chye which consists of cabbage, black fungus, sliced button mushrooms etc.

The soup, Bakwang Kepiting Soup that we thought they would serve in a big bowl. 
As it's a set for two, we had two small bowl with one meatball in each. Quite surprised, haas.

Labelled as a must try in this restaurant, the otak-otak. Indeed it is. It has a firmer texture as compared to the otaks that we usually eat. Think of the texture of a fish cake without the q-ness.

Last but not least..Dessert of the day - Pulot Hitam, also known as Black Glutinous Rice. 

Alright! photos of mum, sis and me. Oh well, my sis looks different now. Haha...

The cosy and warm feel with the combination of heritage concept and festive decoration. Like!

Address:

Esplanade

8 Raffles Avenue 

#02-12 Esplanade Mall

Tel: 6333 9382

Daily: 11:30am - 10:00pm

Royal China at Raffles Hotel

Came to know about Royal China via a friend's facebook check-in and decided to try it out for lunch with ex-colleague, Yuki who is also my good buddy from my previous workplace.

It is a top international Chinese restaurant operator based in London, well known for its signature dishes such as lobster noodles, crispy duck in pancake, roast suckling pig and traditional dim sum items such as custard bun.

Our intention was to have dim sum but we were too lazy to think what to have so those signature dishes above were not ordered, haha! And we had the set menu ($28.80++ per person, min 2 pax) which includes the following, missing out the names...*Oops*

First to come, the soup. The thickness and taste were just so right.

Some dim sum items, har gau and popiah which were the chef's pick of the day.

Then, "xue yu". My favourite fish of all. Fresh.

Vegetable comes soon after.

Last dish before dessert - fried rice. A pretty damp one. One might not be used to eating this...

As usual, a little bit of camwhoring while waiting for our dessert, heez...

Here it comes! mango sago + pomelo. Waitresses were indirectly rushing us to finish up everything cuz the afternoon session ends at 3pm and they have to get ready for the evening session. Thus, didn't really get to taste this properly...

The unexpected interior color, tiffany blue, gives a soft feel of the ambience. Something different from other Chinese restaurants yea..

Big round tables for group of family or friends at both sides of the restaurant...

Centre row - 2-4 pax seatings...

Taken at the hallway while q-ing up to take photo with the signboard.

and ta-da..finally our turn! heng..I don't look pregnant in this full length photo and it's been quite sometime since I last *twist* taking photo, kinda awkward! lol..

Well, overall food was average good and can't really get to enjoy the food with the waitresses rushing us.I would suggest for those who have yet patronize to try their dim sum first especially the custard bun.

Address:
Raffles Hotel
1 Beach Road 
#03-09 
Tel: 6338 3363
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat, 12pm - 3pm & 6pm - 10:30pm
Sun & PH, 11am - 3pm

Attire to note...
Gentlemen are requested to be in business shirts or collared t-shirts, paired with appropriate long pants. Jackets are not necessary. Dresses, skirts or trousers are recommended for ladies. 

Hot Tomato Cafe & Grill.Marble Slab Creamery

Finally, Mum found her kind of western food which suits her taste bud at Hot Tomato!

A pretty new western restaurant which I came to know first at Somerset 313 and had patronized there once. The bright colors used, creates a vibrant feel and the whole concept gives a relax & casual ambiance.

Order a main course and top up $3.50 for a drink and soup of the day to make it a set meal. Soup of the day was cream of mushroom. Rather diluted and not as creamy but well, to my mum, it's perfect.

Main course - one of the top seller, Pork Chop, Sausage 'N' Aglio Olio served with BBQ sauce with an affordable price of $9.90. Food was ok-ok, very normal and acceptable. Just like the soup, the BBQ sauce was rather diluted as well.

One of their must try, Garlic Seafood Linguine at $10.90. The whole spaghetti was thoroughly coated with the taste of seafood.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/hot-tomato/hot-tomato-express-menu-plazasingapura/106462456066709 - check out their menu here.

Address:
Causeway Point 
1 Woodlands Square 
#02-11 
Tel: 6894 2685
Daily: 11am - 9:30pm

And lastly, not to forget to complete our dinner with dessert. We had ice cream at Marble Slab Creamery. Both my sis and me were captivated by this maroon colored ice cream called Red Velvet cake. One can mistook it as Red Bean ice cream.

Well, definitely worth trying. This is the first flavor of ice cream that I have tired there with the strongest taste so far. We complemented it with Rum which is my fave. However, it doesn't taste as good as Rum & Raisin from e.g. Andersen as the alcohol level is rather mild.

Address:
Causeway Point
1 Woodlands Square
#B1-22
Tel: 6891 2346