u m a m i

Malacca half-day trip

On our last trip back from KL, I was in half a mind to stop over in Malacca for satay celup. Good sense over-ruled that, after all we were still full from lunch. But the good sense didn't last long, and I was again gripped by the thought of the missed opportunity, so one evening, we decided that, come the weekend, we will drive up for some celup. Three hours drive each way.

Surprisingly too, when I put out the call on the makansutra forum, we managed to rope in another crazy makan fella. So it came to be that the four of us, i.e. me, husband, tiantianchi (ttc) and his wife, went to Malacca for dinner.

 

We arrived at about 3.30 pm. The historic town was quite silent, most day-trippers have left and the shops were enjoying the lull before the evening crowds. First stop, the famous popiah stall in front of Madam King's Mall on Jalan Bunga Raya. Which happened to be closed.

Never mind. Ever-resourceful, ttc asked the nearby shopkeepers who gladly recommended another stall that was just as good but not as well-known. Because his popiah comes with less pork lard but more vegetables. For the uninitiated, pork lard is a crucial ingredient in Malacca popiah.

We backtracked a bit to the road in front of the Mimosa Hotel and came across a small crowd gathered around this man's stall.

The popiah man was very friendly and didn't mind chatting to us:

ttc: Uncle, how many pieces do you sell every day?

PPM: Over 100 a day.

ttc: Are you open every day?

PPM: Yes, except Tuesday. We start at 3.30 pm and move over to the front of the Metro store at 5.30 pm.

PPM: Do you want pork lard with your popiah?

All: (resoundingly) Yes please! .... Unbelievable as it may seem, some people actually order theirs without.

Umami: Uncle, do you make the skin yourself?

PPM: No

PPM: My wife makes it in the mornings.

All: (impressed) Oh.....

ttc: Uncle, what is in that mug sitting over the radish?

PPM: Garlic oil. When we fry the lard, we use the rendered oil to fry up some minced garlic. It gives extra fragrance.

All: (Heads nodding) Indeed.....

So there you have it, my abolutest favouritest street food. The popiah skin was gratifyingly springy to bite, yielding to reveal the wondrous alchemy of turnips, bean sprouts, chopped omelet, lettuce dressed with sweet bean sauce, chilli paste and generous drizzlings of garlic oil and that beautifully crisped lard. Basic down-to-earth goodness. The memory of it is still fresh in my mind, so very good, so very satisfying. So very cheap, only RM1.50 per piece. It kills me that it is good only in Malacca. ttc have eaten a very bleah fascimile of it in Johore Bahru.

Looking around, the other eating seems to be quite good around this neighbourhood too. Since the celup place is not opened yet, we decided to have a cup of coffee at one of the coffeeshops. Accompanied by some very decent siew yoke and ban meen.

By the time we thought to try some of the yummy-looking fried lor-bak at the top of the junction, it was sold out. Never mind, the celup stall should be opened so we returned to the car.

Ban Lee Hiang Satay Celup along Jalan Ong Kim Wee is where we went to for my celup fix. My friend who lives in Malacca told me this is where the locals prefer to eat at, leaving the more famous Capitol Satay to out-of-towners. No arguments here, the last time I ate here I liked it so much I had it again the following evening.

Satay celup is, like the popiah, only good in Malacca. The idea is again, rather simple. Sticks of foods are dipped into a rich, spicy satay gravy-like sauce. Unlike conventional steamboats, here in Malacca the eating is more communal. As in the pot is not changed every time new customes sit at the table. A fine practice if double-dipping goes out of fashion, ha ha, so to avoid sharing too much of other people's saliva we were advised to go early. Being the kiasu Singaporean that we are, we made sure we were the first at our table by getting there just before 6 pm.

There isn't much variety, just the basics like pork, shrimps, liver, braised pig ears, see-hum, quail eggs, assorted fish paste balls and such, yau-char kwai, kangkung, bean-skin cakes etc. , but all were chosen for their propensity to soak up the terrific sauce. The sauce was well blended, not too spicy or hot, but with more oomph than ordinary satay gravy. The eating here is not expensive. 40 cents per stick, 50 cents for the 'premium' stuff like liver and pork. We were not too hungry otherwise I would have eaten more. Four of us managed only 34 sticks.

The sky was still light when we waddled out with our full bellies. So we jalan-jalan-ed around town. The pasar malam at Jonker Walk was very diverting. Karaoke competitions, restored pre-war buildings, tourists mingling happily with locals, the wares being sold neither too kitschy nor bland. The Jonker Dessert place served lacklustre versions of cendol and laksa, but the house itself is worth a look at for its period architectural details, crammed as it is with loads of beautiful old things.

And after Jonker Walk, there was more shopping at Tesco. Finally, at 10.30 we headed back to Singapore. In the car, I thought of the celup again. Next time we will definitely stop over.

Le Bistrot

If you like food, you should move to the east. At least this is what our friends who live out there tell us. And a recent weekend Business Times article seems to validate their claim. We happened to eat at Le Bistrot, one of the featured restaurants, the day before the article appeared.

Le Bistrot is tucked into one corner of Breezeway Building, and the good thing is, parking is FREE in the evenings. Other plusses, beside the food that is, are the soothingly dim lighting, knowledgeable service and corkage waiver if you bring your own wines. But be careful when you sit down, we sustained papercuts from the crisp paper that covers the table.

The menu is prix fixe. 3 course dinner for the two of us came to a total of $70.40, a good bargain considering the quality of the food and the dining experience. One can order from the specials board or a regular menu.

Started with salmon rillettes for me, farmhouse pate for husband. Rillette was underseasoned, but nothing a pinch of salt could not fix. Farmhouse pate was rich and meaty though I couldn't help thinking how lovely it would be to serve it crumbled over a warm salad instead.

Next, oxtail braised till tender and unctuous for me. The mash on top tasted oddly metallic to me, the server attributed it to use of olive oil instead of butter. Why not butter, I asked. They serve provencal style cuisine he says. I shrug.

Tenderloin in filo shell for husband. Both dishes paired well with an assertive full-bodied Chasse-Spleen 2001.

Desserts were rich and satisfying: financier with vanilla ice cream for me, and a messy lemon tart for husband.

Eating at Le Bistrot brought to mind those little bistros visited in France where one can expect solid unpretentious food at affordable prices. The quality cooking, relaxing setting and fixed price policy would certainly explain why this place is fully booked on weekends. Joo Chiat is a long way to go for some, but this place is worth the journey.

#01-06 Breezeway Centre,

451 Joo Chiat Road.

Tel: 6447 0018

KL July 2005

Wednesday, 6 July 2005,

Took the 10 o'clock shuttle to KL. Immigration check at KL was painless and swift, the kindly officer even chided me for not knowing how to DIY-scan my passport. Then a quick trip to the city via the KLIA express. So easy, so smart, wah, Malaysia sudah boleh.

Checked into the KL Hilton above the Sentral station. There are three boxes in each room labelled Business, Entertainment and Relaxation. The Entertainment box mentioned we could ask for a fish in a bowl, so I tested their promise, and true enough, a goldfish was delivered to my room. Good company for my first night.

For dinner, my friend J picked me up from the hotel and took me to Gill's at Jalan Kasah for some chicken tikka, dhal makhani and good conversation.

Thursday, 7July 2005

The next day I went to work. In the evening husband drove up and joined me at the hotel. He is sweet like that, also it was my birthday. We went to my parents' house to have a lovely dinner with family. My nephews and nieces had helped third sister to dye the eggs red, and Mummy made a luxurious noodle soup to celebrate my birthday. Also on the menu, a winning new dish that Mummy created- pork trotters braised with Chinese herbs like yuk chuk, red dates, tong-kwai and wolfberries. Plus lovely kampung chicken, eating chicken drumstick on one's birthday is also another family tradition.

Then there were the multiple dessert courses. First, durians. This year there is a bumper crop, well, a glut really, and durians can be had for as little as RM4 per kg. We had durians almost every night, and all were the delicious bittersweet, fleshy type with tiny seeds. The kids had the first of this year's mooncake pastries, the season starts earlier with each year it seems. Finally, we sang Happy Birthday to me and the kids helped to blow out the candles. Cake was baked specially by second sister. Hmm, umami had not had celebrated birthday with family for so many years. Felt older but was happy.

Celebration was a little subdued by the London bombings. Daddy called 4th sister, who is OK Thank God. Coincidentally, 4th sister's birthday is September 11. Now I know how she feels.

Friday, 8 July 2005:

More work, but managed to finish before the weekend crush. Took the monorail to Tengkat Tung Shin for dinner. Lively neighbourhood full of interesting food spots.

Like the hip Vietnamese restaurant Sao Nam with propaganda art on the walls and bahn xeo perfectly crispy and crunchy all rolled up with fresh herbs. The signature mangosteen salad was unusual, tangy and refreshing. Not so the orange duck which had a cloyingly sweet sauce. Eating here is a little pricey, but the portions are big and the owners very accommodating and friendly.

 

The roast meat stall at Meng Kee that husband loves was closed when we visited, but the famous char keow teow stall was still open so we ordered a plate. Don't know why, I still prefer the version at the coffeeshop near my parents' house in Damansara, maybe because I've been eating it for more than 20 years.

Saturday, 9 July 2005:

Ate dinner at home. I made char-siew. The parents tar-powed roast duck from Petaling St. Unfortunately the famous 4-eyed-man stall was closed. This uncle is not the person we usually buy from but his duck was not too bad. And for nolstalgia value, we also bought some kaya roll home- sad to say, the standards have slipped badly, hardly any of the rich egg jam inside.

Sunday, 10 July 2005:

Queued up with seemingly hundreds of other impatient and hungry diners at the buffet brunch at Restaurant Kampachi. The standard of the food has also dropped significantly over the years, and the arduous waits for the food highly aggravating. The only thing I really liked was the freshly made dorayaki. After lunch Mummy persuaded us to play mahjong, she must have felt lucky because she won the round. Not easy when we were playing by the minimum 3 fan to game rule.

Have to post a picture of the ugliest sculpture I've even seen in my life. With all that flowers and trees, who on earth thought we needed artificial fountains with monstrous fake plants.

Monday, 11 July 2005:

Time to renew IC. Took a number, then went for breakfast at the Hanifa coffeeshop opposite the Maju Junction building. Good roti canai and thosai, washed down with sweet thick teh halia. Yeah, Malaysia masih boleh.

Late in the afternoon, we were hungry again. Decided to eat something at Laksa Shack. I don't usually like to eat in a shack that does not look like a shack, I mean lobster shack is fine by me, but an airconditioned place with faux-kampung decor is just cheesy. Not fair to judge a place by its name right? Absolutely, because we found ourselves liking the Johor Laksa so much we ordered a second bowl- it had loads of chopped fish and plenty of spices and fresh herbs, the only fault being the tendency to serve it at less than piping temperatures, but nonetheless, very respectable rendition of a local favourite. I will not giggle at the name, or at least try not to the next time around.

Boleh.... boleh, boleh, boleh.... boleh, boleh.....

Crsytal Jade Korean: Jewel in Palace Special Menu

Now that the series is finally coming to Singapore, we can expect a flourish of interest in all things Koreana, especially Korean food. Crystal Jade fired the first salvo with the month-long promotion of a special menu featuring dishes inspired by the series.

The set was for a minimum of four people. Good timing then that fifth brother came down with his wife to attend a wedding. We were seated in one of the booths in the small and crowded restaurant. The waitresses wore a pink costume instead of the usual beige uniform, and that appeared to be the only special touch to mark the promotion. Around us, it was business as usual with other customers ordering bbq, ginseng chicken and kimchee fried rice. It felt a little weird, I pretended we were eating in a canteen off the palace kitchen.

The appetisers were the usual, this is good because I've always liked their kim chee and pickled radish. A cool drink of honey, ginseng and red dates was served to tune the tastebuds.

The first dish was Summer Rolls, a D-I-Y style wrap of a variety of vegetables, omelet strip and sauteed beef. It was also the signature dish of the lead character. This also typifies my impression of the cooking in the series, where vegetables and herbs were used in abundance and cooked very simply. Here we had fresh mushrooms, red capsicum, golden mushrooms, omelet, beef, carrots, bamboo shoots and cucumbers. All the vegetables were sliced into even and long julienne strips and seasoned lightly. The taste was refreshing and the flavours harmonious without any particular taste dominating.

The next two dishes did not seem very palace-like but were tasty if one could overlook their everyday-ness.

Then there was a plate of seafood and vegetables wrapped with an eggy mixture and fried lightly. Some of the pieces included a juicy pork stuffing. Also a grilled whole fish with delicate flesh and sweet taste.

A hearty dish of braised beef ribs with radish and ginseng came next. The meat was tender and infused with the twin sweetness, one of full-bodied dried red dates and the  other, a more subtle bitter-sweetness from the fresh ginseng. Absolutely delicious, we cleaned out the little stone pot.

We were already very full when this pretty dish was set before us. A generous steamboar of seafood and winter melon soup. The strips of winter melon were sweet and still a little crunchy, and I enjoyed too the little pieces of gingko nuts hiding in the delicate soup. The portion was more than generous for two or three people and we were too full to do justice to it. It would make a lovely meal for a cold evening.

In case we were still hungry, the final dish was a bowl of ginseng congee. The pine nuts, red dates and ginseng slices hidden inside were lovely, but the dish was spoiled by a most jarring detail- the congee tasted like those served in their cantonese outlets, and it made a very incongrous base for the medicinal-like flavours of ginseng.

The last dish summarised the bizzareness of the meal. It was impossible to be transported mentally to a 'royal' mood when seated in our little cubicle in the middle of a noisy and bright restaurant and getting more than a few whiffs of barbequing activities from neighbouring tables. CJ may have used this promotion to test the waters for when the expected Jewel fever take place, like what happened in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. If they plan to do it again, at least do it at more upmarket venues like CJ Golden Palace. (Hmm, as if anybody from CJ is reading this blog!)

Xin Jia Xiang

What do you get when you put two cooks with different styles in the kitchen? Fusion-Confusion?

Not at the Xin Jia Xiang, scene of the June makan session. The mainlander Chinese cook does his beautiful thing with typical mainland-style dishes while the local cook adds an Asian touch with,  you-guessed it, plenty of hae-bee hiam.

Left: Chilled Pork and liang-fen starter.

Right: Green beans stir-fried with hae-bee-hiam. The beans were just the right doneness of crunchy and sweet. Hae-bee-hiam featured again in another dish of scallops stir-fried with more of that spicy fragrant condiment.

Another excellent local style dish was the Sum-lo beehoon. Sum-Lo is a style for three-layered dish, in this case fine beehoon (rice noodles) was fried with seafood and then crisped on the top and bottom layers. I love fried beehoon and this was very nice indeed.

The China style really shone through in the house specialty, seafood hotpot. An enormous claypot was borne to the table (see how it almost eclipses the gas burner underneath) and let to simmer till the contents bubble. Generous helpings of fresh seafoods, including crabs, live prawns, sea cucumber, fish and clams were fished out eagerly. Then a little soup was drunk- wonderful saefoody sweetness with smoky tastes of ginseng and perhaps a tad much pepper. As a final touch, the waitresses brought round plates of blanched beehoon to soak up more of the soup. No mere beehoon soup this.

More of that sure China touch in the braised pork ribs. Tasted like the ones I had in Shanghai, all tender and infused with vinegar and spices. With mantous to mop up the delicious gravy.

Dinner concluded with yam paste-eggyolk balls rolled in pastry and then deep-fried. Alternative filling was a nutty sesame paste. Not really necessary for dessert at this stage but we managed.

Weeks later, the huge pot seafood hot pot kept coming to mind whenever I pass by the neighbourhood. And the sum-lo beehoon.

Sin Jia Xiang Restaurant Pte Ltd
251/253 Outram Rd, S(169049)
Tel : 6224 7433
Fax : 6227 3191

KL June 2005

The short weekend in KL was mostly spent with family. Did not have time to meet friends, sorry J! Maybe next month...

Some messy pictures of meals eaten with family. Second sister has given birth to her third child, so that makes me aunt to a total 2 nieces and 3 nephews. The children are growing up quick and developing their personalities and quirks. Her eldest son M, age 4,  says the most amazing things. On the rather long walk from the carpark to the playground at Lake Gardens, M went philosophical on us, saying in a resigned tone, that "we'll get there when we get there". Yet when it got quite hot and sunny, he sat down at the park bench and said "I want air-con." He is also developing a sophisticated palate, preferring block cheese to Krafts, and he has a thing for salamis. So the kids enjoyed udon with chicken and salami casserole for lunch, made by their doting aunt my third sister.

And then there was the raucous dinner with mum, dad, my brother, his wife and their kids at a Japanese restaurant in Sri Hartamas. Now there are so many restaurants in this area which gets me confused, not to mention how frequently they come and go. So Sugimoto's must be doing something right. It is not even located on the ground level and yet it was full on the Monday night we visited. Their menu is wide ranging, one can get sushi, sukiyaki and more modern fusion type dishes. Some dishes were a little over-salted and messy but there were some  tasty dishes too. Vigra rolls, not sure if it was meant to spell that way, have loads of avocado strips on top which won over everybody. Spaghetti mentaiko was superb with plentiful amount of the spicy cod roe. My little nephew was very naughty and noisy, so I called him Denise (after the Menace). His father, i.e my brother was not amused. Anyway we ordered a vast amount of food and went home with protruding bellies.

Finally saw Sepet. A sweet and unpretentious movie dealing with a potentially touching subject. But the ending sucked. It has Harith Iskander in it, never a bad thing, but his role in the movie was kept very low-key. There were two songs in the movie which I discovered I liked very much, turned out they were by Sam Hui; ignoramus me is not familiar with his songs which was a pity because he is really talented, his lyrics deep yet not preachy, funny and thought-provoking too. To make up for lost time, husband bought me the double-CD of his greatest hits. I am learning how to sing Long Ji, Sam Sing.

Went shopping and discovered a new snack. These traditional handmade Japanese crackers embedded with nuts (pistachio, cashew, walnuts or macadamia - my favourite is pistachio) are snappy-crunchy-yummy. A little expensive but it is Japanese, see. At the Isetan supermarket, 3rd Flr, KLCC shopping centre.

KL is finally coming into its own and I am really pleased about it. It used to be that friends and relatives come to Singapore and get a bit awed by our seeming trendiness- the shopping is supposed to be better, we are soo hi-tech, also can catch mega- musicals at the durian, Breadtalk. Of late the tide has been somewhat reversed.

For one thing, their TV seems better- Astro's remote-controlled TV guide was in place long before SCV revamped theirs, and their run of Jewel in The Palace was finished while SCV is only showing it here next month.

Their economy looks a little more robust. Lots of tourists, especially the freely-spending Middle-Easterners. The property market is still quite hot especially in the serviced apartment sector.

Their newspapers are better. The Edge beats our Business Times flat out and it even comes with colour supplements at the weekends. The Star feels a little tabloid-y but it compensates with its thickness. And I can only guess that the Chinese papers are full of insighful writings and bursting with latest news, because people even go out especially to buy the evening editions.

Food is another example. RotiBoy of course. The Japanese nut crackers which Singaporeans remain ignorant of. And that to die for roast duck in PJ that my colleagues cannot stop going on about. Restaurant trends are evolving at a dizzying speed- Shangainese, Arabic, kopitiam, Penang, cha charn tng. In less than 4 months One Bangsar has sprouted a brave colony of trendy dining spot, similar outposts were spotted in town. Most of the new places would be more good looking than good tasting, e.g. picture above was of a salad of young jackfruit served at Cungdinh at One Bangsar. The salad tasted fine, but the other dishes we sampled did not really rise above average. But after that lunch I could still go across and buy cucur udang for 40 cents a piece from the makcik across the street. The prawn fritters were bathed, no, flooded with plenty of lipsmacking enak chilli sauce whick soaks into the delicious fried dough to imbue it with more deliciousness, the whole treat just as satisfying as I remember from my childhood days.

The atmosphere in KL is different too. It has a little more purpose and confidence, minus the stress factor. People do not seem so obsessed with being seen in the right clothes or toting the latest gadgets. Not like the locals are ulu, many high street names are in town. They do know how to pamper themselves, some of the malls have dress designer shops and cigar purveyors and even art galleries.

My regular manicurist has been lured to KL to help her friend set up a nail studio in Bukit Bintang Plaza. I could not get an appointment with her in Singapore so I went to have my nails done at her KL place. She was supposed to stay till she has trained a team of people to do the job, and then return to Singapore where she still maintains her own business. But while talking to her, all I heard from her was how much she likes being in KL and how convenient and cheap everything is. People are so nice, workers have very good attitudes, and the food,wow. I asked her, so when are you planning to come back to Singapore, because if she doesn't who can I trust with my nails right, and she went a little sheepish on me and didn't answer me just kept erming- and -hmning, turned out she has been seriously considering uprooting her life in Singapore and starting anew in KL.

That made me envy her quite a bit and wished I could do the same. Life in Malaysia seems more pleasant, especially when contemplated from the comfortable lounger in the cool white  space of the nail studio. I am not much of a social commentator but I do get fed up of life in Singapore. For example, I am irked that just because traffic is bad, they raise ERP charges. Apparently motorists like myself deliberately use the roads and cause traffic jams. It is not because I need to go home after a long day at the office. Is this type of arrogance better than the inept ways of their Malaysian counterparts?

At least in Malaysia people get left alone. No ERP, therefore no one knows that you went to Kajang to visit your mistress/geomancer/ favourite satay stall. In Malaysia they have tollbooths too, but mostly at newly built roads, not the main expressways.

If you graduated overseas and did not return to the motherland, you don't get labelled quitter. Sometimes I check myself, in case whatever I am doing can get me fined or worse.

It is not that it is easier in Malaysia but over there, people just deal with it (watching a bit too much West Wing), whatever the problem, they don't whine and expect the government to solve their problem and in return the government doesn't bother them much. Here the government cannot even trust its people to cross the street. It isn't that I am bashing the country that has given me my husband and my career, but I wish those in public service here will stop patronising the public, stop taking the dubious moral high ground, stop reinforcing their delusions of power (fines! litigations! wishy-washy talk!) and do some actual work for the taxpayers (like me) who pay their salaries. Because this country prides itself on its meritocratic principles and never loses an opportunity to trumpet this ideology. Prove it, and maybe I will complain less.

Tonkichi

Hello Tonkichi my friend. Do you remember me? Probably not, and I can't say I blame you. We've not seen each other for gosh, at least two years, maybe even more. Before then we used to vist more often, at one point we were here almost every fortnight.

I am really glad to be back at this location. You look as good as the day you opened . That was what, at least five years ago? Restaurants nowadays, they make do with flimsy chipwood tables, plastic lighting and idiotic graphics. I find your pendant lamps, subdued wallpaper, wooden booths and the view of the green treetops a whole bunch more pleasant. The J-pop music though, is a little louder and more jarring than before, or is that just my age showing?

You remember husband, no? He said we simply must have some tonkatsu and rice today. He loved your rice so much he used to ask for at least two extra bowls. Don't know whether it is still free-flow now but it doesn't matter now because he has cut down to just one bowl per meal. And, we still buy Tamaki rice and cook it like how you taught us to.

Oh, so many things I like on the menu. What the heck, let's have it all. The misokatsu hire set for husband, the hire kaki set for me, and to share, kamaage udon set. A lot of food huh, your staff promptly tried to give us a bigger table. Good staff you have here, they top up the tea repeatedly and kept asking us if we want extra cabbage. Sometimes they smile too.

We used to like the misokatsu hire set so much we never had to refer to the menu, it was item no 18 and your staff refers to it by its shortened name miso hire. The first time I tried your tonkatsu (fried breaded pork chop) was way back in 1997, at the Taka outlet, by way of my second sister. Her husband loves pork dishes, and one of the things about living in Malaysia is that many places have gone halal. Chicken cha xiu bao and all that, so a Japanese restaurant that specialises in fried pork is not something you'll find easily in KL. So he always made it a point to eat here when he comes to town.

But at that first visit, second sis told me that she didn't like your miso sauce, so I did not get to try it then. That was the only time, because on subsequent visit I found I loved it and sometimes I even asked for extras. It's sweet salty beaniness enhanced with a little mirin coats the cutlets beautifully, especially if combined with the yellow mustard that is hot yet not overpowering, it is simply a great sauce to go with the pork. Much better than ponzu, I'm afraid I still dislike ponzu sauce fervently.

The pork is still very good, all meaty, sweet and juicy. You are terribly consistent. I remember the pig virus scare some years back, I think it was 1999, when nobody served pork and I was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms. We dropped by and discovered to our delight that you were still serving pork as your supply came from USA.

And the breading for the pork, perfectly fried coating of breadcrumbs that stays crisp for a long time.The crumb used to be harder, I remember my upper palate used to be so sore after my meals. But you paid attention, and a few years back changed the breadcrumb to one that would melt in the mouth.

Well, the miso hire is husband's favourite item. Mine has to be the hire kaki set, at least that's what I call my fried oyster and pork fillet set. Your kaki furai is one of the best in town, because the oyster always remain fresh and very juicy in its coating and the tartar sauce that accompanies it has loads of pickled gerkins which I like. But today my oysters were a little small, May is not really the time for them is it?

All those fried foods can be unhealthy but we can always ask for extra portions of finely sliced cabbage which is amazingly crisp and sweet. Other sides include some pickles, I like the cucumbers but not the radish. The miso soup was lovely too, not too salty, with soft little tofu cubes.

And the kamaage udon, another reasons why I prefer your Isetan-Scotts location. The Taka outlet does not serve noodles still? A shame really, your udon with sesame sauce is a wonderful thing. The noodles are addictively chewy and thick, making it the perfect vehicle for the warm, nutty, full-bodied (and tipsy!) sauce. Oiiiishiii! Didn't want to waste the sauce, so I tipped it into the accompanying salad of sliced cabbage and cold pork slices.

We didn't really need the croquette that came with the udon set, already quite full. But we managed to finish that too. It has nice chunks of potato inside, and plenty of minced pork.

The final bit was just as good. I finished with a little cupful of coffee jelly, because I remember that the little raisin you put on top is just such an elegant touch. And it still is.

You have a menu based on a few simple items. Fried pork. Fried seafood. But you pay attention to and are consistently consistent in all the other things that matter too: the decor, the ventilation (no greasy smells at all), the service, the tea, the condiments, the presentation, etc. Which is why you are still in business after all these years, when many other restaurants would have already come and go.

I wish you many more good years ahead. I'll definitely be back, my old friend.

Tonkichi (Isetan)

Level 4, Isetan Scotts

350, Orchard Rd

Shaw House

Tel: 68354648

Farmhouse Family Restaurant

Above: arguably the best wor-tip (otherwise known as guo-tie or potstickers) in Singapore. The skin is that beautiful blend of crispy and chewy without any trace of oil. The pork and chive filling is not too greasy, just juicy enough that when bitten into a squirt of hot stock would escape.

There is a boiled version which had a perfectly resilient skin, but the fried version is far superior. Other winning dishes for me included jellied pigs' ears, pig skin in aspic, liang fen (transparent green bean noodles) salad, stir-fried la-mian and hot-plate mutton. All typical Dongbei dishes but modified to suit local preference for less oil and salt.

BYO (sans corkage) of course. There were other dishes too but my memory is rather blurred by the copious amounts of wine shared by the hosts and other friends. I am no good at remembering names, but we had rose, muscadet, pinot noir, Cote du Rhone, cabernet sauvignon (Margaux, St Julien & Orlando Jacaranda), grenache and also the dullest one, an 1998 Australian cabernet merlot which husband bought because the bottle was decorated with six medal stickers.

Where? At family-run Farmhouse Family Restaurant at 72-74 Tanjong Pagar Road. The family came over to Singapore from China not too long ago. Father cooks, mother washes and son serves. The son is  streetwise and quick-witted, impressive qualities given that he is probably no older than 14 or 15. He works harder and smarter than ten waiters combined.

The owners have put some effort into the decorations and ambience too. The place is air-conditioned and the tables are covered with bright tablecloth printed with flowers. Chairs are covered in white slipcovers with red piping. And like many places in China, bottles of soya sauce and black vinegar is placed prominently on each table. Of course Chairman Mao's posters adorn the walls. He would definitely approve of the honest and good food served here. 

Por Kee

In the four and a half years I worked in the Outram campus, my colleagues were always talking about neighbourhoorhood cze char place Por Kee in satisfied, approving tones. Time and again they would find reasons to eat there, CNY, Secretary's Day, farewells, welcomes, anything really. Time and again something would come up that prevented me from joining them; I was away, too busy, the place was undergoing renovation, bad hair day, whatever. I even recce the place with husband once but could not find a parking lot so we gave up.

Only after I quit my job did I finally get an opportunity to find out what the big deal was. During the April gathering of the makan gang. Yes, the food at Por Kee is a few notches better than your average cze char operations, serving homely dishes with no frills. Very reasonable prices of course, an endless feast was had for $25 per person.

Standout dishes included a Seafood Yam Ring that did not taste like it came from a factory, a wok-fragrant beef hor-fun and an insanely potent Three Pepper Prawn Soup. My friend slurp took some beautiful dishes which he posted here.

But the rousing start did fizzle out towards the end. Careless afterthoughts like the mis-named Champagne Rib (?rice champagne), and spongy venison marred the overall good impression somewhat. To be fair the restaurant prides itself on its seafood dishes which were quite excellent throughout, so it may be a good idea to avoid ordering red meat next time.

Por Kee Eating House

Por Kee Eating House
Blk 69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02 S(160069)
Tel : 6221 0582

Mooi Chin

The CNY celebrations are well over by now, but my archives still included pictures from a dinner at Mooi Chin Place with our makan gang.

Mooi Chin is a Hainanese restaurant located on the third floor of the Golden Landmark Hotel building. It overlooks the escalator going up to the lobby and is within hearing distance of a karaoke bar, thus affording plenty of interesting people-watching ( a la slinky females and tentacular males with blinding gold jewelry) while you let your food settle into your bloodstream.

The first dish arrived. Yu-sheng salad was one of the most appetising I've had this year, thanks to their liberal use of sesame seeds and an assertive kumquat dressing. Yum Yum. 

Hainanese mutton soup was a full-bodied herbal brew with welcome notes of mandarin peels. Mutton soup and their cousin the turtle soup are two types of soups considered as energising tonic soups. No doubt popular with said tentacular males after a hectic night, to replenish drained (erm) energies.

If the soups did not perk them up, the next dish of cereal prawns should do the trick. The cereal prawns looked mild enough, but in reality it hid many seeds of fiery chilli padi, so hot I could feel the heat rise and dissipate as little cartoon smoke tendrils over the top of my head. Woowee.

Because it was the CNY season, the restaurant served its rice shaped in balls. Initially we thought it was chicken rice balls, like the ones Singaporeans queue up to eat when holidaying in Malacca. But no, these were just the ordinary steamed white rice. To be eaten with their other specialty which is belacan fried fish. The sambal belacan was good, but not as good as Lai Huat's because the Mooi Chin version relied on too much salted beans and not quite enough dried shrimps for its flavours.

More Hainanese dishes followed. Such as the Hainanese pork chop. A little side track: In the old days, most cooks who worked for the colonial masters were Hainanese. When the English went away, these cooks opened western style restaurants and introduced their own take of western dishes to the general population. Some of these pioneer restaurants still exists, like the much-loved Shashlik at Far East Shopping Centre where colleagues and I used to go on Wednesday afternoons to feed on borscht and braised ox-tail followed by Bombe Alaska, all served by elderly men with good posture and tight-lipped manners.

Back to the Hainanese pork chop. My aunt used to make a version of this dish for her children every other day, serious, it was the only thing my picky cousins would eat. It is not too difficult to make. Take a pork chop, season and bread it like how the English ma'am liked it, then make a sweet tomato sauce (with slices of large onions, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, thickened with some cornflour) to drench over it. Serve with crinkle cut fries and a sprinkle of green peas. 

The rest of the dishes were less interesting. There was some braised noodle dish which had a strong taste of the lye water from the uncooked noodles. And there was an OK version of Hainanese chicken rice, served in its own bowl and accompanied by garlicky chilli sauce and minced ginger paste.

Did we order desserts? Cannot remember either. I think there was a platter of fruits. Good thing Jeremy found time to bake a light and zesty festive orange cake for us.

Mooi Chin Place Pte Ltd
390 Victoria Street (junction with Arab Street)
#03-12A Golden Landmark S(188061)
Tel: 6339 7766