Ippudo at Westgate

I have long heard of Ippudo serving very ramen, but never had a chance to give it a try, until last Sunday.  I arrived at their Westgate branch at 11am, when they just opened for the day.  I was ushered in immediately and seated at a table.

The interior design is very much Japanese style.  However, it is at least one class up compared to the usual ramen shops in Japan, where you find nothing more that a few seats at the counter, plus a couple of tables in a tiny shop.  Ippudo at Westgate is spacious, and elegant.

While waiting for my food, I did a search of Ippudo's history.  It is a shop first opened in 1985.  It is very young by Japanese standard, where there are many centennial shops.  They are famous for tonkutsu ramen.  Tonkutsu is Japanese word for pork bone.  Tonkutsu ramen means ramen served in pork bone soup which is usually boiled for hours.  The original intended patrons were people who do a lot of hard labour work.  Hence the tonkutsu soup tends to be heavy in salt.

Bonito Tonkutsu, $17.00

I ordered the Bonito Tonkutsu, a special dish only available in Ippudo Singapore.  The ramen used is not the normal Japanese ramen, rather it is a thin noodle, very much like the Chinese wanton noodle. You can choose how you like the noodle to be done, soft, medium, hard or very hard.  I chose medium.  It was just nice, not too hard, not too soft.  Easy to chew and digest, while still retaining some toughness.  Good!

The broth is made from both fish and pork bones.  Comparing with broth made from pork bones alone, the soup is less thick.  The fish brought out some refreshing freshness and sweetness, making it more appetizing.  As a special Singapore dish, the broth is a lot less salty than the normal Japanese ramen soup.  This adaptation is definitely good.

The ramen was served with one slice of pork belly, one slice of pork loin.  If you top up another $4.00, you can get additional one slice of pork belly and one slice of pork loin.  Other ingredients include bean sprouts, spring onion, bamboo shoot, and fried garlic.

Matcha Tiramisu, $7.00

I also ordered the matcha tiramisu as dessert.  Instead of coco powder, matcha power is sprayed on top of the cake.  I sometimes would choke on the coco powder, and that's reason why I don't like tiramisu so much, matcha doesn't have such a problem.

Matcha is bitter, the cake is sweet, so it is a bitter sweet experience.  My Italian colleague told me that tiramisu in Italian basically means "pick me up".   Whenever you are down, get a tiramisu, it will for sure life your spirit up!

At first, I thought the matcha powder is only on the top layer, but that's not the case.  They actually layered it through out the cake.  Thick layers of sweetness sandwiched between layers of bitterness. Hahah.... C'est la vie!

Service-wise, the staff there were generally friendly.  However, the waiter who served me was a bit rough, a very serious face throughout, not even a tint of smile.

Overall, I found the experience enjoyable.  The food was good, unauthentic but to my liking.  You can enjoy the good taste of Japanese ramen while getting rid of some of the unpleasant part.

Ganbatte, Ippudo!

Ser Seng Turtle Soup at Potong Pasir

Ser Seng Turtle Soup is located along the same stretch of road as Gu Ma Jia Private Kitchen at Tai Thong Crescent.  Great minds think alike :-)

The interior design is simple and pragmatic, nothing fancy.  It feels like transporting to a Malaysia coffee shop, very relaxed.  The menu is super simple, there are only 3 items on offer.  Turtle soup, pig stomach soup with pepper, black chicken soup, that's all.  There are different prices for different sizes. For turtle soup, the cheapest is $15, most expensive one is $30 I think.  You can opt for soup with both turtle meat and skin (soft shell), or meat only.

I went to the cheapest one, and chose meat and soft shell.   The soup is thick, probably boiled for hours together with some Chinese herbs.  I first tried the soup, it was very good.  Sweet, coupled with the fragrance from the herbs.  It lingered in your mouth to stimulate your taste buds, then went up to your nostril to satisfy your sensors of smell.  Thumbs up!

I was expecting the meat might be dry and hard to chew.  It was nothing but far from the truth.  The meat was actually still tender.  Most importantly, no strange smell.  The soft-shell was crunchy, and bouncy.  I enjoyed it very much.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, turtle is said to benefit your kidneys, and helps to detox your body. I don't know whether it is true, but for that night, somehow my insomnia was cured.

Penang New Lane Hawker Center

Penang, Malaysia, is said to be a food paradise, especially for its hawker food.  New Lane Hawker Center, is ranked as one of the must-visit places in a Penang itinerary.

New Lane Hawker Center is just a short walk from Komtar, the tallest building in Penang.  Walk along Jalan Macalister, then soon you will be there.  You can't miss it, the huge mural on the wall of 118 Hotel is menacingly prominent.  Just take note, New Lane is its English name, while its Malay name is Jalan Baru.  Jalan means road, street, while Baru means new, that's why in English it is called New Lane. The road signs in Penang are all in Malay, because we are in Malaysia!

For first time visitors, it is a bit daunting to figure out how things work.  Basically you will see lots of chairs and tables.  They all belong to the drinks stall.  You can sit anywhere, just order a drink, then you get the 'right' to a table.  After that, you just go around to order your food from the street hawkers.  Some will deliver the food to you, some are just self-served.  

My first option was Chee Cheong Fun.  Haha...my Cantonese nature at work again.  I just can't resist Chee Cheong Fun.

Chee Cheong Fun, RM4.50

The Chee Cheong Fun is hand-made, unlike most in Singapore, which are factory mass manufactured.  The layers are thinner, the size is smaller, but the fragrance of the rice that it is made from is stronger.  Unique in Penang Chee Cheong Fun is their sauce.  Do you see that black sauce?  It is seafood sauce, made from some prawn paste.  As such, it has a bit of fishy smell, very much an acquired taste.  Using seafood sauce with Chee Cheong Fun is unique to Penang.

Char Koay Teow Stall

One of Penang's famous dishes is Char Koay Teow.  It is the Hokkien version of Cantonese Hor Fun (河粉).  If you have not tried any Char Koay Teow in Penang, you can't be considered to have been to Penang.  I chose to order from this uncle's stall.  There was a long queue there.  Locals and tourists alike were queuing up for his Koay Teow.

Satay Stall

The wait was long, about 20 minutes, and the queue was just next to a satay stall, with all that smoke and fire from the satay stall, man....

While waiting, I observed how the uncle cooks the Koay Teow.  He will pour plenty of oil into the wok, heat it up, then put in some prawns.  Once the prawns are done, scoop them up and put them aside.  Next, bean sprouts, koay teow, egg and others.  What surprised me most was he pour in 3 spoonful of soy sauce!  I was like: My God, it is gonna be super salty!  Anyway, this stall's popularity comes from the fact that the uncle fries his koay teow using charcoal fire, not your usual gas.

Char Koay Teow, RM5.00

Some food blogs recommends porridge from this place, but I didn't get the chance to try it.  While there, I also saw many locals order roasts, chicken wings, etc.  They looked good too, maybe next time I can give it a try.

New Lane is a hawker center to its truest form.  There is no roof to shelter the hawkers and patrons alike from sun or rain.  The food stalls are literally on the road side.  When you walk around, don't be surprised cars, motorbikes pass by frequently.  Don't forget it is a functional motorway.  Hot exhaust from the vehicles, hot air from the hot weather, and the smoke from the satay stall, and charcoal fire, wow, it was quite an experience.

Ah Soon Kor Hokkien Mee Penang

Ah Soon Kor Hokkien Mee is located at a coffee shop on the corner of Lebuh Carnavon in Georgetown.

If you walk along Lebuh Carnavon, you will never miss it, as it probably is the only shop that is open so early in the morning (7.50AM).  There are a few stalls, selling Lor Mee, Ho Fun, etc.  There is only one stall selling Hokkien Mee.  There is no name at the stall, how did I know it is called Ah Soon Kor Hokkien Mee?  Actually I don't know, at least not known for sure.  According to "Georgetown Treasure Hunting Map" that we got from the airport, the one at this corner is the Ah Soon Kor Hokkien Mee!  Haha...get used to it.  Nothing is for sure in Malaysia.

The coffee shop setting is very old-fashioned and layback.  I suspect even time runs slower here.  Nobody seemed to be in a hurry.

I ordered the big portion (RM5.00), and added pork ribs (RM3.00).  The presentation is very normal, but the first sip of prawn soup blew me away.  Wow...it was very sweet, not by adding sugar though. I always wonder how they prepare the soup.  I think they remove the head and shell of the prawns, then fried the heads & shells.  After that, add water and pig big bones to cook the soup.  It takes hours for the soup to be ready.  In Singapore, they usually use big prawns, which give very good presentation.  Here in Penang, it seems they like to use small prawns.  There are plenty of small prawns from the nearby fishing ports.  I still remember when I visited my friend's home, a fishing village in Taiping, there was a small mountain of small prawns when the fishing boats came back in the morning.

Using the freshest small prawns may be their secret to cooking up the best prawn noodle soup in town!  I would say this is the best Hokkien Mee I have ever had so far.  It had that original taste from the ingredients, not from any artificial flavoring.  Good!

We had our Hokkien Mee for breakfast at around 8am.  Then later when we passed by again at 11am, the stall was already closed.  Noir!  If you wanna try this stall, please be early:-)

Penang Famous Teochew Chendul

If you have never tried the Famous Teochew Chendul on Penang Road, Georgetown, Penang, then you can't claim to have been to Penang!  Ok, that Teochew Chendul is that famous.

What is Chendul in the first place?  Chendul, also spelt as Cendol, or Chendol, is a very common dessert in South East Asia.  Basically you have some shaved ice, plus red bean, palm sugar syrup, and some green-colored jelly made from sago.  Last but not least, coconut milk.

Our famous Teochew Chendul stall is nothing but a vending cart located in a side alley along Penang Road (Jalan Penang) in Georgetown.  Somehow you will not miss it, as there is always a queue there. Tourists and locals, money in hand, waiting to get their favorite Chendul.  There is a grand total of one and only person who handles the preparation of food and cashier duties.  No wonder there is always a queue!

One bowl costs you RM2.70, that is around S$0.90, pretty cheap.  For take-away, it is more expensive at RM3.20, still affordable.

There are no place for you sit around the vending cart, but if you walk inside the alley a bit, there are many shop houses there, all of them belong to the owner of the Chendul stall, so you can sit anywhere in any of the shop houses.

I am not an expert on Chendul, but still I have tried many different Chendul over the years, and I also tried Chendul once in Penang.  I was wondering how good this Chendul will taste.  Would it be a disappointment?  With many questions marks in mind, I took a spoonful.  Wow...I was quite surprised.  I think the secret is in their coconut milk.  The fragrance of the coconut milk lingers in your mouth, teasing your taste buds; ascends to your nose, stimulating your smell sensors.

I must say it doesn't disappoint.  It is the best Chendul that I have ever had.  You can easily find Chendul elsewhere, but somehow they lack of the taste and sensation.  The ingredients may be the same but just somehow there is some difference.  Probably that explains why secret recipes are so valuable in the world of food.

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken at Causeway Point

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken took Singapore by storm last year.  Long queues at its Westgate branch had been a norm.  Recently, it opened a new branch at Causeway Point, so I decided to give it a try.  How to beat the queue?  Get there early!  The restaurant opens at 10.30am, so I got there at around 11am while there was no queue at all.

I ordered the 6 pieces combo set.  It gives you 3 pieces of chicken wings, 3 pieces of drumlets, served with their own skinny fries and a soft drink.  All these for $10.95.  Everything is self-serviced.  You order your set, they give you a buzz, and an empty cup for soft drinks.

I got my set pretty fast, which came in a mess tin.  Their skinny fries is worth mentioning, as it is the best fries that I have ever had.  Somehow they made it very crispy yet not oily.  It is not like your usual fast food (aham...you know such as uncle M, or the old colonnel...) whose chips are soggy. Obviously they added some kind of seasoning, not very sure whether it is chicken salt, somehow the taste is quite strong.

For the chicken wings and drumlets, I must say they are unique.  There are two flavors:  Soy Garlic or Hot & Spicy.  My choice was Soy Garlic.

According to 4 Fingers' website, they use fermented soy beans to make their sauce,  hand paint the sauce onto the chicken wings and drumlets, then cook them to such an extent that the fat will be squeezed out.  Ok, that's the professional way of describing it, my layman description is they hand paint the sauce onto the chicken, then cook the chicken until the skin and fat carbonized.

You will have multi-layer sensations when you give the chicken wing a bite.  First layer is the carbonized skin.  It is super crispy.  Just imagine you are biting a layer of caramel.

The second layer is the chicken meat.  The caramel layer seals the juice of the chicken meat, so it is still juicy and tender.

Now I understand why so many people queue for their crispy chickens.  However, just a word of caution, the chicken wings and skinny chips have very high sodium content.  According to 4 Fingers' web site, here is the data:

6 pieces of chicken wings and drumlets:    Sodium 536 mg
Skinny seaweed fried small:                       Sodium 846mg

What is the upper safe limit of sodium intake?  2300mg/day.  Note, this is the UPPER LIMIT, not the recommended daily intake.  The recommended intake is around 1500mg/day.

That means my 6 pieces combo meal already took up almost my whole day's recommended sodium intake.  No wonder I was so thirsty afterwards.  As our prime minister just advocated the fight against diabetics, I think it is only prudent for us to consume this 4 Finger delicacy occasionally, for the sake of your health, and our nation.

Burger and Lobster London

Burger and Lobster is quite a popular food haunt among the foodies, both locally and internationally. I think they have two branches.  One is located in the chic London Soho area, while the other is not far away in London's Chinatown.  Only later, did I realize they have a lot more branches than I thought.  They even extended their business beyond UK to many other countries, including Malaysia. But too bad, they are not coming to Singapore, yet.

Burger and Lobster Restaurant

We went to the Soho branch.  The exterior is simple and rustic.  The name of the restaurant was not prominent and we almost missed it completely, if we didn't have its exact address.

Restaurant Interior

The interior has traces of Soho's industry and working class past.  Raw brick walls with bright lights.

On a weekday, the restaurant was almost full during lunch, early lunch.  Patrons seem to come from all walks of life.  There was a group of Asian tourists taking up a big table, two Chinese students sitting at the next table.  Overseas tourists and local students account for quite a large percentage. That probably is not surprising.  Our local food blogger, ladyironchef, also recommended this restaurant as one of London's good restaurants as far as 2013.

I ordered their lunch set.  For ₤23.00, you get a 1-pound whole lobster, served together with chips and salad. You can choose how you would like the lobster to be cooked.  Steamed?  Grilled?  Make your choice.  

1 lb Lobster Set Lunch

Being a Cantonese, obviously I chose it to be steamed.  What other cooking method can ensure you always get a fresh lobster?  In this case, Burger & Lobster didn't disappoint.  Without other strong ingredients cluttering the original taste, you got to enjoy the sweetness of the lobster meat, you can even smell the sea... Hahaha...I am exaggerating here, of course.  On serious note, the food was good!
The staff there were efficient and friendly.  They attended to our order and served us promptly and politely.

If you are in London, give it a try.  You can get more information from their website:  Burger and Lobster.

Gu Ma Jia Private Kitchen 姑妈家

Gu Ma Jia, which literally means Aunt's place, is a small Chinese restaurant tucked at the MacPherson Road side of Tai Thong Crescent, which is a small link road between Upper Serangoon Road and MacPherson Road.  It is about 5-minute's walk from Potong Pasir MRT station.

The restaurant's setting is homely.  There are many photographs on the wall, feels like just walk into somebody's living room.  That probably is exactly what they would like you to feel.  The staff there, which is a female-majority crew, are extremely friendly.  As there were only two of us, they first seated us at a table for two.  It is quite a small table.  Later on, they asked us whether we would like to move to a bigger table, which is a table fit for 6!

8-Treasure Vegetables, $12 for small

The first dish that came was the 8-treasure vegetables.  It consists of celery, fried lotus root slices, black fungus, cashew nuts, carrot, mushroom and some beans.

Hot Plate Bean Curd, $15.00

Hot plate bean curd, our second dish, came bubbling hot.  Generous portions of bean curd and prawns immersed in a meat sauce, with a layer of egg mixture at the bottom to wrap up the content.

Teochew-Style Steamed Seabass, $28.00

The last dish was my favorite - Teochew-style steamed seabass. Being a Cantonese, I prefer steamed fish to any other type.  Why?  When it comes to seafood, freshness is of utmost importance.  It is not just about taste, it is about your health too.  You don't want to eat any half rotten fish, do you? Steaming is the best way to preserve the freshness and the original taste of the fish and tell whether a fish is fresh or otherwise.  In contrast, deep fry, or cooking with very spicy ingredients, such as chili, can easily mask out the foul smell of rotten seafood. Ok, I must say they use frozen seabass, not live seabass.  How did I tell?  For frozen seabass, the meat is more stiff, no longer naturally tender.

What is Teochew-style of steamed fish then?  Basically the fish is steamed with tofu, preserved vegetable, dry mushroom and ginger.  It is unique to Teochew cuisine to use tofu and preserved vegetable.  For Cantonese-style, it is usually only ginger and spring onion.

Overall, the food tasted just like your home-cooked food by your loving mum or dad.  The environment is quiet and peaceful, good for friends gathering and chit-chat over a hearty meal.  The place has a seating capacity of about 40 people.  And they don't charge service charge.

Wok Master at City Square Mall

Wok Master is tucked at one corner of City Square Mall, but it is not hard to find.  If you are coming from Farrer Park MRT station, just take the first escalator, go to level 2.  Voila!  Here it is.

I heard that Wok Master has a Zi Char stall origin, so it has many affordable dishes on offer.  Right now, they have a promotion for crabs, $48 for 2 crabs.  Normally it is $30 for 1 crab.

We took up the promotion and ordered two crabs for crab bee hoon soup.  For crab bee hoon, the key is always the soup.   The soup here is really milky thick, I am not sure whether they added milk for the appearance or the soup is really this thick.  Hua Diao, a Chinese yellow rice wine, is added to the soup to bring out the crab taste.  Crab, in traditional Chinese medicine, has a 'cold' property.  That means it has the effect of slowing down your blood circulation, making blood clogging more easy to happen.  Hua Diao has a 'hot' property, which will stimulate blood circulation.  It is a good combination to bring out the taste in the crabs, while neutralizing the adverse effects.

I will say I like their soup very much.  All the essence, the good stuff ,of the crabs are all absorbed into the soup.

For the crabs themselves, well, I will say it is quite average.  The size is normal, not the 1kg/crab kind of Sri Lanka crab, but a smaller version.  The biggest issue is the crab meat somehow is very sticky to the shell.  My Cantonese instinct tells me that the crab is not the freshest type.  By right, the crab meat can be easily separated from the shell.  Well, but for $48 for 2 crabs....  Melben is going for $58/crab, by the way.

Service-wise, I think it is just like any other restaurant.  You can't expect fantastic service from the staff while you are under-staffed.  In man-power expensive Singapore, it is better to adjust your expectations.

Overall, I think it is quite a pleasant experience.  Considering you are dining in an air-conditioned mall,  the food is not bad, and the price is reasonable, plus the place is not the noisy type.  Pretty good place for a few friends to meet up, chit-chat and enjoy a meal together.

PuTien at Tampines Mall

Many years ago, my former boss introduced me to PuTien's Fujian cuisine.  I was very impressed by the quality and taste of their dishes.  When PuTien was given a 1-star rating in the newly released Michelin food guide, I was not surprised at all.  A long lost friend came to pay me a visit recently, so nothing could be more suitable than giving him a treat at our Singapore's own 1-star Michelin restaurant.

I picked PuTien at Tampines Mall for convenience for both of us.  On a Monday night, it was not crowded at all.  We were warmly ushered in and settled down in a 4-person table, although there were only two of us.

The restaurant is spacious, with comfortable space between tables.  I noticed there are private rooms for more cosy family or business dining.  The decoration is towards the retro style, the happy 70s probably.

We ordered quite a number of dishes, but I will definitely recommend three of them.

1. Iced Bitter Gourd

Iced Bitter Gourd - $6.90

Bitter gourd is cooked in boiling water, then it is sent to the freezer to freeze up the entire bitter gourd.  Upon serving, the bitter gourd is then sliced to translucent-thin slices, served cold with ice.  Bitter gourd has the COOL property in traditional Chinese medicine.  Ice of course is cool too.  Cool plus cool is very cool, it is quite a treat in a hot summer day.  You can dip your slice into the honey that accompanies the dish.  Bitter-sweet, how fitting is this dish as a reflection of our life.

I first had this dish many years ago, the presentation at that time was still quite primitive, just slices, without any sense of art.  Now, the slices are laid out like a lotus flower.  Wow, food is truly an art now.

2. 100-second Yellow Croaker

100-second Yellow Croaker - $13.80

This dish has 10/10 rating from me.  They claim to cook the fish in just 100 seconds.  The meat is just nice, fully cooked, a bit more will be too much, a bit less will be not enough.  Perfection is expected and delivered in this dish.  The fish is cooked in 100 seconds, the broth definitely not.  I guess the broth could have been boiled with fish head and bones for hours to get that milky color.  Don't think they just add milk like your neighborhood food stall.  Leek and ginger add to the fragrance.

3. Deep-fried pig trotters with salt and pepper

Pig Trotters - $13.00 for 2 pieces

This dish is quite a love-hate for me.  It is not really considered to be a 'healthy' food by my standard, and the appearance is not exactly very appetizing.  However, the taste is quite special.  The skin is quite crispy.  The thick layer of fat, or collagen if that makes you feel better, that we usually expect from a pig trotter is actually gone.  Salt and pepper help to enhance the taste buds too.  Inside, the meat is smooth as silk, and melts in your mouth.

Well, these three dishes are my recommendations.  I hope to hear some feedback from you guys, what is your favorite dish?