Gu Thai Noodle Cafe at North Point City

Gu Thai Noodle Cafe is located on level B1 of the newly added North Wing of North Point City at Yishun.

The place is not very big, with small tables and stools for customers, and the seating seems to be free seating.  Just walk in and sit wherever you like.  The menus are on the counter above the "Gu Thai Noodle Cafe" signboard, and help yourself too.  Their specialty is Thai boat noodle.  Thai boat noodle originally is served from boats traversing Bangkok's canals.

Bah Mee (Meekia) Pork Collar, S$7.00+

I ordered the Bah Mee with pork collar.  It came in two parts.  One is the noodle in a small bowl, the other is the companion soup.  The soup is cooked with beef and pork, and said to have added pig's blood, that's the reason why it is much darker in color than your normal beef/pork soup.

The portion is not very big.  Traditionally, boat noodles are served in very small bowls, as the seller usually had to handle the preparation of food, serving it to the customer, and cleaning all by himself/herself.  In addition, the bowl had to pass from the boat of the seller to the customer on land, so a small bowl was more convenient.

I first tried the noodle.  They use the rice noodle.  It is more tough and chewy than the noodle we usually have, but the texture was quite pleasant.  The pork collar had more fat than lean meat, hence very bouncy.  However, it was not the melt-in-your-mouth type.  The minus point was a bit too salty.  Maybe the boat noodle used to cater for people who did a lot of hard labor, and they needed to replenish their body salt.

The soup was worth mentioning, the flavor was quite strong, the color was dark, the density was high.  If it were not so salty, I would have liked it even more.  But then I must caution you that it might be an acquired taste, some may not like it.

Gu Thai's food, I think, is not bad, and brings a taste of Thailand to Singapore.  Their service was alright, but sometimes neither the customer nor the staff knows what to do.

JB Food Hunting 01 - Kam Long Curry Fish Head

I have heard about Kam Long (金龙）curry fish head in Johor Bahru for a long time, but never had a chance to give it a try, recently I decided that I must give it a try.

To get to Kam Long, take the Woodlands causeway to Johor Bahru.  After you go through Malaysia immigration, walk into City Square.  Look for the MacDonald on the ground floor.  Walk out of City Square, into Jalan Wong Ah Fook.  Then walk towards Singapore/Johor Strait.  If you are in City Square, facing Jalan Wong Ah Fook, it is on your left.  Keep walking along Jalan Wong Ah Fook, until you see a queue out of nowhere in the street.

The queue at Kam Long

Kam Long Curry Fish Head Shop-front

We got there at 10.09am on a Saturday.  There was already a queue of about 10m there.  This is the only shop with a queue, you can't miss it.  A busker was performing right in front of the shop, entertaining the people in the queue.

Busker in front of Kam Long

We finally got a table at around 10.55-11.00am.  This place serves nothing but curry fish head.  The menu is on the wall, simple and straight forward.  When you are ushered into the shop, you will be asked what you like to order immediately. 

Kam Long's Menu

The chef starts cooking your pot of fish head immediately upon your order, right at the shop front.  You can see what he does.  There is nothing to hide.

Chef Cooking at the shopfront

11.10am, our bubbling pot of curry fish head was delivered on our table.  The steam was rising from the pot violently, fogging my camera lens.

Curry Fish Head, Small, RM26.00

The fish head is strategically placed in the middle.  Vegetables such as cabbage, lady's finger, long bean are placed at the bottom of the pot, while dry bean curd skin is placed atop.

I first tried the curry.  The curry is different from all the curry I had before.  It was smooth, with the fragrance of coconut, even good to drink on its own.  Yet it still retains its punch at the end.

The dry bean curd skin soaks in all the flavors of the curry, the fish and the vegetables, wow...it is heaven!

They use red-snapper for the fish head.  It was super fresh.  The fish head was fully cooked, but the meat was still very tender.  It would bounce in your mouth.  There wasn't even a hint of any fishy smell.  Instead you would taste a hint of sweetness of the sea.  Great!

Portion-wise, we ordered a small pot for the two of us, both guys, plus a small bowl of rice for each.  We were full after we finished everything.

For the entire meal, our total cost was RM36.00.

I strongly recommend Kam Long curry fish head.  This is the best curry fish head I have ever had.  The 1-hour wait is worth it.  Everything is perfect!  I have never given any other restaurant/eating place such a high rating.

Porn's Sexy Thai Food at Star Vista

Porn's Sexy Thai Food is a Thai restaurant owed by Singapore TV personality Pornsak Prajakwit.  He is a Thai Chinese, but made his fame in Singapore.  Heard about his restaurant for quite a number of years.  The first one was at Bugis, but then never had a chance to give a try.  Now that there is one at Star Vista, finally I gave it a try.

The interior design is of the street and casual style to mimic Bangkok's street culture.

Pornsak's life-size cut-out figure stands at the entrance to welcome the guests.

Green Curry with Chicken, $10.90++

Our first dish was green curry with chicken.  The curry was not very spicy when it first entered your mouth, but then slowly slowly the spiciness would creep up and you found your mouth and tongue burning.  At such a critical time, your best rescue would be a sip of the famous Thai ice tea.

Thai Ice Tea, $3.90++

This Thai ice tea was my savior for the day, to save me from spiciness and some other not so pleasant taste which you will know when you read on.

Nong Kai Fish Fillet, $12.90++

Stir-Fried Bean Sprout with Mushroom, $8.90++

We also ordered a fish fillet and a stir-fried bean sprout with mushroom.  These two dishes had one thing in common - Saltiness.  Both were very salty.  That was the only dominant taste that I could register with my taste buds.

The fish fillet was simmering in a clear spicy broth.  Even with the spiciness of the broth, it still couldn't cover the fish smell of the fillet. That really says a lot...

Pad Thai, $11.90++

Last but not least, my Pad Thai.  It is one of my most favorite Thai dish, and it always brings me lots of satisfaction.  The Pad Thai here was a surprise to me, a chunk of wet stuff all mixed together.  There was no taste other than saltiness.

In terms of service, when we arrived, there were about 4-5 tables with customers, and two waitresses.  I am not in the restaurant industry, so I don't know whether this is considered to be under-staffed.  My opinion is no.  The service was slow.  The waitress who served us was a role model of service without a smile.  She pulled a long face throughout.  When our dishes were served, there were no cutlery for our table.

Overall, the food they serve is not the normal standard Thai food.  You can easily find better Thai food elsewhere in Singapore.  The friend who dined with me concluded that it is a restaurant that we should not come back.  I like Pornsak as a TV personality, but not for his restaurant.  Sorry.

Chun Kee Seafood White Bee Hoon at Cheong Chin Nam Road

Happened to pass-by Chun Kee at Cheong Chin Nam Road, which is directly opposite the famed Beauty World shopping center.

It was already after lunch hour, there were not many customers there.  It happened that the owner, the gentleman in a shirt in the photo above, was there to entertain his family and/or friends.  Someone once said that the best assurance a restaurant owner can give to the patrons is to eat the food from his own restaurant, thus I felt very assured that day. 

The place is divided into two sections.  The inner section has air conditioning, while the outer section doesn't .   Choose what you prefer.

Seafood White Bee Hoon, $5.80

I ordered the seafood white bee hoon, their signature dish, for $5.80.  No GST, no service charge.  The ingredients are quite simple.  Two pieces of prawns, a few pieces of squid, egg, vegetables and of course, the mee hoon (vermicelli).  The bee hoon came piping hot, as it was cooked upon order.  A word of caution: It is really hot, especially the broth.  I almost burnt my tongue.  So you have been warned, be patient!

The broth is strong-flavored.  It was said that the broth was cooked with chicken stock and lala clams, no wonder it was sweet, and had this pleasant smell of the sea.  The egg was first fried till a bit burnish, then cooked together with the rest of the ingredients.  The fried egg and the broth mixed together and created the strong flavor in the dish.  A nitpick is it is a bit on the more salty side.  If they can use slightly less salt, it would have been perfect.

The vermicelli retained its shape well, not a big patch of unidentified objects.  The best part is the vermicelli managed to absorbed the broth nicely without being over-cooked.

Overall, I think the food was good.  It is a more memorable version of the seafood white bee hoon found in Singapore.