Xing Hua Lou at Heartland Mall Kovan

Xing Hua Lou is a newly opened restaurant at the humble Heartland Mall at Kovan.  When I dined there on 18 Sep 2018, their credit card POS machine had not even arrived, only cash and NETs payment were available.  The cashier told me that the credit card POS machine would only come the next day.

The interior design is simple but elegant.  The size of the restaurant is quite small, mostly 2 or 4-person tables, with a few big round tables for bigger parties.

Pork Belly with Garlic, $9.90+

We ordered pork belly with garlic as out appetizer.  The way they make this dish is different from others.  You can hardly see any garlic in the plate, but when you pick up a slice of the pork belly, the taste of garlic is obviously there.  I suspect they soak the cooked pork belly into a garlic sauce.  The overall taste of this dish is good, especially if you wrap the pork belly around a slice of cucumber.  Cucumber is fresh and light in taste, matched with the stronger flavored pork belly, in particular the fat portion, it is a pleasant combination.

Spinach in Supreme Soup (Small), $10.90+

The spinach in supreme soup is good too.  The best part of course is the supreme soup.  It is rich in flavor, and importantly, fresh.

Fried Xing Hua Vermicelli (Medium), $16.90+ 

While at Xing Hua Lou, you just can't not to order fried Xing Hua vermicelli.  Xing Hua (兴化) is a small place in the city of Pu Tian in Fujian Province, China.  Their vermicelli is famous for being the thinnest vermicelli, and it is naturally sun-dried, compared with machine-dried.  Once you mention Xing Hua, people naturally will think of Xing Hua vermicelli.

The vermicelli here is fried with a lot of ingredients, including prawns, vegetables, mushrooms, eggs, etc.  The medium portion is actually quite big, even for two guys.  If you order some other dishes, you may consider ordering just a small portion.  The taste is not bad.

Chinese Cabbage with Tofu and Lala Soup, $16.90+

Last but not least, we also ordered a pot of Chinese cabbage with tofu and lala (cockles) soup.  A big pot of milky soup arrived at our table, and the smell spread all around.  I, in general, don't like to have lala, or anything to do with lala, as it might not be fresh, and prone to cause diarrhea or food poisoning.  Luckily, the lalas in this restaurant are mostly fresh.  The soup is super tasty, with the sweetness of the lala, and the Chinese cabbage.

Overall, it is a satisfying meal at a reasonable price. In total we paid $64 for the two of us, with very full stomach.

Japan Gourmet Hall SORA at Changi Airport T2

SORA, the Japan Gourmet Hall at Changi Airport's Terminal 2, is a new entry to the Singapore food scene, and it is the first time the Japanese brought this concept of eatery outside of Japan. 

Basically it is a conclave of well-known Japanese food stalls, each serving in a fast food style.  At the entrance, you will be given a number plate, and you show the stall handlers your number when you order your food.  And you pay your bill at the cashier presenting the number plate.  If you lose it, too bad, you will be given a penalty of $100!

My friend was attracted by this Okonomiyaki stall, so we decided to give it a try.  What is Okonomiyaki?  According to Wiki, here is:

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き o-konomi-yaki) ( listen (help·info)) is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "how you like" or "what you like", and yaki meaning "grill". 

And then I ordered a 'Modan'.  What is a 'modan'?  Wiki explains again:

When served with a layer of fried noodles (either yakisoba or udon), the resulting dish is called modan-yaki (モダン焼き), the name of which may be derived from the English word "modern" or as a contraction of mori dakusan (盛りだくさん), meaning "a lot" or "piled high" signifying the volume of food from having both noodles and okonomiyaki.

Mixed Modan, $22,00

My modan came with a thick layer of sauce on the top, followed by another thick layer of fried noodles, then at the bottom, vegetables and meat. 

This 2nd photo should give you a better view of the dish.  Plenty of noodles and vegetables.  The portion was big enough for a hungry man.  The sauce was quite strong in flavor and a bit salty.  The noodle was thick and very filling.  The texture was good though, bouncy. 

Drinks can be ordered separately from the bar.  Seating is very much like a Hong Kong Chaan Chan Teng.  Everything is self-serviced. 

Overall, the food here is decent, the price is more on the high side.  It is more suitable for business people on a business trip, and wanted a quick meal.  

Peach Garden at Miramar Hotel

This is the 4th time we came to this place for their ala-carte lunch buffet, which is having a 50% discount.

We came pretty early, just at the very minute that they opened for business.  The menu was already on the table for us to place our order.  Sorry the menu in the picture is a bit dirty, as I took this after we started eating and obviously we accidentally dirtied the menu on the table.  Anyway, you can take a look at the menu for what they have in offer.

When we arrived, the place was still pretty empty, but it was Teacher's Day, so later on, almost 80% of the tables were filled.  As a result, the time it took for the dishes to come was a bit longer too.

Deep-fried Fish Skin with Salty Egg Yoke

We ordered the deep-fried fish skin with salty egg yoke as our appetizer.  It was good.  The fish skin was very crispy, but not very salty.

For the rest, just take a look at the pictures.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Roast Pork 

Jelly Fish

Deep-fried Soon-Hock Fish

Prawns

Braised Beef Brisket with Raddish

Steamed Pa-Ting Fish

Chilled Osmanthus Jelly

All the food was very good.  The prawns were fresh, the Pa-Ting fish is worth special mention.  It was cooked perfectly, and suits the Cantonese taste buds.  The portion for the braised beef brisket was quite small, but we were thankful, as we specially requested to have a small portion.

The staff there were friendly, although it was a very busy day for them.

The cost was about $40/pax.  I think it is very good value for such a sumptuous ala-carte Cantonese lunch buffet.   And that's why it was already our 4th visit here.

Uya Unagi (四代目菊川) at Wheelock Place

Uya unagi is another famous Japanese restaurant specialized in unagi (eel).  It is conveniently located on the 2nd floor of Wheelock Place, right in the center of the busy Orchard Road.  We arrived at the restaurant at 6pm, the moment the restaurant opened for dinner, without a reservation, on a Monday.  The place was quite empty, my friend and I were the only two customers at the time.  When we left the place at around 7.40pm, the place was still half empty.

There are some small private rooms available for business people to discuss their work while dinning, or for people who would like to have more privacy.  This is a very good point.

Sashimi Mori (Standard), $35.00++

We ordered a sashimi mori as appetitzer.  There are two options, standard and premium, we chose the standard version.  It consisted of swordfish, tuna, salmon, and I think mackerel, and then one unknown.  The crown jewel of this plate was definitely the swordfish.  I must admit I never had any high expectations of swordfish, as it is usually served cooked in western cuisine, and its flesh tends to be quite tough.  Served as sashimi, the swordfish was actually quite thick, firm and meaty, with an abundance of fish oil.  And it was really fresh, not a hint of stinky fishy smell.

Hitsumabushi  (Large), $48.00++

I ordered the large Hitsumabushi for my main.  The portion was huge, for both the unagi and the rice.

Both Man Man Unagi and Uya are famous for their unagi, so I naturally will compare the two.  The grilled unagi at Man Man is thinner, and soft, with some charred portions.  The unagi at Uya is thick and firm.  There is no hint of any charred portion.  The outer section is crispy, the inside is tasty solid.  I think Uya's unagi is like a muscular athlete, while Man Man's is more like a shy young lady.
I like Uya's unagi more than Man Man's.

The soup that came with the Hitsumabushi was good too.  It was clear and fragrant.  Together with the unagi, it was like mom's tender hand gently massaging.  A good complement to the unagi.  And if you run out of soup, you can actually re-fill.

Service-wise it was good.  We ordered a number of dishes, including dessert, and they asked us whether we would like everything come together or one by one.  We chose one by one.  When we finished one item, they would clear the table first, before serving the next dish.

Overall, the dining experience was good.  The food was excellent, and environment was conducive.  It is more like a proper restaurant where you can talk business, or leisurely enjoy your meal, while Man Man is more like a fast-food outlet.  In addition, they accept reservations, you can give them a call if you worry about long queues.

iO Italian Osteria at HillV2

iO Italian Osteria is located at HillV2, a short distance from Hillview MRT station on the downtown line.  It is surrounded by all the condos, and hardly any HDB is in-sight.  I would not have even known about this restaurant if not for this Smart Local video.  Anyway, the restaurant seems to be quite busy, and reservation is necessary, so I reserved a table for two 5 days in advance for lunch on 9 Aug, our national day.

The restaurant front is typically Italian, which is totally uncharacteristic, and looks very run down.  My friend even commented:  For such a restaurant, is reservation really necessary?

Once you step in, it is a different story.  The place was almost full, and the vacant tables had already been reserved.  People seemed to come in large groups, as we were the only group with 2 persons and we were relegated to the very back of the restaurant, tucked in one corner, in company with all the carton boxes.

The interior design is simple and no-frills, yet very sturdy.  The wooden chairs are heavy, so if you wanna start a fight here, don't even try to throw a chair.  The cutlery is of the same level of sturdiness.  Forks, spoons and knives are all gold-plated and heavy.

Baked Pork Belly with Wild Fennel, $9.00++ for small

We ordered the porchetta, which is baked pork belly with wild fennel for starter.  There are two sizes available, small & large.  The waiter said small is for 1-2 persons, while large is for 3-4 persons.

Close-up of Baked Pork Belly

The skin of the pork belly is super crispy.  You could hear the 'catcha catcha' sound when you bite it.  And the smell was so fragrant.  Usually baked pork belly will tend to be dry, but for this one, the meat was still very juicy and bouncy, you can feel it bouncing around in your mouth.  Like German pork knuckles, it is a bit salty, but it is much less intense compared to German pork knuckles.

What is special about this dish is they inserted some wild fennel in the pork belly.  Wild fennel has a similar taste to black pepper, its slight spiciness enhanced the flavor of the meat, making it more appetizing.    This is a must-order dish if you come and visit this restaurant.

Beer Braised Beef, $24++

For my main, I ordered beer braised beef, served with mashed potatoes.  The beef is slow-cooked till super super soft.  It is so easy to eat.  The beef will separate when your knife presses on.  The good part is that the beef can still remain in shape after cutting.  You can cut it to whichever size, big or small, and then eat like a nobleman with elegant manners.  In terms of taste, I can only say:  This is heaven!

Service-wise, they are acceptable, the local staff, or say the Asian staff, are more friendly.  There are two Caucasian ladies there.  One is quite senior in age, and is dressed in a chef's attire.   She is quite friendly, and would like to talk to the customers.  The other is at the cashier, who is quite dull and keeps the conversation to the minimum.

Master Wang La Mian Xiao Long Bao at North Point City

Had dinner at Master Wang last night, as I had never tried their food before.  It seems they are specialized in Chinese la mian and xiao long bao, plus some dim sum.

Cream Custard Buns, $5.50++

We ordered a plate of cream custard buns as a side.

The buns are really yellow in color, both for the cover and the filling.  The creams inside are good, smoothy softy and not very salty as some other places.

Hand-made Siew Mai, $4.20++

We also ordered a siew mai.  Pork is their filling, without prawn.  Somehow with the absence of prawn, the bounciness of this item is completely lost, so is the rich flavor.   However, it is good for people who can't take prawns.  It is a good alternative.

Xiao Long Bao, $6.80++

For xiao long bao, I ordered the one of original taste.  Well, it is quite a disappointment.  Look at the picture how it looks when it is presented.  Looks like the soup has been leaking all around.  Taste-wise, it is lacking any dominant flavor, almost tasteless.  Comparing with Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao, there is quite a lot of room for improvement.

Ramen with Fresh Prawn Dumplings, $8.80++

I got a ramen with fresh prawn dumplings as my main.  The noodle itself, I think, is hand-made.  It features the characteristic elasticity of this kind of noodle, a bit tougher than your normal noodle, but it is tough in the good sense.   Each dumpling has a full prawn inside, and it just sprints out into your mouth when you have your bite.  Must give them a thumbs up for this.  The soup is on the lighter side, fits my taste.

Chinese herbal chicken soup, $8.80++

The highlight of the meal is their Chinese herbal chicken soup, served in a teapot!  And you pour out the soup into a tea cup and drink the soup like tea.  The ingredients are really simple.  Chicken, gojiberry (枸杞）, red date （红枣）, and huaishan （淮山）, that's all.  Put all the ingredients together and boil for a few hours, and you get that super taste soup.  They got it right for this dish.

Overall, the food is quite decent, the service is acceptable, and the price is reasonable.

Feng Food at North Point City

Feng Food is a newly opened restaurant at North Point City, specializing in Taiwanese cuisine.  The place is not very big, but it is quite distinctly decorated with very traditional Chinese architecture style, with a hint of the Taiwanese minority tribes.

Noodle with Specially Marinated Pork Chop, $10.80+

I ordered one of their signature dishes, noodle with specially marinated pork chop.  The noodle was simmering in the broth, while the pork chop was served in a separate plate.  I think it is the same concept as Malacca's bean sprout chicken rice.

Let's start from the broth.  The taste was just nice, not too mild, not too strong.  It gave me this 'clean' feeling.  The noodle was the thin type, but it was still strong enough not to break and almost all noodles came in one complete thread.

The pork chop was good.  It was 'specially marinated', I guess, with some lemon sauce, and then grilled till cooked.  No part of the pork chop could you see any charred parts.  That was pretty good control of the fire.  Thumbs up for them.  The lemon sauce paired very nicely with pork.  It helps to lighten the meat smell, infusing a breeze of fruity fragrance.  The inner part of the pork chop was still quite tender and juicy, not dry or hard to chew.

In terms of taste, the food was not bad.  Portion-wise, it is not very big.  More suitable for ladies, or when you are not really hungry, just want to have something to satisfy your food craving.