Tai Seng Noodle House (Amoy Street Food Centre)

I have been to Amoy Street Food Centre several times during lunch time on weekdays. To say the place is crowded is an understatement. Wait till you see the queues that stretch more than 20 people long and the tables are not cleared as the cleaners could not cope with the crowd. 

This time, I came down for lunch at 140pm. The lunch crowd was starting to slowly disperse away and more than half of the tables in the level 2 food centre were empty. But the tables were full of plates, bowls, trays as the cleaners struggle to clear them. As you walk inwards, you will notice that some of the utensils including trays are on the floor as customers had to clear the tables themselves. 

I knew that this was a good opportunity to try out one of the stalls that always have a long queue during lunch. I decided to zoom straight to Tai Seng Noodle House as there was no queue and I was hungry. Normally, if you come during lunch time, there will be a long stretching queue. There were a couple manning the song. The uncle taking orders and collecting the cash while the lady boss prepares and cooks the food.

Not knowing what to order, I decided to order their Cha Shao Yun Tun Noodle (Char Siew Wanton Noodle). As usual (in fact I will say act smart..), I 'upsized' my order, ordering $4 instead of $3. 

I was quite shocked when the uncle gave me my order. It was messy and  big huge massive!

Cha Shao Yun Tun Noodles $4.00

This was the $4 Char Siew Wanton Noodle which was served with a bowl of wanton soup. They were extremely generous with the ingredients; char siew, noodles and even wantons. 

The Char Siew given was tough and mainly lean meat. If there was a better ratio of fats to lean meat, it would have been better. With such a generous portion of Char Siew given, I got quite tired of chewing the Char Siew. A very generous serving of noodles was given too. The noodles was well cooked, with springiness and not too soggy. It was delish when mixed with the sauce which ensures that each strand of noodles was well lubricated. 

Cha Shao Yun Tun Noodles $4.00

The Wanton Soup was normal, there might be some MSG added into the soup. It came with lots of wantons, more than 10 pieces. Although each piece of wanton was small, with such a generous amount given, it was very filling. I especially like the skin of the wanton which was smooth and thin with a chunk of meat fillings in it. (for the sake of comparison, the fillings of each wanton was slightly bigger than those given at Pontian Wanton).

I should not have 'upsized' my order and just order the $3 version. Although I finish the Wantons, I did not manage to finish the noodles and Char Siew. 

Tai Seng Noodle House may not serve the best food, but it certainly must be the most value for money food stall around. The portions given are huge. No wonder there is always a long snacking queue at this stall. I heard that the pork rib noodles at this stall are good. If I have another opportunity, I would be keen to try it. 

Tai Seng Noodle House (Amoy Street Food Centre) 

7 Maxwell Road

MND Building Annex B

#02-123 Amoy Street Food Centre

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 930am to 3pm

                         Closed on Sun
Location

Choo Chiang Roasted Meat Noodle House 珠江烧腊面家 (Bencoolen Road)

Choo Chiang Roasted Meat Noodle House 珠江烧腊面家 is a chain of hawker stalls specialising in selling Roasted Duck, Roasted Pork and Char Siew noodles. Choo Chiang first started its business in 1987. Over the years, it has expanded and today has over 10 outlets with a central kitchen to ensure that quality is not compromised. In addition, catering to buffets and takeaway delivery.

I visited its stall at Bencoolen Road (10 minutes from Bugis MRT station).

Roasted Duck and Roasted Pork Noodles $5

Roasted Duck and Roasted Pork Noodles $5

The Roasted Duck was tender and juicy, not too dry not too hard. The Roasted Pork (sio bak) lacked the crisp cracking skin and was saved by the soft bones (which I like). On the other hand, the noodles was well cooked, soft but not soggy and still springy. It was drizzled with sweet gravy that was robust and flavourful. The pork lard enhanced the flavour even more! The gravy complement the noodles and meat well.

It was served with both green chilli and sambal chilli. The sambal chilli was not bad. But a tad too sweet and lack a spicy kick.

Char Siew Roasted Duck Noodle $4.50

Char Siew Roasted Duck Noodle $4.50

The Char Siew was well marinated and tender with a good ratio of fats and lean meat.  A pity there was no charred parts which would have appealed more to me. The Roasted Duck and noodles were as good as what I ate during my last visit.

Overall, I would say that the food here is tasty and affordable. Choo Chiang has several outlets in Singapore. Hopefully, the standard is the same in all their outlets.

Choo Chiang Roasted Meat Noodle House 珠江烧腊面家 (Bencoolen Road)

180 Bencoolen Street 

#01-05 The Bencoolen

Tel: 6759 5512

Website
Location

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Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家 (China, Guangzhou)

Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家

Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家 is known as the 'Number One Restaurant in Guangzhou'. The restaurant has a long history dating back to the  1935.  Guangzhou Restaurant started out with a restaurant located at the corner of Wen Chang Nan Road and the famous Shangxiajiu Street; which is its main restaurant today. It has expanded over the years and has several branches around Guangzhou, China and even Hong Kong.

Guangzhou Restaurant occupies the whole building; three levels along with an elevator.  The first level offers a selection of Chinese and Western food while the second and third levels offers Cantonese food. It seems to provide a courtyard dining experience as there was a pond and a tree right in the middle of the building. (Reminds me of Yung Kee Restaurant in Hong Kong) It is said that the restaurant can serve as many as 10,000 people a day.

Opening Hours

Operating hours for the Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. They are opened as early as 7am!

They have even prepared Wasabi in the background. I did not see the need for it during this meal. Is it normal for Wasabi to be eaten with Cantonese food? (not that I know of)

Tie Guan Yin 铁观音 RMB 12 (S$2.40) Per Pax

Tie Guan Yin 铁观音 RMB 12 (S$2.40) Per Pax

Tie Guan Yin 铁观音 RMB 12 (S$2.40) Per Pax

Ordered Chinese Tea - Tie Guan Yin 铁观音 to complete the meal. How can we not order Chinese Tea in the China! It is chargeable at RMB 12 (S$2.40) per person. Sit back, and watch how the waitress prepare the tea for you. More will be prepared when you have finished the tea. 

Honey-Stewed BBQ Pork RMB43 (S$8.60)

The Honey-Stewed BBQ Pork is actually Char Siew. It was delicious and has a melt in the mouth sensation. Each piece was not overly fat. Well-seasoned and best eaten with plain rice.

Roasted Goose RMB43 (S$8.60)

Roasted Goose RMB43 (S$8.60)

The Roasted Goose was amazing. The layer of skin was crispy and fragrant with little fats. Will be a waste of the chef effort not to try / eat it (skin). Inside, the meat was tender and soft. Underneath the meat, there were peanuts underneath. Again, this reminds me of the Roasted Goose in Yung Kee Restaurant!

Ice Dalian-abalone Piece RMB68 (S$13.60) Per Piece

Ice Dalian Abalone (Baoyu), per piece at RMB68 (S$13.60). My concern before ordering was that, this is so cheap, how can it be. It must be of lousy quality and hard. But my other half of the mind was telling me, its so cheap, what is there to lose. Can't resist trying this considering the price I have to pay for something like this back home (Singapore).

Ice Dalian-abalone Piece RMB68 (S$13.60) Per Piece (Close-up)

The Ice Dalian Abalone was presented very nicely. It was cold (needless to say as the name suggest), lightly seasoned and tender-soft. Moreover, it was fresh with no fishy taste. It was easy to savour as it has been cut nicely into six pieces. Certainly worth a try!

Overall, I quite like my experience at the Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家! The food was great and value for money! Hard to find food of this quality at this value in Singapore especially for the BBQ Pork (Char Siew), Roasted Goose and Ice Dalian Abalone!

ps: After leaving the Guangzhou Restaurant, we went to Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶. Over there, shared a table with 2 locals. They overheard us talking about our dinner at Guangzhou Restaurant. And they told us that the food there was expensive and lousy! 

Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家 (China, Guangzhou)

2号 Wenchang South Road, Liwan

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510140
Tel: +86 20 8138 0388, +86 20 8138 9840, +86 20 8138 0803  

Opening Hours: Daily 7am to 10pm

Website

Location

Directions: Take MTR to either Huangsha or Changshou Lu station (Line 1). Both stations are around 15 minutes walking distance away from  Wenchang South Road. If you are not familiar with Guangzhou, take to Changshou Lu instead, it is easier (and brighter) to walk over.

Location

A - Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家 

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Alex Eating House (Beach Road)

In my previous blog, I did a post on Alex Eating House. Will add on to the post.

Prior to my post on Alex Eating House, I have not heard of this place. It was only when I googled this place online, then did I know that Alex Eating House is famous. It is known for its char siew and sio bak(roasted pork) [some have mentioned that the char siew is the best in Singapore]. Well, enough say about track record or what is being said, here’s my post.

Alex’s Eating Place is located at Beach Road, opposite Shaw Towers. The eatery was packed during lunch time. Full house, every single table was occupied and there were other people waiting. It can be hard to grab the attention of any of them to take your order or to even ask for the bill.

Roasted Duck and Char Siew Rice

Ordered Roasted Duck and Char Siew Rice. It cost either $3.50 or $4.00. The Char Siew was not bad, however it was a bit too dry and as can be seen, each piece was way too thick. The Roasted Duck had the same problem, each piece was ‘huge’. Moreover, there was little meat with lots of fat. Rice was hard. At the side of the plate there is cabbage which was so so. Really nothing fantastic. Well it was value for money. Oh, my friend ordered lotus soup, it cost just $1.50! cheap!

Char Siew Dumpling Noodle $4.00

The Char Siew Dumpling Noodle was much better. The noodle was well cooked, springy and has absorbed all the sauce. This time, the Char Siew was much better but could have been softer. The dumpling was good. Its skin was soft and thin. The filling inside though small was delicious. 

Soup

MSG ladened soup.

Will not be back anytime soon as the food is average. If I do come back, I will go for the Roasted Pork (sio bak). 

Alex’s Eating House (Beach Road)
87 Beach Road, #01-01
Chye Sing Building 
Tel: 6334 0268
Opening Hours: Daily  9am – 6pm (or until sold out)
Location

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Taishoken (Ramen Champion @ Iluma)

With this visit to try Taishoken, I have covered 5 out of the 6 ramen stalls at Ramen Champion at Iluma. I am just left with Ikkosha to try!

Let's go back to Taishoken. Taishoken started out more than 50 years ago is well known in Tokyo. 

Pardon me for the unclear pictures

Moreover, it is the inventor of the concept Tsukemen. 

Tsukemen is the concept whereby the soup and ramen are served separately. The soup in this case is concentrated and customers dip the noodles into the soup before drinking. Once the ramen has been eaten, customers can drink the soup by diluting it with fish based soup from the stall.

Menu

As usual, order with the staff, and you get a disk which will vibrate once your ramen is cooked. I noticed that there are no longer any queues at Ramen Champion unlike the first month when it was open. Now I get my food much faster. 

Tokyo Ramen Deluxe (Regular) $15.00

I did not try their Tsukemen. Instead, ordered the Tokyo Ramen Deluxe (Regular) for $15.00

The broth was made from chicken, pork and anchovies. It was on the salty end. The ramen was springy, thin and firm. The Chashu (char siew) was flavourful, however was accompanied by too much fats (which of course is a factor that some may like).

The egg was not bad especially when I compare it to the one I got from Tetsu Ramen. Egg yolk was molten, not powdery (overcooked). The egg white on the other hand was cooked; hard when it should have been gooey and soft. 

Well, again taste is subjective, what is deem as salty / nice to me may not be the same for you. The best way is to go down and give it a try! For fans of Ramen Champions, the good news is that they have opened a branch at Changi Airport Terminal 3. However, there are only 4 stalls: Gantetsu, Ikkosha, Riki and Gensuke. (yes, 2 new stalls!)

The six Ramen restaurants are:

1.IROHA from Toyama
2.BARIO from Tokyo
3.GANTETSU from Sapporo
4.TETSU from Tokyo
5.IKKOSHA from Hakata
6.TAI SHO KEN from Tokyo

Taishoken (Ramen Champion @ Iluma)
201 Victoria Street
#04-08/09/10 Iluma (Bugis)
Tel: 6238 1011
Opening Hours: Daily 1130 am to 1030 pm
Website

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Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant 竹園海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

This is our last lunch in Hong Kong. We did not have dim sum during this trip and were searching for a dim sum restaurant near our hotel. In the end, we found this restaurant called 'Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant' located 10 minutes walk away from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR.

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant is a local seafood restaurant that has been around a long time. It is known for its fresh seafood at reasonable price and generous portions. As you enter the restaurant, you will notice many fish tanks filled with a variety of seafood such as lobsters, crabs, fishes, crayfish, calms, frogs and prawns.

Entrance of Chuk Yuen Seafood (Tsim Sha Tsui)

The entrance to Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant is easy to miss as it has just a small entrance. The restaurant is located at the basement and has a huge sitting capacity!

Dim Sum Menu (a)

Dim Sum Menu (b)

They have an English menu for customers which is not a common practise as most restaurants only have Chinese menu. All you would need to do is tick and indicate the number of plates of dim sum you wish to order. 

Hairy Crab Menu

As it is the hairy crab season, we were actively looking for hairy crab when we were in Hong Kong. Hence, when we saw that this restaurant serves hairy crab, we decided to order 3, half for each of us. We did not order 6 as we had already ordered too much food. (eating hairy crab in Singapore can burn a hole in your pocket. The best place to eat hairy crab is in China, where it is cheap and good!) 

Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup HK$30 (S$5)

I like eating chicken feet / claws. But I must admit this is the first time I had such a dish/dim sum; Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup. Surprisingly, this dish is a cold dish. I am a fan of herbal stuff and also chicken feet. Hence, of course, I would strongly recommend this dish! 

Look at the amount of herbals being used in the Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup. There was just a little amount of soup in the bowl (as shown in above picture). Nevertheless, I drank up almost all the soup. The soup was very strong in herbal taste. If you are not a fan of herbs, this is a dish to avoid. 

Steamed Rice Flour Roll with Barbecued Pork HK$19 (S$3.16)

The rice flour roll was thin and smooth, was an average dish. 

Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick was delicious. Outside was soft and smooth. Inside was crispy and rough. 

Baked Barbecued Pork Pastry HK$22 (S$3.66)

Crispy pastry on the outside, inside filled with fragrant barbecued pork. 

Steamed Creamy Yolky Bun HK$16 (S$2.67)

The Steamed Creamy Yolky Bun was average. the custard inside was more solid than liquid (should be molten) and not aromatic. I prefer the Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun at Victor's Kitchen in Singapore.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce was on the oily end. Despite that, this dish was delicious! Slices of chilli was added to give it a slightly spicy taste. By the time this dish arrived, we were already quite full. 

Steamed Mini Meat Bun HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Steamed Mini Meat Bun or Xiao Long Bao (commonly called in China and Singapore) was disappointing. Not much soup in the bun. The skin was too thick. 

Steamed 'Siu Mai' Topped with Crab's Seed HK$22 (S$3.67)

The Steamed 'Siu Mai' Topped with Crab's Seed was also disappointing. In addition, the meat had a weird after-taste. 

Deluxe Shanghai's Crab HK$198 (S$33)

The Deluxe Shanghai's Crab is what we commonly call Hairy Crab (steamed). If you noticed, the picture above only shows half a crab. Well, the reason was because we ordered 3 hairy crabs, but there were 6 of us. When the waiter arrived with the crab he noticed this and immediately asked if we were sharing. We replied yes and the waiter took the dish back. When he came back, we noticed that there was 6 plates. In each plate, there was half a crab each. Each plate had the same number of legs (4), same number of pincer (1) and half the body! What a service! Everything has been cut up nicely. 

The roe of the hairy crab was good! Delicious and sinful! I am a fan of hairy crab! Although, I have tasted better ones from Shanghai, this was my first and only hairy crab in 2011. Hence, I was satisfied!

Moreover, each of us were given a set of 'tools' to assist us with eating the hairy crab.

Hot Face Towels

When we went into the toilet, we saw this (above photo) next to the sink. When we opened it, we saw that there were hot face towels in it! I am won over by the service in this restaurant, when the staff cut and spilt the hairy crab equally. With this hot towels, it blew me over! I am amazed over the little things the restaurant pay attention to give customers a good overall experience.

To conclude, Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant provides very good service and good food! The must order if you visit are Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup, Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick, Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce and  Deluxe Shanghai's Crab (if hairy crab is in the season). 

Food for thought: it has been a long time since I entered a restaurant in Singapore that provides good food and good service (to the extend of this restaurant). When was the last time hot towel was given to you in a restaurant? Hmmm, I can't recall.  

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant 竹園海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

Basement, HK Pacific Centre

28 Hankow Road

Tsim Sha Tsui (Near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR, Exit C1)

Tel: (852) 2722 0633

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am - 12mn

                          Sun 10am - 12mn

Website (for the rest of the outlets)

Location

Location

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