Showing posts with label - Stingray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - Stingray. Show all posts

Sunday 6 October 2013

Chomp Chomp Hai Wei Yuan Seafood BBQ 忠忠海味园BBQ海鲜烧烤 (Chomp Chomp Food Centre)


There are at least three stalls that sells barbecue (BBQ) seafood in Chomp Chomp Food Centre. Of these, I have tried two of the BBQ seafood stalls. And out of these two stalls, there's one which I always prefer to order from. The stall is Chomp Chomp Hai Wei Yuan Seafood BBQ 忠忠海味园BBQ海鲜烧烤 (what a mouthful). I shall call it Hai Wei Yuan to keep it short.
Hai Wei Yuan is easy to spot as its at the entrance of Chomp Chomp. In fact, it is located at the left most corner at the entrance and has a unit number #01-01. This stall is fairly popular and you can expect a waiting time of at least 30 minutes (even on a weekday evening). There are tables directly in front of this stall. However, my advice would be to sit elsewhere. This is because the BBQing of the sambal chilli can cause the air around this stall to be very uncomfortable.
The seafood such as stingray, crayfish, lala clams, gong gong and cockles were displayed on a bed of ice. We ordered three dishes and two bowls of rice from Hai Wei Yuan . The three dishes were Sambal Kang Kong $8, Sambal Lala $8 and BBQ (Sambal) Stingray $12. The two bowls of rice cost $1. Payment is made only after the food is served. We waited  for around 40 minutes before our food was served (Food for thought: it was a Thursday night. Can't imagine what the waiting time would be if it was a weekend or Friday night).
Sambal Kang Kong $8
Although the Sambal Kang Kong $8 served on a piece of banana leaf had been highly raved about, I thought that it was average. I had eaten better ones elsewhere. The Kang Kong was well cooked and retained a nice crunchines. However, the dish as a whole was too spicy and was not tasty enough.
Sambal Lala Clams $8
The Sambal Lala $8 was served on a piece of banana leaf.
Sambal Lala Clams $8
We thought that the Sambal Lala Clams was unique. The lala clams were normal, but what stood out was the sauce. It had the right balance of spiciness, sweetness and saltiness (due to the lala clams). What made the sauce so unique was that it had this slight peanutish flavour that made it aromatic and addictive. Shiok! We were scrapping whatever sauce there was and adding it onto our rice.
BBQ Stingray $12
The BBQ Stingray $12 was also served on a piece of banana leaf.
BBQ Stingray $12
Needless to say, we always squeeze the lime to up the flavour by a notch or two. The BBQ Stingray was not bad. The sambal chilli spread was spicy and fragrant while the Stingray was tender, soft and more importantly fresh. However, a grouse which I had was that the stingray was too thin - not meaty considering the price. Having said that, credit must be given to the stall owner as he bothered to add slices of onions on top of the BBQ Stingray to enhance the flavour. I polished off the whole stingray (literally) including its skeleton (soft bone) which contains cartilage which is good for the joints.

Overall, the food from Hai Wei Yuan was delish. Even though we had to wait so long for the food and the price seems to be on the higher end for a hawker centre, I would still be back. Reason being the prices at the other stalls are the same. In addition, I am a foodie, I am definitely coming back to Chomp Chomp for all the other yummy and sinful food.

Chomp Chomp Hai Wei Yuan Seafood BBQ 忠忠海味园BBQ海鲜烧烤 (Chomp Chomp Food Centre)
#01-01 Chomp Chomp Food Centre
20 Kensington Park Road, Serangoon
Singapore 557269
Opening Hours: Daily 5pm to 12 midnight 


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Wednesday 1 August 2012

Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

Singaporeans always love going across the causeway check point into Johor Bahru (JB) for food and shopping due to the favourable exchange rate. I am no exception. It has been ages since I last stepped into JB for food (due to safety issues and heavy traffic along the causeway). This time round, I made my trip on a weekday (Monday) to check out the food!

Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant located in Taman Sri Tebrau Hawker Centre is a popular seafood haunt which many Singaporeans patronise. It is fairly easy to come to this place from the Causeway / City Square as it is nearby. The easiest way is to just take a cab down (you just need to say Taman Sri Tebrau). It is a 10 minutes journey and will cost around RM7 (Request for the metre to be activated before boarding cab.)

We arrived at 1110am. Although the restaurant opens at 11am, we were the first customer! It was practically empty except for a few staff. We were told the chef was late (probably Monday Blues haha =P). We walked around for 10 minutes before heading back. Luckily by the time we went back, the Chef came in.

Menu (a)
Menu (b)
Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant's menu.
Sugar Cane (small) 
I will give the Sugar Cane a skip the next time I am there. It was diluted and tasted weird.

As we were the only one, we were served within 10 minutes upon ordering. 
Hot Plate Beancurd RM10
The Hot Plate Beancurd was served pipping hot with mixture of ingredients such as mushrooms, carrots, minced meat, egg and tofu on top (Be careful not to touch the hot metal plate). The different flavours of the ingredients were well mixed and cook as the different flavours were infused together. Moreover, had fully absorbed the sauce which was so tasty. This dish paired off very well with plain rice. In fact, the combination of the sauce with plain rice was heavenly.
Fried Dou Miao RM10
The Fried Dou Miao was fried with garlic. Such a well fried dish that fully brought out the flavour of the garlic. Simple yet so delicious.  
Bitter Gourd Salted Egg RM10
Bitter Gourd Salted Egg was yummy. Each slice of bitter gourd was well coated with the salted egg. Moreover, it was not oily. 
Sambal Stingray RM16
The Sambal Stingray was disappointing. The stingray was fresh and cooked perfectly such that it was soft, tender and juicy inside. But I felt that the sambal chilli was the main reason for the let down. There are better ones in Singapore. (Maybe I am too use to the type of sambal chilli in Singapore. Hiang Kee's version was too dry, not as fragrant and spicy)
Butter Crayfish RM56
The star of the day meal: 10 (half) pieces of Butter Crayfish
Butter Crayfish
The control of the wok and fire was shown here. The Butter Crayfish was well executed! Big, meaty and succulent flesh that was so fresh that it was easily pulled out from it's shell. Despite it being fried, the meat was still juicy inside and the timing was grasped perfectly. In addition, the buttery fritters (crumbs) fried with curry leaves were so fragrant and addictive. Reminds me of the Butter Crab from Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood. The good news is that it was not oily (thanks to the chef's control of the wok and fire).

The Butter Crayfish is a must order. Other recommended dishes will be the Hot Plate BeancurdBitter Gourd Salted Egg and Fried Dou Miao (surprised? Well, it was really very well fried in my opinion). Moreover, where else in Singapore can you get such fresh seafood at this price. Overall, a very good experience, if I have more time to spare, I will certainly want to come back again.

The down side is that you are advised to savour your food fast, before the houseflies zoom into on your food. 

After your meal, there are several options you can take.
1) Walk out to the main road to take a cab to City Square or anywhere else.
2) Walk to Taman Sentosa and savour the famous Paper Wrapped Chicken from Teck Sing. And also Plaza Sentosa Shopping Centre for shopping.
3) Walk to KSL Shopping Centre for shopping or catch a movie.

PS: From Singapore to JB, the cheapest and fastest way to get to the checkpoint is to go to Kranji MRT Station and take bus no. 160 or 170. The bus goes directly to the Causeway Checkpoint, a ten minutes bus ride.

Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)
Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau (Hawker Centre)
80500 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Tel: 012 798 9303
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 3am
Location
Location
A - Location of Hiang Kee Seafood Restaurant (Taman Sri Tebrau Hawker Centre)
B - Location of KSL Shopping Centre
C - Location of Plaza Sentosa Shopping Centre
D - Location of Teck Sing Restaurant

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Thursday 5 April 2012

Tao's Restaurant (PoMo) 2nd Post


Another visit to Tao's Restaurant located at the basement of PoMo (formerly known as Paradiz Centre). Tao's Restaurant is a fushion restaurant that serves a combination of Western and Asian Cuisine. It is well known for its concept of set menu; serving 6 to 7 course meal at affordable prices. 

Modern classy design.

Menu
During my visit last year, I was expecting the price to increase. But to my surprise, there was no increase. Well, this year, there was an increase in price, which was expected. Their new menu now looks so classy!

Lunch: 6 Course Set Meal at $21.80++
Dinner: 7 Course Set Meal at $31.80++

I visited during lunch time with a group of friends (6 to be exact), hence it was a 6 Course Set Meal.
Starter - Bacon & Mushroom Gratin
Bread (2 pieces per person)
Course 1: Starter - Bacon & Mushroom Gratin with toasted bread (soft and fluffy). Bacon & Mushroom Gratin baked with mushroom, bacon and cheese. It was perfect using it as a spread on the bread. Delicious! You can request for more pieces of bread!
Salads - Prawn Roll with Pork Floss
Course 2: Salads - Prawn Roll with Pork Floss. Light, refreshing and sweet. It is akin to popiah. The pork floss inside added unique texture and taste to the prawn roll! I have also tried Top Shell Salad, Farm Boy Splendour and Fruit Salad during my past visits. My favourite is still Prawn Roll with Pork Floss!
Salads - Huai San & Tofu
Course 2: Salads - Huai San & Tofu. Will not comment on those that I did not taste. 
Soups - Cream of Mushroom
Course 3: Soups - Cream of Mushroom. Another of my favourite! This bowl of soup is for mushrooms lovers only, contains 100% mushrooms! Chunks of mushrooms in each spoonful. The whole bowl of soup has a strong essence/flavour of mushroom. Definitely made themselves and different from the ones you get outside from cans. Can't help but notice that the bowl is the same colour as the bowl. 
Soups - Cream of Pumpkin
Course 3: Soups - Cream of Pumpkin. I am a mushroom person! Having said that I am sure you know which soup I prefer. 
Main Entrees - Spicy Stingray
Course 4: Main Entrees - Spicy Stingray. This stingray is different from those at Chomp Chomp, East Coast Park or other restaurants. The stingray was very fresh and well cooked. It was definitely not barbecued or fried. Most likely steamed? The sambal chilli on top was very spicy and certainty complement the stingray well. For those who can't take spicy food, you are strongly advised to avoid this! 
Main Entrees - Grilled Sea Bass with Japanese Sauce
Course 4: Main Entrees - Grilled Sea Bass with Japanese Sauce. During our last visit, the staff actually informed us not to order this dish as the Sea Bass was not fresh. Where else will the staff tell you not to order certain dish as the ingredients are not fresh? So far this is the only place that I know that does this! Kudos to Tao's Restaurant.
Main Entrees - Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs
Course 4: Main Entrees - Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs
Desserts - Brownie with Ice Cream 
Course 5: Desserts - Brownie with Ice Cream. Nothing to shout about for this dish. 
Desserts - Tiramisu
Course 5: Desserts -  Tiramisu.
Desserts - Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates
Course 5: Desserts - Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates. 
Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea (left), Iced Tropical Grapefruit Tea (right)
Course 6: Beverages - Iced Tropical Grapefruit Tea.
Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea
Course 6: Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea. This is my favourite! Refreshing, light drink with hints rose tea fragrant. Inside, there are pieces of apple (can be eaten) and rose buds.
Beverages - Iced Grassjelly Mint Tea
Course 6: Beverages - Iced Grassjelly Mint Tea


Despite the price increase, I still find the lunch at Tao's Restaurant value for money. I especially like the Bacon & Mushroom GratinPrawn Roll with Pork FlossCream of Mushroom SoupIced Rose Apple Tea and Tiramisu. 

*Edited: Tao's has moved to Central #04-86 (Clarke Quay)*

Tao's Restaurant (PoMo) 
1 Selegie Road
#B1-19 PoMo
Tel: 6339 8858
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am - 10pm
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