Sunday, 1 January 2012

Happy 2012 and Best Wishes!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and Best Wishes for the year ahead.

How did you start off 2012 with?

For me I started 2012 by having steamboat and also experimented making a chilled beancurd (recall Lao Ban Beancurd / 51 Soya Bean)
Steamboat

Homemade Chilled Beancurd
Good Luck to everyone for 2012! Huat Ah!

Cheers,
FoodieFC

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 (Hongkong)

I have heard so much about the Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 that it was on my list of must visit destination in Hong Kong.

Australia Dairy Company is a cha chaan teng know for it's legendary Scrambled EggsSteamed Egg White Pudding with Milk, long queues and cheap prices.
Signboard saying 澳洲牛奶公司

Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司
During my 6D5N stay in Hong Kong, we visited Australia Diary Company not once. Not twice. But thrice! Yes, three times in total during such a short stay as we like the food too much.

In this post, I will cover my first visit to Australia Diary Company for breakfast.
There was a long queue at Australia Dairy Company at 9am. Despite the long queue, we got a table for the 6 of us within 10minutes! It's amazingly how fast we got a place considering we have such a big group. This gives a very big hint on how fast the turnover is as those who knows this place will recall it is not a very big shop.
Chiller displaying the cold Steamed Egg White Puddings with Milk!
A peek inside the cha chaan teng. Notice those guys wearing white (Men in White)? They are the waiters taking orders, serving and tallying the bill. Also, notice that they are all males!
Menu (a)
The menus are all pasted on each table under a hard solid plastic sheet. This helps as waiters do not need to waste time and get the menu.

They have 3 set meals; Breakfast Set, Tea Time Set and Fast Food SetBreakfast Set is from 730am to 12 noon and cost HK$26. Tea Time Set is from 12 noon to 11pm and cost HK$30. Fast Food Set is for all day (any time) and cost HK$26.

Before we could warm our seats (less than 1 min after seating down), one of the Men in White was already at our tables waiting to take our orders. We decided to order the Breakfast Set which cost HK$26 (S$4.33). The Breakfast Set consist of toasted white bread with scrambled or sunny side up eggs, macaroni soup with ham slices and hot/cold milk tea. We all chose the legendary scrambled eggs!
Menu (b)
We also ordered two Steamed Egg White Pudding with Milk 蛋白燉鲜牛奶 which cost HK$20 (S$3.33) each.
Macaroni Soup with Ham Slices
The service here is amazing. Within less than 5 minutes after ordering, our Macaroni Soup with Ham Slices arrived. The macaroni was cooked perfectly, not too hard not too soft. The broth was clear but slightly salty. It was a heart-warming homecooked dish that certainty warmed my heart. Yummy.

You will need to eat the macaroni soup fast. Because before I could even finish it (by the way, I am a fast eater), the bread with scrambled egg and tea were served. It was a challenge to squeeze all the items on the tables.
Toasted White Bread with Scrambled Egg
Presenting the Toasted White Bread with Legendary Scrambled Egg. Many readers will be wondering what's the fuss with scrambled egg. After all it is simple to make and available everywhere. However, to make it to Australia Dairy Company's standard, it takes a lot of skill. You will need to try this for yourself to understand what I meant.

The scrambled eggs here are perfectly cooked. Light, fluffy, moist, buttery and well seasoned. This is certainly the best scrambled egg I ever had. Anyone knows how to cook it this way?
Hot Milk Tea
Hot Milk Tea was ordinary. You will need to add sugar. My guess is that fresh milk is added instead of condense milk.

I was greedy and thought this will be our one and only visit to Australia Dairy Company. Hence, I ordered Macaroni Soup with Ham and Sunny Side Up Egg.
Macaroni Soup with Ham and Sunny Side Up Egg

Steamed Egg White Pudding with Milk (hot)
Steamed Egg White Pudding with Milk 蛋白燉鲜牛奶 has a smooth texture with a strong aroma of milk and egg white. In terms of sweetness level, it was just nice. Delicious! Another must try!

Through this meal at Australia Dairy Company, I am very impressed with the food and it's operation. Certainty a 'Die Die Must Try' in Hongk Kong! In terms of food, it is like homecooked food. The must order includes Scrambled Egg and Steamed Egg White Pudding with Milk.

What was I impressed about it's operations? Australia Dairy Company reminds me of the concept of fast food and in fact, I think they did better than the fast food we know today. Despite there being a queue through out the day (I have visited Australia Dairy Company 3 times, twice for breakfast, once for supper), they clear the queue very fast. They are basically very efficient, in taking orders, serving, tallying of bill, paying of bills and clearing of plates.

The place is basically very small, but it is amazing how Australia Dairy Company squeeze the tables and chairs. Everything went with clock work precision. After you are assigned to your table and seats, one of the men in white will be beside you waiting for you to order. Within minutes of ordering, your food will be here(faster than fast food). If you do not eat fast enough, all the food will have arrived and there will be no more space on your table (stress?). And after you have finished it, your plates will be cleared without needing you to prompt to anyone to do that! And guess what? As you are finishing your last bites, one of the men in white will be next to your table asking if there's anymore orders. If you say no? He will count the plates and write the amount you need to pay. I am amazed by the waiter that day. We had six of us, ordering sets meals and also ala carte items. Yet, the waiter calculated the total amount MENTALLY in less than 20 seconds! We were all shocked. We tried calculating the bill to see if it was correct and we took so much longer. (Chew on this: My highest qualification is degree yet I took much longer.) Till today, I am still wowed by the efficiency of the operations in Australia Dairy Company.

Australia Dairy Company 澳洲牛奶公司 (Hongkong)
47-49 Parkes Street Jordan (near Jordan MTR)
Tel: (852) 2730 1356
Opening Hours: Daily 730am to 11pm'
Facebook (not official fb)
Location
How to get there: Exit C2 Jordon's MTR Station and walk towards Parkes Street
Location


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Thursday, 29 December 2011

Xu Yang Tonic Soup 旭阳敦品 (Ang Mo Kio)

Xu Yang Tonic Soup 旭阳敦品
Xu Yang Tonic Soup 旭阳敦品 has been serving herbal soup for the last 30 years since the 1980s. They have received several recognition from food shows, newspapers and magazines.
This stall is located in Coffee City at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. This is within Ang Mo Kio Central, just 10 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT Station.
I have been patronising Xu Yang Tonic Soup 旭阳敦品 since young, upper primary in fact. As far as I can recall, this stall is very famous. Most people who visit this coffee shop patronise this stall. Some people of my age hates herbal soup (especially the smell). The very first time I tried herbal soup was at this stall. After some many years, I still come back specially for this and noticed that the owners still look the same, so young! (should be the herbal soup!)
Menu (a)
Menu (b)
Over 16 varieties of soup to choose from! Oh yes, patrons who frequent this stall will notice that they have a new look now. The coffee shop was renovated recently in October 2011. As expected, there was a price increase.
'Tian Qi' Black Chicken $6.00
I always order the 'Tian Qi' Black Chicken every time I come here, with the exception of ordering the Herbal Turtle and 'Chong Cao' Herbal Black Chicken once or twice. I did not stop ordering them because they were lousy, but the reason was more that I like the 'Tian Qi' Black Chicken too much.
More herbals and chicken hidden below. Lucky me, I got the bowl with chicken leg! The black chicken is tender and tasty even though it has most likely been steamed for a long period of time. Moreover, the taste of herbals has sipped into the chicken. The soup is concentrated with herbals and is not salty. Nor is it diluted. No Salt, No MSG!

Over the years, I have noticed that the amount of herbals and black chicken being given has decreased. Despite this, this is still one of the best herbal stall. Most other herbal stall elsewhere serve worse herbal soup that seems to be added with salt.
Ginseng Frog $8.00 with Plain Rice $0.50 
 $8.00 

Had craving for frog legs, hence ordered the Gingseng Frog Soup. Generous portions of frog meat was given. Not too bad, but I would have prefer Frog Legs to be cooked with spring onion and ginger or dried chilli to give more flavour and fragrant to the frog meat.

Overall, I still find this stall provides soups that are quite value for money despite the increase in price. Hopefully, the standard does not deteriorate. I will definitely be back and I have no idea why I am interested in trying the Herbal Turtle Soup as I am typing this.

Xu Yang Tonic Soup 旭阳敦品 (Ang Mo Kio)
Blk 450 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10
#01-1747, S-11 (AMK 450) Food House
Singapore 560450
Blk 728 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6
Coffee City #01-4200
Tel: 9144 8248
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am - 930pm
                          Closed on Sun
Website


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