Ah Balling Peanut Soup 花生汤圆 (Golden Mile Food Centre)

4 Glutinous Rice Balls for $1.70

If you are a fan of glutinous rice balls and peanut soup, you would probably have heard of Ah Balling Peanut Soup 花生汤圆. 

Whenever I visit Golden Mile Food Centre, I would drop by Ah Balling Peanut Soup for dessert. After all, this was the place where I was first introduced to this stall. Recently, I heard that there are Ah Balling Peanut Soup outlets in Chinatown, Bedok 85, Nex and Ghim Moh. Not sure how true, but it is (would be) great if there are other outlets elsewhere too!

This stall sells glutinous rice balls (tang yuan) with different savoury fillings (i.e. peanut, sesame, red bean, yam and green tea). They rice balls are served in either peanut or ginger soup. My personal favourite soup is the peanut soup! It is tasty and not overly sweet. The peanuts are cooked for so long till they are soft and all the flavour in it have been extracted! 

Peanut

Sesame

As for the rice ball, my favourite are the peanut and sesame versions. Each of rice balls are of similar size and are chewy. Be careful as the fillings would ooze out. The peanut and sesame fillings would provide a crunchy bite giving it a good contrast to the soft rice balls. Yummy!

Red bean

Yam

As for the yam and red bean, the fillings are soft and there is no contrast in texture. I do not fancy these two flavours.

I have been here so many times for this dessert that I already lost count of the number of times I have been here. Hard to get sick of such dessert. Try this, don't give this a miss! 

Ah Balling Peanut Soup 花生汤圆 (Golden Mile Food Centre)
#01-75 Golden Mile Food Centre
505 Beach Road
Singapore 199583
Tel: +65 9760 5710

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Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant (Gardens By The Bay)

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant is the third and newest baby of Chef Yong Bing Ngen. It is located at Gardens By The Bay, just below the Flower Dome, opposite the entrance of Cloud Forest. 

Exterior

Interior

The 110-seater restaurant is cozy with a nautical theme to resemble a ship deck. Rounds mirrors line the wall to resemble the potholes with light oak floors and the corporate colour is auqamarine. 

Private Room

There is also a private room available for booking for up to 14 diners. 

As you walk into the restaurant, you will be greeted by a wide variety of live (fresh) seafood in the water tanks ranging from Crabs, Fish (Empura, Turbot), Geo Duck Clams, Bamboo Clams to Lobsters. 

I like the setting of the restaurant. Neat, clean, modern and elegant! Just the place to go to if you need to impress someone without breaking the bank.

Assorted Seafood Soup (Whole Young Coconut, Bamboo Piths) $18

Assorted Seafood Soup (Whole Young Coconut, Bamboo Pith) $18

The Assorted Seafood Soup was served in a whole young coconut. In it, there were mushroom, prawn, scallop and bamboo pith. The soup was tasty with the sweetness of the scallop and prawn extracted into the soup. In addition, there was a light mushroom and coconut flavour. The ingredients used were fresh. The mushroom used was fresh and not the dried version. Similarly, the scallop used was the fresh version. It was big and chunky, so much so that when I bite into it, the flavour of the scallop could still be savoured. I would have though that the prawn in this case would be overcook. But I was wrong. It was cooked just right and was firm and fresh. The best part is that after drinking all the soup, you can use a spoon and scrap off the coconut flesh easily. =)

Bay's Signature 'Kopi' Sauce Crab

You would not have been to Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant if you did not order their signature crab;  Bay's Signature 'Kopi' Sauce Crab. Having said that, of course there are other ways to savour your crab if you prefer; Chilli Sauce, Black Pepper, Steamed with Shao Xing, Sauted with Spring Onions and Ginger or Stewed with Bee Hoon. 

Bay's Signature 'Kopi' Sauce Crab was created by Chef Yong and there is no doubt that this is a uniquely created in Singapore Dish. It is cooked with a blend of 3 varieties of coffee beans, along with apple jam, orange juice and marmalade. At the serving table, it is set alight with a alcoholic mixture to give an extra oomph of  fragrance and caramelisation. 

Bay's Signature 'Kopi' Sauce Crab

I must say that this is a very unique way of cooking a crab. Although I am not a coffee person, I found the 'Kopi' sauce extremely addictive. The intense coffee flavour couple with the sweetness left me longing for more. The crab was fresh and meaty. Its meat could be easily pull out and was firm. Coffee lovers (addicted to coffee/ requiring at least a cup of caffeine fix a day) will definitely love this! 

Braised Baby Abalone Mee Sua ($24 for 2-4 pax, $36 for 5-8 pax)

The Braised Baby Abalone Mee Sua stole the show. It was simple yet delicious. The braised baby abalone was so soft, tender and flavourful. The Mee Sua was tasty having absorbed the rich, tasty and creamy broth. It was so irresistible that I finish the whole bowl (including the broth). Mee Sua is my type of comfort food! 

Doubled-boiled Peach Gum and Chinese Pear (cold) $5

Doubled-boiled Peach Gum and Chinese Pear (cold) $5

The Doubled-Boiled Peach Gum and Chinese Pear was served cold. The sweetness from the different ingredients were extracted. The Peach Gum deserved a special mention as it was soft yet flavourful and sweet.

Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Fresh Cream Stuff ($4.50 for 3 pieces)

Although I am not a fan of fresh cream, the Glutinous Rice Dumpling was saved by the skin of the Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Yes, you read this correctly! The skin!). The skin was extremely soft. It was made from scratch by Chef Li Shou Tao who is their Dim Sum Chef with over 20 years of experience! Wow man! I can't wait to try their Dim Sum one day!

Entrance

Overall, I must say that I have tried several unique dishes during this visit, some of them for the first time in my life (now I sound like a suaku). It is interesting to see the innovative way the different ingredients are combined to create a dish. It is hard choosing the best 2 dishes I ate that day. But if I have to recommend 2 dishes, it would be the Braised Baby Abalone Mee Sua and Bay's Signature 'Kopi' Sauce Crab. I hope that I get to try their Dim Sum one day. If you have tried it before do let me know. 

If you are wondering where to eat at Gardens By The Bay, well this is it!

Thanks Janice and Sherman from Foodnews for invite and hosting. 

ps: It is advisable to make reservations during weekends.

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant (Gardens By The Bay)

18 Marina Gardens Drive, #01-10

Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay

Tel: 6604 6604

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 1145am - 230pm, 545pm - 930pm (last order)

                         Sat, Sun & PH 1130am - 230pm, 545pm - 930pm (last order)

Website

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Location

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Victor's Kitchen (Sunshine Plaza)

Victor's Kitchen located at level one of Sunshine Plaza specialises in serving authentic Hong Kong Dim Sum. I am sure that when Dim Sum is mentioned most of you would be thinking of the likes of Peach Garden, Peony Jade, Lei Garden, Red Star or East Ocean. What's the difference you may ask? Well, to me the Dim Sum at Victor's Kitchen is cheap and good!

Victor's Kitchen 

Arrived at 1pm on a Saturday. Victor's Kitchen was packed! Luckily, the turnover is quite fast, found a table within 5minutes. Do expect to be seated next to strangers with narrow passage ways.

Drinks Menu 

Dim Sum Menu (a)

Dim Sum Menu (b)

To order, you will need to get the order slip(menu) from the counter along with a pencil and tick the items along with the quantity you want. After you are done, pass it to one of the helpers and then wait. Can't help but comment, look at the disclaimer 'we serve the best foods, but not fast food'. Well, for good food, you have got to wait.

H.K. Summer Ice Ying Yang (Mix CoffeeW/Tea) $3.00

The H.K. Summer Ice Ying Yang comes with ice surrounding the cup of ying yang (also known as yuanyang; coffee with tea) . This way, the drink is kept chilled without diluting the the taste of the drink.

Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice $4.00

I am not a fan of glutinous rice and in most places, most of the glutinous rice was hard. But we had to order it as we were starving and needed carbohydrate. When the Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice arrived, my first (negative) thought was 'Wa, so plain'. But well, this is amazing sticky, soft and fragrant. I was totally won over by this dish. The best glutinous rice I have ate! What a great start to my meal.

Char Siew Cheong Fun $4.00

The Char Siew Cheong Fun was smooth and thin with pieces of char siew in it of course. It was average.

Phoenix Porridge $3.50

I was not fast enough in taking a photo of the Phoneix Porridge. This is what is left after the 3 of us too our portions. Phoneix Porridge consist of century eggs and chicken. It was quite plain tasting. For those who want a strongly flavour, can add pepper and light soy sauce. I quite like the fact that it was plain tasting as it complement the other dishes. Moreover, thought that it was cooked well as it was not watery. Remind me of Teochew style porridge.

Vegetable and Quail Egg Siew Mai $3.50

My first time trying such a Siew Mai; Vegetable and Quail Egg Siew Mai.It consist of egg quail on top and  vegetable at the bottom. This is one dish that I dislike. Weird combination of taste that did not appeal to me. Moreover, thought that the meat had a weird after taste.

Yummy Yummy Phoenix Claws $3.50

I am the only one among us who knows how to eat this dish; Yummy Yummy Phoenix Claws. Lucky me, because it was yummy. A must order!

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun $4.00

The Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun (liu sha bao / custard bun) is another must order! Be careful when eating it. As inside, it is full of buttery runny custard that is sweet, salty and sinful! Shiok!

Rosey Wine Yummy Char Siew Bun $3.50

There was just 2 pieces of Rosey Wine Yummy Char Siew Bun which was filled with sweet and tender meat. After having the Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun, this was really just average.

Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce $4.00 (+$0.50 for adding XO Sauce)

The Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce was fantastic! I have never eaten something like this before. The carrot cake was soft and mashy (like mashed potato) soaked in their home-made XO sauce. Somehow, we could not detect any XO taste in it, it was more like soy sauce. Nevertheless, this dish wow us so much that we had to order an addition serving of this.

$0.50 for adding XO Sauce

This time we were determined to find out the exact taste of the XO Sauce. Hence, we added 50cents for the above. And well, we were truely shocked. I really have no idea what this is. Its like preserved vegetable soaked in oil? Anyone knows?

Yutiao Cheong Fun $3.50

The Yutiao Cheong Fun was soaked in thick black sauce. Personally thought that it would taste better if it was soaked in soy sauce. Most online reviews have raved about how good this dish was. Well, I beg to defer, this dish did not appeal to me at all.

Steam Chicken with Chinese Wine $3.00

Well, the Steam Chicken with Chinese Wine was our last dish. The chicken was tender and fragrant having been soaked and steam in the chinese wine. Quite a normal and common dim sum dish.

Overall, the dim sum served here is really good and value for money. It was so good that we ordered 3 times in total, adding some dishes and ordering some dishes twice! In the end we over-ordered. I will definitely be back for more. If you have never been here, time to give it a try. Or you will never know what you are missing!

Victor's Kitchen (Sunshine Plaza)
91 Bencoolen Street
#01-21 Sunshine Plaza
Tel: 9838 2851
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 1030am to 8pm
                         Closed on Mon
Location

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