Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Ah Loy Thai (Shaw Towers)

Ah Loy Thai is located in Shaw Towers. This post will cover the food that I ate on three different occasions. 


Long queue (Right of picture)
Visited Ah Loy Thai  on a saturday for dinner. It was around 6pm and yet there was already a long queue that stretched down the stairs to where the male toilet is. Notice the white long sleeve shirt man whose image is not clear and back is facing us? Well he is the guy who ensures that patrons queue up and assign them to the tables. So you will not want to offend him.
More seating space
Ah Loy Thai has expanded and taken a unit next to it to cater to the crowd. As a result, their seating capacity has increased around 100%! But my concern will is that the owners increased the seating capacity without increasing kitchen size. How will it cope with serving customers their food and not result in an increase in waiting time? As mentioned in my first post, the waiting time for food was around 40minutes.
Menu
While we were queuing up, we were given a pencil and this slip of paper with all the dishes and prices. We waited close to 20 minutes and had lots of time to decide what to eat.


At last, we had a place to sit. All the way at the back at a cozy corner. Having decided what to order, I went to the cashier and made the payment for my orders with the slip of paper before going to my seat. It will be a 45 minutes wait, that was what the cashier told me.
Thai Pandan Chicken $9.00
Luckily for us, we waited just around 30 minutes. The first dish that was served was the Thai Pandan Chicken. The Pandan Chicken wrapped in pandan leaves was tender, juicy, tasty and well-marinated. The pandan leaves seems to have helped trap and ensure that all the moisture and flavours did not eascape. In addition, pandan flavours were present in the chicken. The chicken were cooked till it was slightly charred. Shiok, delicious! The only down side was, it was oily. Well, for delicious food its worth it.


Thai Fried Keoteow (Phad Thai) $5.90
Having tried the Phad Thai previously, I ordered it again. Phad Thai is the thailand version of fried kway teow. It is fried with prawns, toufu, fried egg and bean sprouts. Accompanied with grinned peanut and lime. The dish was fragrance and tasty! Certainty better than most places.
Tom Yum Soup $6.90


Ah Loy Thai’s Tom Yum Soup looks fiery red with the chilli oil on top. It came with prawns, mushrooms (straw and oyster) and squids. It is a spicy yet sour soup that was balanced nicely such that despite the spiciness (numbing your tongue/sweating), you would find yourself going for more servings. We ordered a bowl of rice to accompany the soup.


On the two other occasions , this was what I ate. 


Pineapple Fried Rice $5.90

To be honest, I was very disappointed when I saw the Pineapple Fried Rice. So different from what I expected, no Chinese sausages, no floss, no cashew nuts and there was very few pieces of pineapples! But omg the moment I ate one mouthful I could not stop. This dish looks so simple and unlike other pineapple fried rice was amazingly delicious! Ingredients include prawns (which were not fresh), chicken, raisins, pineapples (very few pieces) and egg. Sounds like a negative dish? Well, amazingly the chef combined the ingredient and his skills... to cook up a fried rice that was not dry nor hard nor oily. In addition, the killer punch was the amazing wok-hei flavour presence combined with everything else was just heavenly! Certainty, a dish to try! Shiokolicious! 
Thai Green Curry $6.50
The Thai Green Curry was way off expectation. Tasted very different from my visit in 2010. The flavour of coconut was overwhelming.
Fried Butter Calamari $7.50
The Fried Butter Calamari was delicious. Despite a wet look due to the butter, each piece of calamari was still crispy. Great seasoning, very tasty.
Stired Fried Red Basil Leaf with Pork $5.80
 If you love very spicy food. The Stired Fried Red Basil Leaf with Pork is for you. The chilli bits in it had me chocking literally. The spiciness overwhelmed the rest of the flavours. Have your drink on standby! 
Fried Sweet Potato Leaf (Spicy) $4.50
Fried with chilli and garlic. The Fried Sweet Potato Leaf was an average dish. This time, the taste of the spices was not overwhelming. 
Overall, despite the wait time, the food is too good to forgo. After all these visits, the must try items are Thai Pandan Chicken, Phad Thai, Pineapple Fired Rice. If your stomach has space for more food, order Tom Yum Soup and Fried Butter Calamari. Ah Loy Thai is certainty a must try, its Thai food taste great! But do come early if you are planning a dinner as Ah Loy Thai closes at 815pm on weekdays and 715 on weekends.
(I saw several tables having a similar fish dish. Any idea what is their signature fish dish?)
After your meal, you can hop over to Tom’s Palette just opposite Ah Loy Thai for ice cream.
Ah Loy Thai (Shaw Towers)
100 Beach Road
#01-39/40
Tel: 91651543
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri, 12pm to 8:15pm
                          Sat: 1pm to 7:15pm

                          Closed on Sundays


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Sunday, 18 September 2011

Hainan Chicken Rice Ball (Jalan Besar)



Singaporeans love chicken rice, there will always be a chicken rice stall in a food court and at coffee shops. This chicken rice stall located at Jalan Besar, oppsite Sim Lim Tower, near Sim Lim Square. The stall is different/special from the many chicken rice stalls in Singapore. What is the difference? The stall name is Hainan Chicken Rice Ball, well the name clearly states why it is different/special - rice ball.

Chicken Rice Set $4.00

I ordered the Chicken Rice Set which consists of 2 rice balls, steam chicken, pork belly and a bowl of soup.
Chicken Rice Balls
Just before serving, the Chicken Rice Balls were shaped into balls. Each grain of rice was soft, hence it was easily shaped. Moreover, the rice balls were fragrant as the flavours of chicken, garlic and ginger were infused into it. 
'White' Chicken & Pork Belly
The 'White' Chicken was different from other stalls. It was skinless and boneless. Moreover, black sauce was drizzled over it. Despite the chicken being dry, it was amazing soft and tender.

As for the Pork Belly, it was soft, tender and fatty. Black sauce was drizzled over it too enhancing its already flavourful taste. I am not a fan of pork belly, hence did not enjoy it. But I am sure for people who enjoy pork bell, they will like this!
Soup
The set came with Soup. Normally, chicken rice soup are full of MSG. Well, this was a black colour soup that had distinct herbal taste. But, honestly speaking, I have no idea the type of herbs were used or if herbal ingredients were used. 
Overall, a very unique stall that is certainty very different from the other chicken rice stalls in Singapore with it's own character. 
Hainan Chicken Rice Ball
Boon Hwa Food Center
43 Jalan Besar

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Lian Huat Heng Cantonese Roast Duck

**Edited 6th Nov 2011
Stall closed**

Lian Huat Heng Cantonese Roast Duck is located at a corner of 'Good Time Coffee Shop'.Have always noticed that alot of patrons in the coffee shop always seems to order from Lian Huat Heng Cantonese Roast Duck. Hence, decided to give this stall a try on 2 occasions.
On both occasions, there was a short queue at the stall.

Roast Pork & Char Siew Rice
On the first occasion, I ordered the Roast Pork & Char Siew Rice. It does not look very presentable does it? Well do not let its appearance fool you. The rice grains were slightly hard, it help that sauce was added as it help soften the rice. The roast pork  was crispy and not too fatty. Delicious and fragrant. The char siew fared even better. Slightly charred parts providing a crispy and crackling layer at some parts. It was well marinated. Moreover, each piece was sliced such that it was not too thin. A bonus, each order comes with a bowl of soup! Why is it a bonus? Well, like any other roasted meat or chicken rice stall, free soup is given. But this free soup comes along with sichuan vegetable 四川菜 (zha cai) and even pork meat that is with soft bones/cartilage! The soup is salty, but well the ingredients inside was good!

Roasted Duck & Char Siew Rice
On the 2nd occasion, I ordered the Roasted Duck & Char Siew Rice. Similar comments for the rice and char siew as above. The roasted duck was disappointing.  Skin was not crispy. Although meat was tough and dry, it was flavourful.
Again, the soup comes along with sichuan vegetable 四川菜 (zha cai) and even pork meat that is with soft bones/cartilage! To me, I have always prefer pork meat that comes along with the soft bones/cartilage compare to those without.(wonder if I am lucky or all their pork comes with soft bones). A sides note, I have noticed that some people's soup had duck wing or duck leg.
Overall, cheap and good. I am sure I will continue eating here and maybe one day I will be lucky and get the soup with duck leg =)
Lian Huat Heng Cantonese Roast Duck
Good Time Coffee Shop
Blk 1 Rochor Road
#01-612 Rochor Centre
Tel: 9018 9409 
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 7pm
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