For the love of Hokkien mee!

Hokkien Mee.

Long history, much disputed on what is the “traditional” or “proper” way to prepare or cook this calorie-laden and flavorful comfort food. Many versions, but one of my all-time absolute favourites and object of my recent craving – this plate of awesomeness is from Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant, a traditional Hokkien Restaurant.

This is a dish that is best consumed piping hot, and the gooey noodles coupled with the sauce … is out of this world. A slurpy spoonful of this, hits in just the right spot, as any good food does!

As this was the last dish, and we had over-ordered (as we often do… Haha!), I decided to pack the remainder back. And heating it up on the microwave and relishing the goodness once again in front of the telly… double score!

Apart from the noodle dish, we also ordered a couple of their signature dishes – the oyster omelette, which is so different from other versions, with the egg being fried till crispy – so crispy that Jay was munching on them like a snack!

And another dish – Kong Ba Pao. Seriously, one of the best. Totally worth the calories!  

There were of course other dishes easier on our arteries, but like how Chinese food usually is, the diet can always start the next day! Haha!

Check out this place the next time you feel a Hokkien mee craving come on (and feel free to invite me too… Haha!)

Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant
65 Chulia Street, OCBC Centre, #05-02

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Malaysian feastin’!

The hubs and I went on a recent road trip with some close friends  over the weekend to Johor Bahru and Malacca (staying a night at each location).

It was a three-day affair of feasting, feasting and more feasting.

For today’s Talkative Thursday post, I figured it would be good to put up some of the yummy fares we had over the last three days! Haha… I know, it ain’t very talkative, but after a long blog break, this is best for my still-in-holiday-mode brain.

Bak Kut Teh seems to be a must-try dish whenever one is in JB, and who can blame us – cos the bak kut teh across the causeway is both affordable and delicious!

Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh
Address: 236, Jalan Sutera, Taman Sentosa, 80150, Johor Bahru, Johor

We even managed to have a suckling pig feast in Malacca. (You will need to call the day in advance to make the booking if you want to try the suckling pig!) This place is also famous for their fried noodles with oysters, which was divine!

Teo Soon Loong Chan Teochew Restaurant
Address: 55 Jalan Hang Kasturi, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia
Tel: +6062822353

And even satay celup. (This was AFTER our suckling pig feast, if you can imagine how greedy we were, so I only took a couple of sticks before waving the white flag)

Capitol Satay Celup Restaurant
Address: 41, Lorong Bukit Cina, 75100 Melaka, Malaysia

And one of the best Peranakan fare I have tried in recent days! My grandmother cooks a mean buah keluak, itek tim (Salted veg and duck soup), assam prawns and curry devil – all of which makes me salivate even though I am just writing out the names of the dishes she cooks. And given I only have a chance to sample Nanny’s dishes every Christmas season, I had an amazingly good appetite at Aunty Lee’s, the famous restaurant in Malacca.

Restoran Aunty Lee
385 Jalan Ujong Pasir, 75050 Melaka, Malaysia
Tel: +606 283 1009

So we feasted, we shopped, we spent, and every night we stayed up till 2 a.m. playing Saboteur and Werewolves.

It was a road trip to remember, and possibly one of our last together since a close friend is relocating soon. Also, we have five children amongst us – with three more on the way. While this was a pre-determined no-kids trip, it is also not very likely we will be able to repeat the feat anytime soon again!

Friends. Family. Fun. Food. No better way to spend a weekend!

Come and link up your Talkative Thursday posts!

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Food of Bangkok: Seafood feast!

So many friends have told us that one of the must-eats is seafood at Bangkok’s Chinatown… so how can we miss that out? Travelling by our trusty tuk-tuks (which is our preferred mode of transportation), we braved the evening drizzle and made our way here.

Small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Tiny stools. Cramped to the maximum.

But the food is out of the world!

One of the restaurant’s best-sellers – the steamed fish in Thai sauce. The tangy soup is to-die-for!

Grilled prawns – for my crustacean-loving son.

Oyster omelette. I am not a fan of oysters – but this little dish had SO many oysters, I think the rest of my party each wolfed down six to seven oysters each! Definitely value for money.

Our little table could hardly contain the dishes at the end of the day! We also ordered a crab dish, fried rice, fried chicken drumlets, a deep-fried fish… Oh my gosh, and all this glorious food for barely S$100 in all. A truly gastronomical experience on a shoestring budget.

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Food of Bangkok: Someone say sushi?!

Finally “restarting” my posts on our Bangkok trip. The most memorable has got to be the FOOD of Bangkok! On the very first day we arrived at Bangkok, we were literally starving by the time it was dinner time, no thanks to a booboo by the hotel which left us waiting at the airport without the van for an hour and caused us to hit the legendary traffic jam that Bangkok seems famous for!

And so when we reached the hotel, we dumped our bags, and made our way to Siam Paragon – wanting to enjoy a good Japanese dinner, and our stomachs probably led us to this:

The food came fast and furious, and we were ALL so hungry, we probably over-ordered. And managed to gulp every last morsel down.

Jay even ate the kiwi off the kiwi juice I ordered for him. THAT was how hungry he was. Haha!

This was probably the priciest meal we had in Bangkok, at a total of more than 3,300 baht for our table for seven (including Jay). But seeing how our journey there had been tiring to say the least, we simply wanted to enjoy a good meal to herald in a good holiday start!

Have you been to Bangkok? Any must-trys?

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Guess who wants some pad thai?

I am so blessed to be living in Marine Parade, and a stone’s throw away from the wonderful street of East Coast which is chock-ful of small and yummy eateries. So many good stuff that I sometimes can neglect some gems in this area! (Of course it wrecks havoc on my diet plan! “What diet plan?” you ask. My point exactly. Sigh.)

Jai Thai was one such restaurant. Located at 205 East Coast Road, nestled in between other eateries with a nondescript exterior, it is easy to walk past without giving this a second look.

One of my cell members was raving about this Thai restaurant, and I knew I simply had to make our way there. I was pretty blown away by the prices, really. Under $7 for a meal set, consisting of a main dish, a drink and a small dessert, nice!

I ordered the Pad Thai set, and when my piping hot dish came, guess who was staring it down?

Even Xav couldn’t resist the delicious waft of the noodles! I enjoyed this dish, though it probably isn’t one of my top pad thai places.

Nic ordered the Tom Yum noodles set, and I loved the spicy soup!

We also ordered the fried rice for the boys to share, and both loved it!

 

The pandan chicken was a crowd fave that day! Haha… Costing $2 per piece, it was pretty generous and beautifully flavoured!

Another recommended dish (by my friend) include the basil dishes – so I am looking forward to our next dinner here!

Linking up with…

Disclaimer: I paid for my meal personally, and am in no way otherwise compensated for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

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Chocolate decadence

Because sometimes… chocolate just hits the spot.

I took an afternoon off, to spend some time with friends, and we decided to meet for some Vietnamese pho, followed by chocolate cake!

If you want some decadence in your life, I recommend Truffs. :)

What a wonderful way to meet up with new and old friends.

I think I am in love with chocolate cake, all over again.

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Pasta & Chicken… another #CookForFamily Attempt

After my last, erm, fiasco attempt at my Breakfast for Champs post… which, truth be told, is a stretch to be called cooking – more like… preparation.

So I decided to give it a half-decent shot again.

I had a friend who raved about this simple Roast Chicken recipe. Oh, make that the PERFECT Roast Chicken recipe. I read through. Hmm. Doable. But one thing. I only started prepping for dinner at 6 p.m. And the recipe called for the chicken to cook for an hour and 20 mins. *cough*

So, I kinda modified the recipe. A little.

I bought some free range chicken from the nearby NTUC Finest (and they looks so succulent!) and cooked them with my trusty Happycall Pan, with a drizzle of olive oil, some sea salt and a dash of black pepper.

And for the mains, for the sake of my two boys, I got a packet of this.

Animal shaped pasta!

My adorable turtle!

And there you have it, a simple tomato based pasta with mushrooms and sausage, and a yummy juicy chicken drumstick to go along!

In fact, I may even try out the actual recipe one day!

Linking up with Susan’s Motivational Monday!

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Kids’ Eats: Toby’s

Tucked away on the second floor of Parkway Parade is this little food outlet called Toby’s The Dessert Asylum.

We frequent this place, usually after dinner as it is a pretty cool place to chill, and the desserts are lovely (as the name suggests)!

With kids, meal-times can be pretty frazzling. There’s the waiting and the squirming and the feeding… and bits of food flying around and spotting the floor. And to us, a kid-friendly restaurant is a place where the waiters won’t give you the evil eye when you walk in with kids (oh, you know one of “these” places!), and where the waitress wipes off the muck off the floor after you leave, even if with nary a smile, it is also without a frown. And food. There is some awesome eats for the kids.

In this aspect, we enjoy bringing the kids to Toby’s for the dinner or dessert treat. So much so that we even got the Toby’s Kid’s Card – which is a fabulous investment. For every regular main dish ordered, we can order a kid’s main dish for free. For every regular drink, Jay get a kid’s drink free. And for every regular dessert… you guessed it! A free dessert for Jay too!

 

I love it!

With Jay, I am always a little reluctant to order a kid’s meal for him, cos he usually doesn’t finish it. (Of course, nowadays, little brother helps to eat as well), and often I’d order a kid-friendly main dish and share with him. But here, I can enjoy a meal that I like, and won’t feel as “heart-ache” if he can’t finish! Haha…

The kid’s menu isn’t fantastic, but there are the usual suspects of a tomato-based pasta, a cream-based pasta and of course fish and chips. Jay’s dessert of choice is a scoop of chocolate ice-cream with animal-shaped biscuits.

For us, the menu’s pretty extensive, and this day I ordered the pork sandwich for myself, and Nic had the cream-based sausage fettucine.

This is part of my new series of kid-friendly eateries around the island. Check out some other cool eateries, recommended by other Singapore blogging mummies!

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Singapore Food Festival

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and the kids were waking from their long naps (after a morning in church). On the spur of the moment, I decided to bring the kiddos to the Singapore Food Festival, happening at the Waterfront Promenade at Marina Bay.

Saw these young girls posing in front of the sign. If I were (quite literally) 10 years younger and without my two kids, I might do that too. Might. But with the kiddos in hand, this is the best I can do – cos I have no wish to plod down the muddy field. Hahaha!

It was a pretty huge tent, with so many stalls. The first thing I did was to get the special edition of the Nets Flashpay card – to enjoy the 20% savings of all the stalls at the Food Fest ($12 to buy, with a $7 stored value).

Check out what we ordered!

The seafood platter from Seafood Paradise, original chicken drumlets from Neo Garden and the yummy pasta from Covelli Italian Bistro & Wine Bar.

Jay enjoyed the prawn fritters from Neo Garden! The two boys were hungry – and thankfully we reached just after 6 p.m., which meant the place was not too crowded and we managed to get the food fast.

Cos if you see their faces, you know… Patience is definitely not in their dictionary.

Oh, but a huge minus… there were no baby chairs! That simple gesture would have made my evening PERFECT. (Now, I will settle for an 8 upon 10. Haha!)

Nic also ordered another dish from Covelli…

Okay… there was supposed to be FOUR of these little babies. But my baby wolfed down two before I could whip out the iPhone. This is a very unique dessert called “Squid Ink Meringue with Sea Urchin-Mango Cheese Mousse.” Sounds a bit weird, and the black look was off-putting for Jay… but Xavier LAPPED. IT. UP. So much so that I stood in front of the stall for about 30 seconds after we had our dinner, and contemplated buying another box home. Haha! Didn’t do it… cos I figured I can pop over before the last day again! Haha! Warning though… It is a super crumbly dessert, and you’ve got to be gentle with these meringues. Loved this dessert!

There were so many other stalls that we didn’t have the stomach for unfortunately… and so we may pop by again!

The Singapore Food Festival Village will be open from 13 to 22 July 2012, from 11 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. daily. Admission is free!

Disclaimer: All opinions here 100% mine, no compensation received.

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Rolleyes… Feel the vibe!

On Sunday, I found myself in a middle of a professional kitchen, in a room full of other bloggers.

The venue? Creative Culinaire.

The purpose of the gathering? The launch of an all-new Singapore online platform which offers reviews on food establishments but with a twist… All the reviews are done visually!

Presenting… Rolleyes!

I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of this brand new website, and love the concept. If a picture paints a thousand words, imagine what a video will do? From the comfort of your own home, you will get a chance to experience the atmosphere and vibe of the featured restaurants!

The website has 4 different categories of food places – Restaurants, Cafes, Chill-Outs and Specialities. Chef’s Tips is also a good resource to garner some “secret” tips by the chefs themselves! Want to know how to slice a mango easily? There’s a video on that! How to choose fresh oysters? Yet another video!Share also offers tips and other recipes – and yes, all in video form as well. The website will also feature special offers for subscribers from the featured food places, so you can expect some pretty good deals!

And the launch was held at Creative Culinaire, where Chef Judy also took the chance teach us how to bake… get this… a Zucchini Chocolate Cake!

With fellow Mummy bloggers Madeline, Susan & Delphine, we tackled the relatively simple recipe. I adore chocolate cake, and so does my Jayvon! Haha… But the twist to this… is obviously in the zuchinni. To those who are a tad clueless, here’s how a zuchinni looks like.

And yes. We put THAT into a chocolate cake. How’s that for sneaking veggies into a kid’s plate? Haha! Chef Judy explained to us that the zucchini was used to replace the use of butter – an indeed, the proportion of butter to zucchini is almost 50-50!

Well… How did it turn out?

 
Piping in the cupcakes!

 
The pretty cupcakes ready for the oven!

 
Voila! It’s official… We’re bakers! (for the day, that is)

After the cakes cooled, we were decorated by lavishing some melted chocolate over the top!

My mum loves baking, and we’ve always enjoyed her pineapple tarts and sinfully yummy kueh lapis whenever it is Christmas or Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, this baking “touch” seemed to have skipped her daughters. But it’s always been my wish to be baking! And so with a new oven for my birthday and inspiring classes like this, it looks to be the stars are aligned for some baking in my near future!

But the proof is in the tasting. Of the cupcake.

 

Jay’s breakfast the next morning… and he loved it! Yummy and healthy? Can’t ask for much, really.

Look carefully – and you won’t find any trace of the veggie. Perfect camouflage!

Thanks once again goes to Rolleyes for generously organizing this, and Chef Judy and Creative Culinaire for a afternoon of fun! Don’t forget to subscribe to Rolleyes, and you even get yourself a sweet treat – sticky candies!

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