There is really only one word that would adequately describe this meal and that word is SHIOK! Somehow "really tasty", "yummy", "delectable" and all the other adjectives don't really capture the emotional response as well as the word "SHIOK" or even better, "D__n SHIOK!". It just rolls off your tongue and I think it must also cause the release of endorphins when you say it. It really is almost like uttering a vulgar expletive because it does give release to your pent up emotions inside when you taste something that hits the spot. I reckon the Singapore Tourism Board should intentionally market it to tourists so that it has the same level of recognition as "Oishi!" and "Aroy Mak!". This meal can be found in the most predictable of places, viz in an old run down coffeeshop reminicent of Singapore in the 60's. It is so unassuming that the stall doesn't even have a name, let alone a signboard. They don't even bother to light up the dreary trays of food! It goes to show that for Singaporeans, when it comes to food, it is all about substance over style, Shiokability over show.
The Crispy Fried Pork here is really D__n Shiok! Unlike some other stalls which I have tried, the crispy pork here is like eating Keropok. It is crispy right through and when you add it to the plate of rice covered with the deluge of curry, lor and cabbage gravy, it really is heavenly. Give me just these two things and I am a happy man. 4.75/5
Rice with Curry, Lor and Chap Chye Gravy. 50 cents
Now I always say that the only thing better than really good food is when the really good food is cheap as well. So here is probably the cheapest way for you to fill your tummy, still have change for your dollar AND still be able to say SHIOK! Yes, I have confirmed that they will actually sell you a plate of rice with 3 gravies for 50 cents and it comes with a plate and utensils.
Hainanese Curry Chicken
Now the star of the show is the Crispy Pork. The rest of the dishes like the Curry chicken4/5, Braised Pork 4.25/5 and Stewed Cabbage with "Lion Head" 4.25/5 are all very good but not as outstanding. However, taken as a whole package, it makes for a very satisfying meal.
Conclusion
Shiok Not Enough! Veeeery Veeery Shiok!
No Name Hainanese Curry Rice Blk 40 Beo Crescent 6.30am to 3pm Closed Wed
I dreamt that I was eating Pork Belly Kushiyaki (Butabara) and all the wonderful juice was bursting out in my mouth as I sank my teeth into the springy flesh. But in my dream, instead of the plain salt and pepper marinade, the pork was marinated Hainanese satay style and I enjoying the sweet fragrance of the cumin, coriander, five spice powder and saffron....yummm...
Then I woke up right at the part where my pastor said: "And in conclusion......." Pork Belly Satay on the grill (note size of the normal satay beside it)
Now that I had that dream, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Somehow, I had to find some Satay seller who is willing to take on my idea. As if by divine intervention, I stumbled upon this blog whose author just happened to be the daughter of Kwong's Satay whom I blogged about a while ago. In her blog post, she said that she was pleasantly surprised that one day, person from one of Singapore's major organizations called up to place an order for a large function. She found out later that they had found out about them from reading my blog post! So since I knew she was happy, I decided it was an opportune time to try my luck and see if they would agree to my idea of a Kushiyaki style Pork Belly Satay.
So that is how our group of Makan Kakis ended up in Geylang Lor 29 one evening to taste-test the latest "ieat creation". The majority of the makan kakis including myself gave it a 4.75/5 for being the juiciest and best tasting satay (certainly the largest). Cactuskit was not as ecstatic as he did not like fats in his satay (where got pork satay with no fats?) but still gave it a 4.25/5. The satay is almost 2 and a half times their normal Pork Loin Satay, so I guess the price of $1 is justified and furthermore you are getting Pork Belly meat which is more expensive than Pork Loin.
Original Pork Satay 40 cents each
Don't miss out on the normal Pork Satay (40 cents) as well as the two meats are different. The normal Pork Satay is more tender compared to the Pork Belly which is a little more chewy but more flavoursome and juicy. One of the secrets of Kwong's satay is that he still insists on using Saffron ($6000 per kg) in the marinade which made it very aromatic. 4.5/5
The peanut sauce comes with crushed pineapple which would please most foodies. However, I did feel that the sauce could have been more "peanutty" to make it even shioker. The Ketupat is very nice as they use pandan leaves instead of coconut. Have a bit of a sniff before you pop it into your mouth when you try it.
Somehow, I felt that the Satays here at the original stall taste better than the one that I blogged earlier at one of the franchisees. It could have something to do with the high turnover of the satays as well as the person who is actually doing the grilling.The original owner, Mr Kwong has since passed on the everyday running of the stall to his disciple whom he has trained in the art of Satay BBQing. He now concentrates on supplying his satay to various stalls around Singapore (as well as home parties). However, he can still be spotted at the stall occasionally since it was where he first started his business in the 80's.
Conclusion
One of the most memorable Satay experiences for me and, I hope, for you too!
Post Script:
This is already quite a popular stall on weekends, so be prepared to wait for your satay!
Kwong SatayGeylang Lor 29 (Geylang side) 5pm - 11pm closed on alt Wednesdays (This wed open) Home orders available from Kwong's Call 6565 0002 Judy www.kwongsatay.com.sg
With Big MOG and Power|MOG Single scoop Vanilla with Warm Chocolate Cake $7.80++
For Superman, it was Kryptonite. For Samson it was Delilah. Yes, every man has a weakness, something that would make him crumble to his knees. For the Big MOG, that happens to be ice cream. (His wife can also have the same effect sometimes, but that is not relevant to this story.)
It just so happened that when the Big MOG visited Singapore this time round, I also got contacted by Seventh Heaven to review their "Adults Only" ice cream. I thought that this was an opportunity too good to miss!
You see, Seventh Heaven is the latest player in the growing homemade ice cream market. But rather than going the "Homemade = Low Fat, Low Sugar = Good for You" route, they have gone directly opposite and are offering a "No holds barred, Sinfully Creamy, Don't tell me what the Doctor told you, just eat first and suffer the consequences later" type ice cream. So I was really excited to see whether this would literally send the Big MOG to Seventh Heaven. Chocolate Coffee Crunch Single Scoop $5.80++(brandied cherry in shotglass not shown)
The lady behind this ultra sinful dessert turned out to be quite an unlikely candidate. Rather than someone who looked like she really enjoys eating lots of pastries and desserts, she turned out to be a rather petite ex-English lecturer from NUS. And the place this cafe is situated is just as unlikely, being tucked away in "no-man's land" at the Marketing Institute of Singapore (former Gan Eng Seng School) where there is hardly any human traffic.
Big MOG in his moment of Epiphany
This ice cream really is for the true believers. There is no fancy sundaes here and you won't find them giving you a choice of toppings. The ice cream flavours are served as they are with just a wafer. Afterall, when so much effort has been put into each flavour of ice cream, it would be a waste to add anything else to it.
The one flavour that really stood out from the rest was the Chocolate Coffee Crunch which had hand pounded Arabica Coffee beans in chocolate ice cream made from Italian Amedei chocolate and Expresso. Big MOG was so ecstatic about it that he wanted to give it a 5/5 but but I had to moderate it a little. Having tasted the various homemade ice creams around town, I must say that this one is quite exceptional and coffee lovers will appreciate the pieces of crunchy coffee beans in the ice cream 4.5/5. Another one that I really enjoyed was the Chocolate and Scotch Whisky which is has a wonderous chocolate flavour and leaves that bit of Scotch Whisky aftertaste at the back of the palate. This one was my personal favourite. 4.5/5 If you like Kahlua, you should not miss out on that flavour as with all the ice cream here, they don't skimp on the amount of alcohol added, so the Kahlua taste really does hit home. 4.25/5
Lemon Granita
For those who like something a little lighter, you can try ordering the Lemon Granita which is essentially a hand crushed ice lemonade topped with their Vanilla ice cream which is made from a combination of four different Vanilla pods. When you visit, you should ask Dr Sein Chan, Phd herself why she went to so much effort to make a Vanilla ice cream. To me it was a good Vanilla Ice Cream but I don't think I could appreciate the difference that the four types of Vanilla pods made over other premium Vanilla Ice Creams. But eaten together with the zesty crushed lemon ice, it was quite addictive. 4.25/5
Conclusion
Quite a different class of homemade ice cream altogether. You are not going to find your usual Durian and Black Sesame here. Instead, they have the more "Grown up" flavours with a lot of them spiked with liquors and other stuff with fancy European names. Well worth a visit if you are an Ice Cream fan. It would be interesting to see if the "Ulu" (remote) location will play to their favour as the inaccessibility might add to their exclusivity.
Post Script:
I returned to Seventh Heaven with our regular Makan Kakis just before posting this to get their opinion on the Ice Cream. The majority ranked Chocolate and Whisky the highest (which was my personal perference as well) so I am upping its rating to 4.75/5. The other thing that we all agree was very very good was the warm chocolate cake ($7.80) which is probably the best value dish you can get there considering that a single scoop is already $5.80, that means that for an extra $2 you get a freshly baked warm chocolate cake with molten chocolate in the middle to go with your Ice Cream! We all gave that one a 4.75/5 as well.
Seventh Heaven 10 Raeburn Park, (Former Gan Eng Seng Sch) #01-24/25/26 Marketing Institute of Singapore Singapore 088702 Tel: 62277787 Mon - Thurs 11am to 8pm Fri 11am to 11pm Sat 1pm to 11pm Closed Sundays and PH
Disclaimer: Please do not overindulge in this if you are suffering from conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol. This blog does not in any way advocate underage drinking or excessive alcohol consumption.
Looks like Uncle Alex just cannot sit still. He had originally intended to take a 6 month sabbatical when he had to close the stall at East Coast Road due to renovations. But the good news is that he is back frying Hokkien Mee just after a 2 week break.
The stall is located in the compound of the Orchard Hostel which is right opposite Four Seasons Durian Cafe and there's lot of free parking within the compound. The stall is sort of hidden inside so you can't really see it from the road.
Many of his regulars still have not found his new location yet, so here is your chance to eat it while there is still no queue!
A trip to Fatty Cheong's Char Siew is regular after-church ritual for the family. The kids love it, the in-laws love it and most importantly, I also love it. Ok lah, we always try to bring the kids to what they like to eat, but it is always a bonus if I also like the food as well. Parents, you know what I mean right?
After blogging a few Char Siew places, we are always drawn back to Fatty Cheong's as his Char Siew is consistently juicy and well charred. Anyway, for those of you who like to try making Char Siew at home, I managed to convince Fatty Cheong to share with us his Char Siew recipe.
According to him, the following are the ingredients he actually uses at the stall. Of course, the big difference is that he has a charcoal oven but many of us don't. So you will have to use your conventional oven or one of those "Xue Di Zi" akaTurbo Broiler if you have one of them. Incidentally, you probably know of the "Xue Di Zi" (Flying Guillotine) if you are about my age (or older) as it was one of those iconic weapons in old Kung Fu films. My mother-in-law affectionately named her Turbo Broiler (also an iconic kitchen weapon in that era) "Xue Di Zi" because of the similarity in shape. I wonder if it is just her or does everyone else also call it a "Xue Di Zi"?
Fatty Cheong's Char Siew Recipe:
1 kg Pork Collar (if you like it juicy) or Pork Shoulder (if you like it leaner)
500g Sugar
300g Oyster Sauce
300g Bean Paste (Dou Jiang)
200ml Soya Sauce
3 teaspoon Rice Wine
2 teaspoon Black Soya Sauce
2 teaspoon Red Colouring
Mix all the ingredients together to make the marinade then use it to marinade the meat for at least an hour or even better if you can marinade it overnight.
Roast in a moderately hot oven for half and hour, turning and basting the meat till it is cooked and slightly charred.
Conclusion
As with all hawker recipes, a lot of "Agarism" (estimation) is involved. So you might have to tweak it a little to suit your taste. And if you find it too tedious, you can always pop down to Fatty Cheong's to get some freshly roasted Char Siew!
Do write in and let us know if the recipe works for you!
Fatty Cheong ABC Brickworks Food Centre 6 Jln Bukit Merah #01-120 (near POSB ATM) Open 11am till about 8.30pm Closed Thursdays 98824849, 94281983
Almost 2 years ago, I blogged about Hillstreet Char Kway Teow and even in the early days of the blog, I already gave this old man a 4.75/5 for his Char Kway Teow. I think it was the very first time I awarded a 4.75/5 to any hawker. Now, two years later it is time to post some new pictures of the Char Kway Teow and let some of our newer readers know about this CKT legend.
I think that any self confessed Char Kway Teow fan will need to eat this Char Kway Teow at least once in their lives. After reviewing several other Char Kway Teow stalls, I still haven't really found any stall that could surpass this old man's plate. Since Char Kway Teow isn't exactly Cardiac Friendly Food, I always tend to tell myself that I shall only eat half a plate so that I can enjoy the flavour but not feel too guilty after that. But I need to confess that every time I come here, I always end up with an empty plate! Really can't help it. 4.75/5
Mr Ng still looks as feisty as before and now even with 46 years of frying experience under his belt, he still looks like he's got a few more years in him. Unfortunately, there is no successor to the throne, so it is only a matter of time before another great hawker name becomes just a distant memory.
Conclusion
I have heard some people complain that they don't want to travel from the West all the way to Bedok to eat a plate of Char Kway Teow. Well, you can't really call yourself a serious foodie in that case can you?
Hill Street Fried Kway Teow Blk 16, Bedok South Road, #01-187 Opened for lunch till about 4pm. Then around 6pm till all he runs out of food. Closed on Mondays
We should do a poll to see whether there are more Chilli Crab lovers or Black Pepper Crab lovers. I think that there was one time when Chilli Crabs were the runaway favourites, but then Black Pepper Crabs came onto the scene and stole top spot from Chilli Crabs. Of course, nowadays there are a few other crab fads like Crab Bee Hoon and Salted Egg Crab, but I still think that Chilli Crabs and Black Pepper Crabs are still by far the favourite amongst Singaporeans.
Today we talk about Black Pepper Crabs and as you all may already know, the creation of the dish is widely attributed to the famous Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. But if you ask where is the best Black Pepper Crab around, a lot of people will tell you about this particular place where you have to ring up early in the day to book your crabs before coming down at around 5pm to start queueing for a table.
The notoriaty of this place is legend. The queue is so bad that it had intimidated me enough to not to try it after all these years. There is also the rumour of a Empress Dowager like figure commanding the restaurant and rumours of the Uber Food Nazi chasing people away for the lack of crabs is the stuff of Singaporean Hawker Lore. And then, there is the fact that they are usually sold out by 8pm. How to eat like thaaaaaat? Then again, like that, how not to eaaaaaat?
What finally brought me to the restaurant was when I heard rumours that the restaurant had moved to somewhere in Yio Chu Kang and that the restaurant in Joo Chiat is closed. In fact, I have driven past the alleged new restaurant (which I shall not name at the moment) and it says clearly on the signboard that they were previously from Joo Chiat Place. I think it was Holydrummer who told me that he had already eaten the black pepper crab there. So I started making plans to visit the new restaurant at Yio Chu Kang since I thought I might get a chance to eat the crab before people find them and we have to start queuing again.
But as I was organizing my trip there, one of my patients told me that she had just eaten Black Pepper Crab at the old Joo Chiat Place! After making sure she wasn't seeing me for diarrhoea, I decided that I would get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.
So we eventually found ourselves sitting at the old coffeeshop at Joo Chiat Place at 5 pm waiting for our Black Pepper Crabs. We were lucky as we did not ring to reserve our crabs ahead of time but still managed to order some because they had a good supply of crabs that day.
As our gowment says, Two is not enough!
The verdict: Strangely addictive. These Black Pepper Crabs are not like the ones served elsewhere. The sauce is slightly sweet and not overly spicy. As Goldilocks would say, "it is just right!". It was so shiok that I think I ate more crabs at that one seating then I ever had for a long while. 4.5/5
The lady manning the register told me that there is some secret ingredient in the black sauce that they used but stopped short of telling me what it was. She also insisted that rumours of there being a change in management at the restaurant was untrue and that everything was the same as before. She appeared to know about the restaurant in Yio Chu Kang but wouldn't say anymore about them.
Conclusion
I guess the real question is whether I would bother calling up earlier in the day and come at 5pm to start queuing up for the Black Pepper Crab the next time? Quite honestly, I think I would.
But back to the mystery at hand. Something must have happened to have started all the rumours! Anyone knows of what actually happened?
Eng Seng Restaurant 247 Joo Chiat Place (Jn Joo Chiat Place and Still Rd) 4.30pm to around 8pm 64405560 91113564 Eunice
If you are looking for a truly traditional Hokkien Mee, then this is the place to get it. It's got it all. The opeh leaf, the crunchy pork lard, boiled melt-in-your-mouth belly pork, cut chilli and most importantly, a stock made from Sea Prawns or "Sua Lor" as it is called in Hokkien.
Yes, the taste of farmed prawns still fails to meet up to what God originally created prawns to taste like. When you bite into a "Sua Lor", you can immediately make out that extra sweetness in its flesh which you don't get with the farmed tiger prawns. And when they are used to make the stock, it adds that special old school taste to the Hokkien mee the fills the air with the aroma of anticipation when the Hokkien Mee is being fried.
Chomp Chomp is a Hokkien Mee lover's paradise. Aside from this particular stall and Ah Hock which I blogged about in the previous post, there is yet another stall which is a branch of the famous Kim's which is not bad, but it can never compare with these two owner run stalls.
I think that there are going to be fans of both Hokkien Mees here. I ate both at the same sitting and in my opinion, Che Jian edges out Ah Hock in terms of the taste of the noodles, the use of sea prawns, the addition of belly pork AND the fact that they have crispy pork lard when you request for it. So for that, it deserves a 4.5/5. And on top of that, their signboard is also quite old school, as is the old man's 555 all cotton T-shirt!
Conclusion
Two great hokkien mees in the one Food Centre! So how many are fans of Che Jian and how many of Ah Hocks? Che Jian Fried Hokkien Mee Chomp Chomp Food Centre Left hand side towards the back Open 5.30pm till 1am
The building that houses the coffeeshop where Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee is housed will be undergoing renovation to convert it to a hotel. So our Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee uncle is forced to vacate and has up till now not been able to find a suitable stall to migrate to. Uncle Alex said he might even be thinking of calling it a day since his right shoulder is giving him so much problems.
That means that the stall which I consider to be one of the top 3 Hokkien Mees in Singapore may soon become just nostalgia! So if you are a fan of HKM, you have only up till 24 August (last day) to eat here before they close for an indefinite period of time.
BTW, if you know of any suitable coffeeshop in the East, please do write in and let me know. His criteria is that it should have space for carparking, be located somewhere around the East and preferably not be under HDB.
Postscript:
Alex and his family would like to thank all their customers for their support all these years. He will be taking a short break and when they settle in their new stall, they will announce it on this blog. So watch this space.
Update 16 Aug 2008
Just had the HKM today. Very shiok. I am upping is rating to 4.6/5 If only he brought back the boiled pork belly....
Updated 18 Sep 2008
They are now at 1 Joo Chiat Place! Read the latest update here.
Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee 396 East Coast Road 11.30am to 9.30pm Closed on Mondays
The best carrot cake I have tasted is just a stone's throw away from home and it took me so long to find it!
You know, I haven't eaten any outstanding carrot cake that I can really put my finger on until I came across this one. What makes it special is that not only does this lady fry the carrot cake until it is crispy on the outside, but she adds in these delightfully crispy Ikan Bilis and Pre-Fried Chye Poh as well. The Chye Poh is really like manna from heaven!
OK, classic carrot cake connoisseurs might cry foul over the use of ikan bilis in the carrot cake, but I am telling you that after tasting this one, I feel that everyone else should be adding ikan bilis as well.
Aunty buys really good quality ikan bilis and prepares it herself twice a week. She fries them till they are super crispy and flavoursome. The chye poh is also pre-fried and she adds a little bit of sugar into them to give them that extra edge. The combination of the crisp savoury ikan bilis with the sweetened chye poh, soft carrot cake and fried eggs is something I just can just sit there and slowly savour with my eyes closed.
This stall used to be selling fried Hokkien Mee when the Aunty's husband was still around. But since his passing, they don't sell fried Hokkien Mee anymore. In fact, it was her late husband who first suggested that she added the ikan bilis for extra kick!
Truth be told, the first time I met her, I almost thought she was a bit of a Food Nazi. You see, I ordered my carrot cake without chilli, but when it arrived with chilli, I made the excuse that my kids don't eat chilli, and she grumpily changed it for me. What to do? I was scared that if I said I don't take chilli, she might just ban me from the stall! (I did offer to pay for 2 plates of carrot cake in the end but she refused to take the money albeit still grumpy)
But luckily, she turned out to be quite a nice lady when you get to know her. Just be nice to her okay? And when you ask for extra chye poh (Power Up to get Max Ooomph!) offer to pay extra 50 cents for it and keep that smile on her face.
Conclusion
Best carrot cake I have had for as long as I can remember! It's a 4.5/5 for the standard plate but when you add the extra chye poh it becomes a 4.75/5
Golden City Carrot Cake 1 Telok Kurau Road Open 7.30am to 2pm Closed Tuesdays
The pictures say it all. When it comes to Durians, we Singaporeans will throw any manner of decorum to the wind. It is one of the few times that you can actually eat with your hands, get durian all over your face, and talk with your mouth full without mom telling you off. This is especially so when mom is also in the thick of things.
Yes, when it comes to durians, it is the fruit that is the main focus and nothing else matters. No one bothers that the tables are not cleaned, that you can throw the seeds into a dirty plastic box and it is permissible to stuff a whole durian segment in your mouth because you got to use your hands to open the durian. Do it with a chicken drumstick and everyone will be staring at you!
So it is when over 80 durian kakis gathered outside a provision shop to enjoy the fruit together. From Neurosurgeons to students, retirees to property developers, there are no social barriers when it comes to durian. The only criterion for admission is that you love the fruit.
The degustation session covered 5 varieties of durians that evening. We started with D24, then move on to Hong Xia, Black Pearl, XO, Golden Phoenix and finished up with the prized Mao Shan Wang. The characteristics of most of these have already been covered in my previous posts, so I will only highlight the Black Pearl which was voted best durian for the night.
The Black Pearl
The Black Pearl is easily recognizable by its elongated Rugby Ball shape which is something close to the heart of this ex-Saint/Rafflesian.
The flesh is is greyish white and most of them have little "pearls" of black in the flesh. The shape of the segments are also elongated and looks very much like those fried fish cakes. The texture is pastey and the aroma is only mildly pungent. However it is distinctly sweet with a taste that I find as difficult to describe as the colour Red.
The small size of the segment is offset by the tiny shrivelled seeds, so you still get quite a nice mouthful of flesh. I am told that is it best eaten by popping the whole segment into your mouth, spitting the seed out and then spend the next few minutes savouring the taste while swallowing a little at a time. 4.5/5
Conclusion
I think all our durian kakis went home very full and very satisfied that night and woke up this morning with Durian breath! Don't forget to drink lots of water everyone!
Ah Loon showing off the characteristic star shape pattern of the Mao Shan Wang
Ah Loon and Ah Teck Durian 231 East Coast Road 97514828
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Sumosumo, Holydrummer, Holybro, Holybunny and Cactuskit for helping to organize the event!
When I first started the blog, I wrote about Astons and eBlackboard and how these eateries are bringing affordable western cuisines to the heartlands. I hinted then, that we will see more and more Restaurant Style Western Food stalls in our heartlands. And it came to pass that Singaporeans are now enjoying the likes of Botak Jones, Crazy Ang Moh and Astons in a coffeeshop environment.
Now we move on to the next level. Foie Gras and Escargot in our heartland coffeeshops.
Actually the development is inevitable. With the increase in rental and food prices, Singaporeans are finding it increasingly expensive to dine at restaurants and restaurants are finding the high rental prohibitive to their businesses. That was the case with Cilantro, who used to be a fine dining restaurant at Purvis Street which earned rave reviews from the media. When their landlords increased their rentals, they decided that instead of continuing to work hard to feed the landlords, they would bring fine dining cuisine to our heartlanders instead.
Notice I never said "fine dining" but rather "fine dining cuisine". This is because it is still to be seen if Singaporeans will pay higher prices to eat at coffeeshops even though the food is fine dining standards. Or put another way, is fine dining just about the food or is it also about the service and the ambiance? If we can judge from the experience of Botak Jones and Astons, I would say confidently that a large segment of Singaporeans will take to this type of cuisine at coffeeshops IF the price is right. We Singaporeans are practical and more importantly we are know a good bargain when we see one.
So what is a good bargain? How about Escargot for $8 and Foie Gras (Goose, not duck liver) at $15 without GST and service charge? I think I got your attention.
This is the 2nd time I am trying Cilantro. During my first visit 1 month ago at the Old Airport Road Food Centre, they were still undecided as to whether the heartlanders will be willing to pay a little more for fine dining. So I ended up eating their "not so fine dining" standard fare. It was good but I felt that it wasn't exciting enough to be blogged, so I encouraged them to really give Singaporeans the good stuff they used to serve at their restaurant. I really believe that Foie Gras in a coffeeshop would cause some excitement, especially with the ieatishootipost makan kakis.
Foie Gras (Goose Liver) $15(Special promo for ieatishootipost readers $12)
So here it is! $15 Foie Gras! And they are not cutting corners. They use Goose liver which have been marinated in Szechuan peppercorn and other spices, panfried till it is crisp outside and served with an excellent brown sauce reduction flavoured with truffle oil and topped with raisins which have been soaked in Black Vinegar and sweetened with rock suger.
I am not kidding. This is the one of the best Foie Gras I have eaten and certainly the cheapest. The Foie Gras is super creamy and oh so umami. And the sweetened black raisins were an excellent complement for the savoury Foie Gras. For those of you who have not tried Foie Gras, this would be a great opportunity to be introduced to the dish. If you think that you would never like liver, just remember that Foie Gras does not taste anything like the liver you know. Trust me, it's the only liver I eat. 4.75/5
The escargot was surprisingly good. Everytime I had escargots before, I thought they tasted like a cross between a rubber band and salted fish. But this one was surprisingly tender and flavoured with a mild curried butter. Ok, I still don't really appreciate the taste of the escargots itself but I think as a whole they make for a tasty appetizer. 4/5
Lamb Rack $20
The other dish that tingled my tastebuds was the lamb rack. Lamb has a very strong flavour, so I usually like it with a sauce that is fruity and sweet. They use an excellent chilled NZ lamb rack here which has been marinated with lemon grass and other spices before grilling and served with a piquant brown sauce. Rather than causing fusion confusion, I thought the combination of Asian spices to the lamb rack was excellent. The lamb was really tender with that melt in your mouth quality about it. So good that I am still thinking about it. 4.5/5
Smoked Duck Breast Pizza $6
One thing that was really good that I remember from my first visit was the Smoked Duck Breast. They actually marinate and smoke their own Duck and it is very good. The pizzas here will be great for the kids. I like the the chewy quality of the Mozarella they use here but I think the pre-baked crust needed a bit more tweaking. With the smoked duck pizza, I reckon a BBQ sauce like those served with Peking Duck would have made a better combination. 3.5/5
King Prawn Mee Sua
The Mee Sua was a little hard to figure out at first. I had really no reference point for this dish. It didn't come across as a Western dish with an Eastern influence or vice versa. To me it tasted a little like chicken broth with noodles.
However, the one thing that I did appreciate was the Mee Sua. It wasn't powdery like the Mee Sua that I was accustomed to. Instead it had a very unique bite to it that I really grew to appreciate. It was then that I found out that they were using Japanese Mee Sua! That was a first for me and I really give it to the Japanese for being able to make Mee Sua that tasted better than all the Mee Sua that I have eaten before! If you are the sort that likes noodle soups and ramen, I think you will like this one. 4/5
Conclusion
Be a part of Singapore Culinary history and be one of the first to eat Foie Gras in a coffee shop! Whether or not Singaporeans will be willing to pay for fine dining in a coffeeshop remains to be seen. But I think that we will be seeing more fine dining in our coffeeshops in the near future.
Special Promo for ieatishootipost readers:
Go to the stall and mention the blog and pay $12 for the Foie Gras. This is the normal portion not a mini portion. But you guys Zi Dong a bit and buy some of their other stuff okay? There are limited portions of foie gras so it may be a good idea to call up first to reserve yours.
Update: 4 Sep 2008
Due to lack of supply, the Foie Gras promotion will cease on 15 Sep 2008
Update: 9 Oct 2008
They have revamped their menu, so these items are no longer available.
Cilantro Modern Asia Blk 28, Jln Bukit Merah, #01/4476S(152028) www.cilantro.com.sg 10am to 10pm Open daily Disclaimer: This was an invited review. 97950289
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No Name Hainanese Curry Rice 
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