Leng Heng BBQ Seafood and Tales of Lao Ma

Hubby's birthday has come and gone.

This year, no-one seemed to be in a really good mood to celebrate. Hubby's appetite was missing due to an illness and I was still experiencing occasional bouts of first trimester nausea.

Nonetheless, the food nazi in me prevailed. Even if we don't indulge in a sumptous feast this year, we should have at least have something decent.

Since we were buying back, East Coast Lagoon Food Centre came to mind. It has a great range of food (ranging from bbq chicken wings to rojak, wanton mee and seafood) and there is ample parking. I quickly made a "google search" for the best bbq seafood in East Coast Lagoon Food Centre and Leng Heng kept appearing.

I've never heard of Leng Heng before but based on the mouthwatering pictures and accompanying rave reviews, I knew I had to try. What further piqued my interest was recurring mention of the stall's lady boss- a fiery woman named Lao Ma with a commanding presence and a boisterous personality. I also liked that telephone bookings were welcome.

So I called Lao Ma and placed an order. She struck me as a friendly confident auntie with lots of heart. And she is definitely someone who knows (and loves) her food. We ordered a chili crab, 2 black pepper crabs, 2 prawn pancakes (she insisted one would not be enough), lala (mussels), fried baby squids, cereal king prawns and a sambal stingray. The total bill came up to SGD238.

When it comes to the taste test, there were several hits and misses. The prawn pancake was really delicious- the batter was crisp and bursting with hints of chopped waterchestnuts and fresh prawn. Lao Ma's chili sauce and sweet sauce dips were also nice complements. I would order this again.

My other favorite was the cereal king prawns. I'm a sucker for the crunchy oatmeal and this version did not disappoint. I could just eat this dish with rice alone and be the happiest person in town. The prawns were huge, succulent and juicy.

The rest of the items can be described as passable but lack lustre. The crab size was disappointingly puny. Some of the pincers were not even as long as my thumb. Of the black pepper and chili version, I would definitely choose the black pepper one, which packed more punch. Somehow there was an unappetising layer of red oil on top of the chili version.

The fried baby squids were nice but I think places like Jumbo and Seafood Paradise serve up a better rendition. They had turned a little soggy by the time we tucked in so half the magic was missing.

Lao Ma also really endorsed the Lala (braised in a brown unami garlic gravy) but I didn't find anything spectacular about it. This continues to perplex me.

Last but not the least,  the sambal stingray. I found the sambal marinade a little too mild for my liking. I've eaten a better version from another stall in East Coast Lagoon (forgot the name but its beside the famous Rojak stall).

As usual, we over-ordered and had the leftovers for lunch and dinner the following day (Side note: Besides the above, I had also ordered satay and wanton mee). 

Overall it was an okay experience. I don't think I'll specially order from this shop but I don't mind chomping on the cereal prawns and prawn pancake as a snack if I next happen to swing by East Coast Lagoon food centre.

I wonder if Lao Ma will recognise me.

Angsty at The Clan Restaurant

For food ideas, I typically scour local print media (like 8 Days, The Straits Times, Simply Her, Food &Travel magazine), food websites like Hungrygowhere and local food blogs. Often, I am delighted with the result and relish each good find like a pirate who has found his bounty.

Unfortunately, there are also immaculately written articles that prove to be bogus, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. It makes me wonder if these articles are products of paid reviews, invited tastings, or just a marked difference in taste?

Clan Restaurant is one such restaurant where my taste seems to deviate from the mainstream. The menu sounds tantalizing, with fanciful sounding items like earl grey cured tuna, 48 degree poached salmon, 48 hours short ribs and an interesting apple "slurpee" amuse bouche. Value also seems reasonable with a 6 course meal costing around SGD62+++. Unfortunately that's where the good stuff ends.

Service was friendly at first but gradually degenerated to forced smiles, unfilled glasses and vanishing acts as the evening wore on and our complaints mounted.

Round 1: The evening started beautifully as we were ushered to our seats and presented with the menu. As I was feeling quite full from lunch, a waiter suggested that our party of 3 order 2 set dinners to share. We decided to take up his suggestion after perusing the menu. We quickly caught the attention of another waiter to make our order. When he heard that we were only ordering 2 set dinners, his tone immediately stiffened and he seemed reluctant to accept our orders. We felt a little embarrassed and eventually settled for 2 set dinners with an additional main course.

Round 2: The starters, sides and soups arrived in quick succession. Most of the dishes were ordinary tasting- a chewy smallish scallop spritzed with some truffle foam, salmon mousse in cute crunchy cone, a bland tasting crab leg, a cold unappetising slab of foie gras and passable crab bisque. A unanimous turnoff was the earl grey cured tuna with lavender scent. Urgh! It was like eating tuna marinated in axe brand oil.

Round 3: The mains. A total disaster despite the impressive descriptions. 48 hour short ribs (beef) in madeira sauce turned out to be cold leathery slices of meat on a crumpled Hoba leaf. My salmon course was fishy and hidden with bones. Another kaki's pasta with grilled barramundi was laced with strong lashes of squid ink which she didn't take well to. After giving our feedback to the servers (for the record they did offer to replace our dishes but we declined), we noticed a visible drop in service. Water glasses were not filled and our table seemed to be shunned in favor of the more appreciative diners from other tables.

Round 4: Dessert. We ordered their famous chocolate fudge and a green tea tiramisu. No complaints taste wise but not outstanding either. Potions were rather measly.

I don't think I'll be going back to this place again. It reeks of pretentiousness. I feel sick in the stomach just writing this review.

Last Meals

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck

The past 9 months have been a journey of sorts. In the initial first few months of pregnancy, I could barely eat. Even the thought of food made me feel like puking. I was so tired after work that all I wanted to do was to sleep.

Gradually, as I approached my second trimester, I started to enjoy my food again, albeit more cautiously. I still couldn't stomach heavy stuff like nasi padang and char kway teow. However, I enjoyed the occasional kfc chicken wing and developed a liking for curry buns and mashed potatoes.

Now that I am in my third trimester and almost ready to pop anytime, I have morphed into a ravenous eater trying to make up for lost time. My weight has been on an upward climb (2kg in a week!) and my gynae is getting alarmed. Buffets, chocolates and chips? Bring em on!

It will be a pathetic one month confinement period after our little one arrives. My position will be demoted from a queen bee to a working cow. Even the food I eat will comprise largely of steamed items like fish and vegetables. I am so NOT looking forward to it but know deep down that this is for the greater good of mankind.

Nuff of the sad stuff and back to the food.

Yesterday I decided to give my folks a treat and booked us a table at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck restaurant in Paragon. Those of you who have read my earlier post on Paradise Pavilion will know I am an ardent fan of Imperial Treasure's Super Peking Duck. It is the best Peking Duck I have ever eaten and worth every single cent of its SGD68 price tag.

Warning: Pls call to reserve the duck beforehand as it sells out quite fast.

There is a certain procedure to eat the duck.

The chef first deftly slices off pieces of pure crackly skin, one for each guest. This is best eaten with sugar (although I'm not sure why). All I know is that it tastes heavenly.

Come to mama

Next, the chef slices thin pieces of the duck (this time with meat attached to it) onto a plate. Dad likes to eat his without the usual crepe and spring onion condiments. Either way, both methods taste equally good.

Yummy on its own

or in the usual traditional style

We topped up an additional SGD10 for the chef to fry the remaining duck meat with eefu noodles. The standard of Imperial Treasure's eefu noodles easily surpasses those we are accustomed to at wedding dinners. Two thumbs up.

Also on our hit list...a wide array of dim sum dishes, all of which were stellar.

Scallop Cheong Fun

Chee Cheong Fun with scallop (SGD5.50).. with melt in the mouth skin that virtually drips off the serving spoon.

Siew Mai

Har Gao

Har gao (SGD4.80) and siew mai (SGD4.40)... Mainstays in every dim sum menu. Not my favorite but decently executed. Eat em while they are hot! (otherwise they tend to taste rubbery)

Wu Kok

Wu Kok (SGD3.60)... The outer casing was feather light and crumbly, giving way to a luscious mess of mashed yam and pork when bitten into. Extremely satisfying

Prawn Wantons

Deep fried prawn dumplings (SGD4.50)... Bursting with the freshness of big juicy prawns.

Sharksfin dumpling soup

Sharksfin dumpling soup... A steal at only SGD7.50 a bowl. A hit with the older folks, especially those who like to see strands of sharksfin in their soup.

Strangely our lone appetiser dish (Assorted Egg, SGD8) arrived last. It looked like a pretty agar agar cake, with alternating layers of salted egg, century egg and normal egg. Though the resulting taste was not particularly memorable, the pretty presentation makes this dish worth ordering at least once.

Pretty palatable

We were too stuffed to order dessert but could catch tantalizing whiffs of fried durian from the opposite table.

Considering how much we ate and the high quality of service we received (our plates were constantly changed and teacups refilled without prompting), I found the bill of SGD174.60 highly reasonable. It also helps that Stanchart now offers credit card dining rebates of 15% up till end April.

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck
290 Orchard Road
#05-42 Paragon
Tel: 67327838

Victim of Victor's Kitchen

I've been eating with a vengeance these days. Figured that since I'll be subject to a strict month -long diet regime after I give birth, I had better eat like there's no tomorrow.

Dim sum seems to dominate my thoughts these days. I'm not sure why. For good dim sum, I usually head to old favorites like Royal China and Wah Lok for my fix. This time round, I decided to be more gungho and set my heart on trying an off -the-road joint called "Victor's Kitchen" in the bohemian Purvis St district.

Victor's has been hailed by many food bloggers for its cheap and good dim sum. Don't expect wet towelettes and pristine tablewear here. Everything is flip flop casual and almost grubby. Tables fill up quite quickly during lunchtime but turnover is also pretty fast, facilitated by bossy kitchen helpers and a highly efficient order chit system.

For SGD28, we certainly managed to eat quite a fair bit. The lady who took our orders was kind enough to serve us the right quantity of each item based on the number of people present (you know how some restaurants are so sticky on serving their dim sum is fixed sets of 3), which impressed the hell out of me. For some weird reason though, she was reluctant to provide us with individual serving plates to eat from.

Ice Milk Tea. Ingeniously served separately in a bed of ice to prevent dilution. Delicious thirst quencher, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.

Glutinous rice in lotus leaf. Yummy combination of glutinous rice, chicken meat, salted egg and other fatty stuff. Melt in the mouth scrumptious, especially when eaten with the restaurant's sweet chili sauce. A must order.

Char Siew Cheong Fun. My kaki liked this dish but I felt the skin a tad too thick for my liking.

Char Siew Pau. Whilst the skin was light and fluffy, I didn't really enjoy the char siew filling, which was overly sweet and reeked too heavily of rose wine.

Steamed radish cake with XO sauce. Another must try, which could give Wah Lok's version a run for its money. We were blown away by the unami flavors and were glad that we had ordered individual portions for ourselves.

The radish cake even comes with its own complimentary serving of XO chili sauce,(which tastes like hei bee hiam to me). If you want an extra serving, you have to pay SGD1! Frankly, the radish cake already tastes good on its own.

Custard "Liu Sha" Buns Although this was supposed to be a star dish of Victor's. I was highly disappointed when I ripped open the bun, only to discover that the custard filling had already hardened (like egg yolk). It was so unappetizing that I only managed to finish half.

While this was an interesting experience, I think I'm better off eating at good ol Wah Lok or Royal China. The cab fare that I forked out just to get to Victor's offsets its cheap price tag. Also, at least I am assured of higher levels of hygiene at finer establishments (that very night, I experienced a very bad tummyache and almost didn't make it to work the next day)

Hint: After lunch at Victor's, make a quick stop at the adjourning Elias building and pick up a box of scrumptous beancurd tarts and golf ball pineapple tarts from the famous Le Cafe bakery.

Kung Fu Paradise- no kick

Bedok Point just opened some months ago. Given the densely populated surroundings of Bedok estate, this mall comes as a welcome relief of sorts to heartlanders from the mid income group who do not mind forking out a little extra moolah for air conditioned dining in the East.

As a food themed mall, easily 80% of its occupants comprise of food outlets,.The usual suspects like Sushi Tei, Killiney Kopitiam, Old Chang Kee, Four Leaves and Yoshinoya dominate. However, also evident are a handful of new entrants like Gong Cha, Paradise Inn, Mr Chicken Rice and Ayam Penyat Ria.

One new entrant which particularly stands out is Kungfu Paradise (a relatively fresh addition to Paradise Group's growing chain of restaurants) strategically located just by the main entrance of the building.

Kungfu Paradise's dining concept is tailored for the young, with its cute moniker, hip chairs, eager young servers in kakis, funky chopsticks and glossy Cafe Cartel-like menu. Captivated by the excellent copywriting in the menu and broad range of Asian and Western dishes, Hubby and I decided to give the restaurant a go.

Check out the chair!

After settling in and admiring the decor, we decided to order a lemongrass drink, a chicken chop noodle (for myself), a lemon chicken rice (for hubby) and a seafood platter to share. We were famished and really looking forward to our meal.

The lemongrass drink failed to stir our tastebuds. Its flavor was weak and unimpressive. We much prefer Baba King's version.

When the seafood platter arrived, we tucked in with gusto. Of the 3 sides featured (calamari rings, wedges and cheesesticks), the wedges and calamari rings were first to disappear.


Couldn't really make out the freshness of the seafood since everything was fried to a crisp. It wasn't the best seafood platter we had eaten but was satisfying nonetheless. The accompanying sauces of cheese, salsa and cheese were a nice touch but tasted convoluted when matched with the wrong side.

Our lemon chicken rice and the chicken chop noodle arrived in quick succession.

My chicken chop noodles

Hubby's lemon chicken rice

Upon closer inspection, we realized that our battered chicken pieces had probably been mass fried and smothered with different sauces and marinades prior to serving. After awhile, the chicken pieces tasted the same. Whilst the runny egg went really well with the noodles and rice, we couldn't help but feel let down by the quick fix method of food preparation and absence of vegetables, which looked like forlorn side garnishes with little nutritional value.

Even for fast food lovers like Hubby and myself, the overdose of deep fried oily food was too much for us to bear. We do not remember feeling this forlorn after a meal at KFC or Macs . It would have been good if the server who took our orders had forewarned us beforehand- perhaps we had just ordered the wrong combination of dishes?

In any case, Hubby and I will not be coming back to Kungfu Paradise again. For the price we paid, we were disappointed with the value and wish the eatery put more love into their cooking rather than advertising.

CNY Special (11 must-eats in 2011)

People often ask me- do I prefer Chinese New Year or Christmas?

When it comes to food, the answer is obvious- Chinese New Year of course!

A cute and cheapo SGD10 God of Fortune I bought from Mini Toons (with a movable hand) at Bedok Point. Huat ah!

Chinese New Year is the time I stuff my face silly with all kinds of yummy goodies and cakes. There are just too many to choose from.

Over the years, I have also amassed a list of other must-orders from various shops. Here are my top picks this year. (hint: Click on the underlined text to access more info on the respective restaurant/product and its underlying CNY promotion)

SNACKS:

(1) Pineapple Tarts: I usually order the open faced ones from Joyous Pastries. However, you need to order way in advance in order to secure a bottle just before Chinese New Year. Needless to say, I have given up. Thankfully, this year, I chanced upon an excellent closed face version from a random makeshift booth at Raffles Exchange called "Jus Bread". The pineapple filling is laced with cranberry for extra kick and the top crust has some addictive cheesy bits on it. Yum.

Cranberry pineapple cheese tarts from Jus Bread

Centre P's DIY pineapple tarts look especially delish this year. However, at SGD28.80 per bottle, they are a little too pricey for my budget.

Sunnyhills Pineapple Cake from Taiwan also makes its debut into the Singapore market this year (I hear they have opened a makeshift stall in Funan) I'm a big fan of their pineapple cake but find the shelf life (2 weeks) rather short. Also, one small piece packs alot of calories and can really fill you up. Packaging is simple but strangely attractive.

(2) Bak Kwa: Blame it on shameless consumerism but I'm a sucker for Lim Chee Guan bak kwa and consider Chinese New Year incomplete without it- even if it means taking leave to queue and paying through my nose. Lim Chee Guan only sells the traditional squarish pieces in sliced pork style. If you want minced pork (which user cheaper miscellaneous cuts of the pork but is purportedly softer), you can only get it in "gold coin" form. I paid a runner to queue up for 11kg of bak kwa for me this year. At SGD62 per kilo, the total bill (excluding runner's transport and cost) came up to SGD682!

(3) Kueh Bolu: True Blue easily trumps its competitors with kueh bolu that looks as good as it tastes. Love the spongy soft interior and the crisp melt in the mouth texture.

Kueh Bolu from Bengawan Solo has disappointed me tremendously this year. It's dry rubbery texture left me chewing for a good 5 mins before I could gulp it down. Chew yourself silly folks

(4) Green Pea Cookies: Started developing an affinity for these ugly looking cookies 2 years ago and have not looked back since. The ones hawked by "Little Nonya" at Raffles Exchange boast just the right amount of bite and flavor (salty-sweet).

A little on the powdery side but otherwise nice...the one sold at Bengawan Solo is also decent

(5) Nga-Ku Chips: If you haven't tried these before, you are missing out on one of the most addictive Chinese New Year munchies ever! I'm too lazy to fry my own and order my stash from a fish soup auntie at Golden Shoe Carpark. At sGD18 per bottle these babies don't come cheap. I'm seriously thinking of frying my own next year.

These lovelies are only available during CNY

(6) Love Letters: Traditional charcoal baked love letters seem to be disappearing from the market. The best ones I have tried this year hail from Mirana Cake House. Although they come in the modern folded form, they taste equally delish to me.

Bengawan Solo still prepares the traditional "cigar" version in an auspicious red tin

(7) Chocolate chip cookies: Haven't found anything that can beat Famous Amos so far.

(8) White Rabbit candy: A Chinese New Year must-have since childhood days. This popular candy came under fire some years back but has since sprung back into the market with a vengeance. Available in 3 flavors: Creamy Candy, Creamy Milk Candy and Creamy Milk Toffee

(9) F&N Orange: Artificially colored a frightful orange and guaranteed to give you an instant sugar buzz. No drink= No luck!

THE REAL FOOD:

(10) Yu Sheng (Quick Note: Do you know Yusheng originated from Singapore?):

Yusheng (SGD28, small from Big Eater Seafood). Nothing to shout about but a pretty palate of (mainly artificial) colors. A little too sweet for my liking

The traditional Beng Thin version..one of the better ones I tasted. Comes with battered yam sticks and jellyfish. Really dig the retro looking ang pow which is perched at the side of the platter (used to contain salt and pepper)

Soup Restaurant serves theirs with the biggest mountain of carrots (which come in irritating long strands). Consistently good yusheng which does not disappoint.

Some other reliable places to get your yu sheng fix this year:

Din Tai Fung- uses smoked salmon (Citibank customers get a sizeable discount)
Standard Yusheng 2-5pax: SGD36.80/ SGD28.80 (for Citibank cardholders)
Deluxe Yusheng 6-10 pax: SGD56.80/ SGD48.80 (for Citibank cardholders)

Xi Yan Its tri coloured yusheng doesn't come cheap but looks delectable. If you have extra moolah to spare, try their salivate chicken and momotaro tomatoes too.

If you like your yusheng brimming with fresh shredded vegetables, check out the one at Paradise Inn. The Paradise Group offers reasonably priced Chinese New Year takeaways and set menus this year which do not cost an arm and a leg.

(11) Poon Choi: Poon choi seems to be picking up in popularity. Almost all restaurants sell them now. I'll be ordering mine from Soup Restaurant this year. At SGD238+ for an Abalone Pot and Yusheng that serves 10 pax (you get a further 10% discount with a Citibank credit card), this deal is too good to resist.

Soup Restaurant's Abalone Prosperity Pot failed to live up to expectations. Abalone slices were thin and pathetic and the remaining ingredients cheapo and lack lustre (huge florets of brocolli, beancurd, pig skin, mushroom and cabbage).

Another attractive deal can be found at Prosperous Kitchen which is likewise throwing in yusheng with every Prosperous Fortune Pot purchased (SGD198.80+).

Equally tempting is the imperial sea treasures pot (SGD188) from Marina Mandarin. Order and pay before 23Jan11 to enjoy a whopping 20% early bird discount.

Other places which caught my eye are Crystal Jade (which seems particularly proud of the number of ingredients in its Poon Choi) and Majestic Restaurant (SGD240+ for 6 pax, further 10% discount for DBS cardholders).

We had our department CNY lunch at Paradise Pavilion lately. The Poon Choi was droolworthy and full of yummies like abalone, sea cucumber and scallops. Portions were also very generous. The restaurant charges SGD388 for a portion for 10.

the luxe Poon Choi we had for our department CNY lunch..brimming with all the good stuff you would expect in Poon Choi. Thumbs up!

Since I love pork (esp fatty pork), I was also quite tempted to order the Jiangsu braised pork belly from Min Jiang at Goodwood Park (SGD218 for 6 pax). As extracted from the restaurant's mailer " Braised for eight hours then steamed for another four, the pork belly is exceptionally tender and an absolute delight paired with whole abalones, dried oysters, black moss and flower mushrooms)".

I'll probably be updating this list more as and when I find more noteworthy places. Pictures will be added in due course too.

In the meantime, bon appetit and do drop me a line if you know of any other yummies that I may have inadvertently missed out.

Paradise Inn ( Marina Bay Link Mall)

Mom is a quintessential Cantonese. She likes soup, braised meats, rice and dim sum.

For her birthday this year, we brought her to chi chi Paradise Pavilion at the newly opened Marina Bay Link Mall for a quick lunch.

Marina Bay Link Mall in the morning

Paradise Pavilion is the latest addition to restaurateur Eldwin Chua's empire of eateries. Eldwin started off with humble beginnings, operating a highly successful seafood restaurant "Seafood Paradise" out of a dingy industrial estate in Defu Lane. To this day, I remain a fan of his succulent Sri Lankan Butter Crabs which go exceptionally well with battered mantou.

Everything about Paradise Pavilion screams "high class", from the fine cutlery to the plush curtains, spectacular waterfront view and baby blue furnishings (strangely similar to Royal China)

Since the media was waxing lyrical about the restaurant's famous Peking duck, we (like almost every other table in the restaurant) decided to give it a try. It takes 1 hr to prepare the duck as it is painstakingly roasted over apple wood so remember to make advance reservations to avoid a long wait.

At the waiter's recommendation, we also ordered an assortment of ala carte dishes.

Trio of appetisers- Foie Gras, wasabi prawn and scallop: Judging by the lightning speed Hubby polished off this dish, I can only assume that it was good stuff.

Seafood beancurd roll: My favourite dim sum dish in the menu. The chef steams a thin layer of tofu on a glass dish before placing a delicate stack of fresh prawn, scallop and asparagus (secured by a ring of seaweed) over it. Doused simply with an addictive XO sauce, the resulting medley of flavors was exquisitely refined.

Sorry...this picture doesn't do the dish justice

Battered custard rolls: This came highly recommended by the waitress. However, I found the custard cream artificially sweet. We should have ordered the mini egg tarts instead.

Not nice at all. We should have ordered the egg tarts

Char Siew Pau: A simple yet delicious treat. The light fluffiness of the pau skin blended well with the smokey sweetness of the char siew.

Steamed chicken feet: My parents really liked this very much, leaving only a clean trail of bones behind. I suspect it must have been finger lickin good. We subsequently learnt from the restaurant manager that we could order this dish in XO sauce next time.


Siew Mai: Whilst this version was reasonably well executed, the one at Peach Garden still wins hands down in terms of bite and flavor.



Sharksfin dumpling soup: Sharksfin soup for the poor man, this is one treat not to be missed. The price tag ain't that expensive either at under 10 bucks per bowl. It was fun breaking through the thin dumpling skin and unraveling all the yummy treasures (mushroom, bamboo pith, sharksfin etc) hidden within. Some people like to take this with a dash of vinegar.

Quick! Pop it!

Trio of desserts (coconut ice cream with chilled pulot hitam, mango puree and flaky custard puff):


The coconut ice cream with pulot hitam was my favorite of the lot, boasting an intriguing mix of sweet, salty and savoury. Once again, I couldn't help comparing it against Peach Garden's legendary pulot hitam served in young coconut, which outranks this version by a mile.

Peking Duck: This was the centerpiece of our meal. At SGD88 per duck, (30% off if you pay with HSBC credit card), expectations were naturally high. This is how it works:

Step 1: A gloved (and masked) chef armed with a cleaver smartly rolls out a cart containing the prized poultry.

Step 2: Upon obtaining your blessings, he proceeds to deftly slice the first layer of glistening skin (just skin, nothing else) off the duck's breast and invites you to dip it in sugar before consuming it. The end result is almost orgasmic. Crispy crackling and sugar are like a marriage made in heaven.

Step 3: Thereafter, the chef thinly slices the remaining pieces of skin (this time with meat attached) onto platters for guests to help themselves to.

Each person is also furnished with an individual dish of assorted condiments (black bean sauce, julienned vegetables and sugar) for added pleasure.


I was a little put off by the gamey taste of the duck after awhile. There was also a whiff of ammonia from some of the pieces I ate, which made me wonder if I was eating out of the duck's butt area. Since the restaurant doesn't provide diners with the option to enjoy the rest of the duck's carcass cooked in other ways (which I personally find a waste), we decided to doggy bag it home and stir fry the meat with some beehoon for lunch the following day.

A basket of crepes is provided for those who wish to savor this dish in its traditional form. I found the crepe skins too thick for my liking but understand from the manager that this has been intentionally done to give the dish more bite. As no measures were taken by the restaurant to keep the crepes warm and moist, it was only a matter of time before the individual pieces started to stick together and harden.

Verdict: Decent but not mind blowing. I like Paradise Inn for its palatable offerings, pretty waterfront views and accessibility to my office. Parking in Marina Bay Link Mall itself can however be an expensive affair and first time visitors making their way to the restaurant would probably get a little lost along the way.

For better dim sum at more pocket friendly prices, my vote goes to Peach Garden (OCBC Centre).

For Peking duck, my favorite haunt remains Imperial Treasure Super Peking duck at Paragon.

The Yong Tau Foo Nazi

Love the way this article is written. Makes me feel like staying up tonight for a "Yong Tau Foo" experience.

Click here to view article
http://www.soshiok.com/critic/article/6428

For pictures, click below
http://gourmetconnoisseur.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/shun-li-yong-tau-foo/

To me, experiences like these are what make Singapore unique!

Tanyoto

Tanyoto sounds like some funky Japanese word but actually just means "Fish Head Soup" in Chinese (Tang Yu Tou).

Steamboat rules the day, with a mind boggling array of soup bases and sauces to choose from.

As it was our first visit there, my kaki and I opted for the lunch buffet (SGD23.80+++ per pax) so that we could try a little of everything. There are also optional add-ons (like SGD4 for free flow plum drink or barley)

The buffet menu. Click to enlarge

We eventually settled on 2 soup bases- the restaurant's "signature" Sichuan peppercorn soup and a tomato fish broth. We paid an additional SGD8.80 for the "signature" peppercorn soup.

We were so taken aback by the thick layer of chili oil lining the surface of the fiery sichuan broth that we scooped most of it out

Here's what we had for starters:
Cold bean jelly- Underwhelming, akin to biting into tasteless konnkayu jelly


Saliva chicken- the sichuan peppercorn sauce was wickedly spicy and the chicken meat was sufficiently tender


Fried fish skin- deliciously crunchy and savoury- we just couldn't resist pinching on these throughout the meal


Before the main steamboat items arrived, my kaki and I scurried over to the sauce counter to concoct our favorite combinations.

Being the boring person that I am, this is the best I could conjure up:

Chilli padi in light soy sauce and sesame sauce with crunchy soy beans and spring onion.

The mains arrived in quick succession

A single serving of fresh medium sized prawns.


Beef and chicken slices. Decadently tender, best eaten with sesame sauce


Fish fillet- Sorry. These were gobbled up before I could whisk out my camera. They were extremely fresh and carried a hint of delicate sweetness, with no fishy aftertaste whatsoever. Apparently the restaurant takes lots of pride in its fish.

Lotus root slices- I didn't really like this. They were crunchy and highly starchy.

Beancurd skin ribbons- Eye candy which unfortunately didn't deliver in the taste department.


Homemade chicken balls, pork balls and beef balls. Temperature and timing are of the essence here. Quickly scoop the balls up once they surface to enjoy them at their best. The balls taste strangely rubbery when overcooked.


Mushrooms and vegetables- We had tons of these. The golden mushrooms go exceptionally well with the numbing hot soup base. Be prepared to cry lots.

By the time we were ready for dessert, it was already 140pm and we were starting to wish that we were tai tais who didn't have to rush back to work.

We quickly caught the attention of a service staff and asked for 2 bowls of aloe vera with honey. These came in pretty little bowls scattered with osmanthus flowers that made our hearts flutter. My kaki was so blown away that she proclaimed this as the highlight of her meal.


Although the restaurant is not very crowded, don't expect tip top service. The staff seem to cluster in corners and do not exercise much initiative. Decor is however tastefully modern, with classy fish murals and dark wood furnishings.


Great for business dining- if your client enjoys steamboat. There are even private rooms on the second level for big parties.


In conjunction with their anniversary celebration, the restaurant presented us with return food vouchers amounting to 50% of our total bill. Being a sucker for freebies, I was quick to make a return visit with yet another unsuspecting makan kaki. This time, we went ala carte and thoroughly enjoyed a medley of vegetables, mushrooms, sweet clams and fish slices. Our accompanying soup bases of tomato and spicy sichuan peppercorn were divine. After factoring in the discount from the vouchers, we ended up paying around SGD25 each, which is excellent value.

Unlike the Chinese Feasts, this is not a steamboat joint that I can afford to come to every week for lunch. However, I will definitely save this place in my "must-go" list for special luncheons.

Tanyoto
177 River Valley Road
#01-25/25A, Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6836 6839