Paradise Teochew Restaurant

Paradise Group is not an unfamiliar name in Singapore, along with Crystal Jade and Imperial Treasure. About a year ago, it opened Paradise Teochew Restaurant on the 3rd floor of Chinese Swimming Club's Sports Complex at Amber Road. Its 2nd branch, also on the 3rd floor, took over the space previously occupied by Crystal Jade Pristine at Scotts Square. As we were there for dinner on a weekend, did not have a chance to try its dim sum. Instead, we ordered braised sliced duck (Irish fat duck) and sautéed scallop with asparagus in XO sauce. The former came atop surprisingly good braised beancurd, was tender and not as salty as the latter. Lightly flavoured without being bland, and not too oily. While I had these dishes with plain white rice, a dining companion ate porridge with condiments and another tried its sliced pomfret porridge. Nothing to rave about or fault, and overall a pleasant experience.

Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh

It was my favourite bak kut teh. Ate it once, many years ago, at Rangoon Road. Have not tried it since Jumbo Group took over and expanded its presence to Chui Huay Lim Club, Tanjong Katong Road and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Chanced upon its new branch at The Forum, B1 of Resorts World^TM Sentosa recently and decided to eat at the self-service eatery. After ordering at one of the three big vertical screens, we proceeded to the counter with our receipt and waited for the chefs to dish out the food and drinks. Except the centre where items for sharing can be placed, the table top is not flat so we had to eat out of the trays. Do not forget to return them for $1 (deposit) each. My dining companion ordered the spare ribs set which comes with fried you tiao as well as braised beancurd, taupok and peanuts. I had braised pig big intestine and mee suah soup that comes with button mushrooms and tang-o. Also added preserved vegetables – crunchy but too sweet for my liking. We were not impressed.

The Daily Scoop

Having tried The Daily Scoop at Sunset Way many years ago, I was delighted to see the ice-cream parlour at Chip Bee Gardens. A few minutes' walk from Holland Village MRT Station, this is one of the more conveniently-located branches if you do not own a pair of wheels or two. It can also be found at Sembawang Cottage, and School of the Arts or SOTA. Every batch of ice cream is hand-churned, unlike commercial brands like Ben & Jerry's and Häagen Dazs. Not too different from I Scream, Island Creamery and Udders. Cartooned drawings stood out against white panelled and bricked walls in the brightly-lit café with glass frontage and lots of wood – chairs with back rests (there are a few orange metallic stools too), floor, round and square tables. Flavours here include Cha Earl Grey, Lychee Martini and Salted Mr Brown among others. I settled for Latte Chocomallow on a chocolate-coated cone. Loved the strong taste of coffee in the creamy smooth ice-cream with chocolate-covered marshmallow.

Chicken Rice – Is Chatterbox’s Worth the Price?

A dining companion, who cannot live without chicken rice, has always wanted to try the award-winning Mandarin Chicken Rice at Chatterbox. It is located on the 5th floor of Mandarin Orchard Singapore, formerly known as The Mandarin Singapore. The hotel owner had asked its very first Executive Chef then to include three local dishes on the menu. German-born Peter Gehrmann, trained at The Savoy in London, led the team to debut Mandarin Chicken Rice on the day the hotel opened its doors – 1 August 1971. While he left Singapore in the 1970s, many chefs who had a stint at the hotel's kitchen have since come out to start their own chicken rice stalls. And as part of the hotel’s SG50 celebration, the legendary Mandarin Chicken Rice was going at 50% off on its anniversary. Could not think of a better time to try this but when I called a few days before, was told the restaurant was no longer taking reservations, but would still be opened for walk-in customers. 

Clarke Quay Food Trail

Last Saturday, I joined other food bloggers on a food trail organised by Clarke Quay and Food & Travel magazine.

Bayang

Our first stop was at Bayang, a Balinese Indonesian restaurant located at Block A facing Block D. Choose between the air-conditioned indoors or alfresco outdoors, with bar stools along a high wooden table by the glass façade offering the best of both worlds – to people watch in cool comfort. Stepping in, I noticed decorative pieces that gave the spacious place with lots of wood (think wooden floor, tables and chairs with backrest) an Indonesian charm. On the wall behind comfortable bench seats with cushions, were Wayang Kuilt or Indonesian shadow puppets in white. Baskets of emping crackers with chilli sauce to dip in, and glasses of lime juice were placed on our tables. And as we settled in, the appetiser platter was served. Preferred the succulent grilled prawns and tender chicken satay to the begedil and fried spring rolls even though they were not oily.

Nyonya & Baba

My dining companions and I met up for dinner over the weekend at VivoCity. As queues were the norm for most restaurants, we settled for one of the few exceptions. Located opposite Cyrstal Jade Jiang Nan, between Jpot and TungLok Signatures where seats were also available, is Nyonya & Baba. Having eaten and loved The Blue Ginger at Tanjong Pagar, we decided to try this Peranakan restaurant. Ordered a dinner set for two, with an additional bowl of rice, to share among three. For the soup and poultry, we chose Bakwang Kepeting over Hu Piao and Ayam Buah Keluak over Sate Ayam respectively. Seasoned meatballs made of minced pork, crabmeat and prawn in a surprisingly light broth were better than expected. While the chicken was tender, I did not like the sweet and spicy black nut gravy it was stewed in.

Tiong Bahru Bakery

An artisan bakery by French baker Gontran Cherrier has been a hit since it first opened in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood. By Spa Espirit Group which also owns Kiasu Espresso, it now has two more branches at Raffles City Shopping Centre and Tangs Orchard. Serving what some claim to be the best croissant in town, I left the bakery-café without buying anything as it did not look light and flaky. Then one day, someone who was in the area and heard how good the croissant was bought it for me. I was not impressed by its unevenly risen dough and lamented how the croissant (better ones can be found at Maison Kayser and Paris Baguette) could not make it. Was told its squid ink bun, chocolate croissant and kouign aman were good. The latter, also highly recommended by staff, is Breton's cake with salted butter and sugar. So I thought to myself that maybe I should try other items.

TANGS Market

17-year old Suntec City Mall has completed its first phase of facelift that started last year, with phase two and three to be completed by 1st quarter and end of next year respectively. Similarly, Tangs Orchard started its first phase of renovations last year and the second phase this year. These have been completed and the third phase will begin next year, to be completed by 2015. Located at the basement is TANGS Market with two distinct sections – one is near the underpass to Orchard MRT Station and Isetan Scotts while the other is within TANGS Home. The former includes Singapore's first Krispy Kreme (five to open over the next five years with a production kitchen at Pandan Loop), Seventh Heaven's alter-ego and naughtier twin Ice Cream Junkie and The Mustard Incident selling gourmet hotdogs. And the latter has Ya Kun's family café with its own seating area as well as common standing space, tables and chairs to eat food and drinks from other stalls.

Halia

Halia means ginger in Malay and is aptly located in the one-hectare Ginger Garden of the Singapore Botanic Gardens where over 250 species of gingers with their stunning foliage and colourful flowers thrive. According to the website, its construction was carried out at the same time that the Ginger Garden was developed in 2000. So architecture could be conformed to the contours of the land, dignity of mature trees such as decades-old majestic palm trees and preservation of heritage. The restaurant officially opened the following year with various forms of ginger and its related family creatively introduced into some dishes and beverage creations such as Halia Infusion (hot or chilled), a house-specialty of sun-dried ginger and wild mountain honey. In 2008, its first and only overseas branch opened at Westlake, Hanoi.

Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha

Have wanted to try Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha for a while after eating a couple of times at Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh, which I was not particularly impressed with. Both stalls apparently use the same family recipe with the former opened in 2001 and managed by Frankie Gwee, brother of Ms Gwee from the latter at Havelock Road. On the 1st floor of Tanjong Pagar PSA Complex along Keppel Road, the non-air-conditioned place between two coffee shops was bustling when I was there for lunch on a weekday. Despite the hot weather of late, many were not put off from drinking the hot broth made from simmering pork ribs with various spices for many hours. There are a few versions in Singapore – both the Teochew and Hokkien ones are garlicky and peppery (the latter is darker and a tad sweet due to the addition of dark soy sauce) while the Cantonese one, also commonly found in Malaysia, has a strong herbal taste. Here, the light-coloured Teochew-style Bak Kut Teh is served.

Duck Rice Kway Chap (Macpherson Road)

The 1st time I tried deep-fried pork intestine was at this stall, its memories so deeply etched in my mind that I could always fondly recall its taste. In a coffeeshop at 560 MacPherson Road, the English name on The Green Book Best Food Awards 2007/2008 could not be seen from far. Just like the many Chinese newspaper cuttings that referred to the owner as "Kwap Chap King". Chinese words, loosely translated as Quan Lai Pork Organ Soup, in gold stood out on a red signboard. Happened to be in the area and decided there was no way I would miss the chance of having my favourite dish.

Food For Thought

Used to have family outings to Singapore Botanic Gardens where we would breathe in fresh air, walk and run in the park. Once, I was offered a chocolate but my initial happiness upon receiving one as a child soon turned to disappointment as it had melted. Have always been a fussy eater since young and eat neither melted chocolate nor ice-cream. At a tender age when I did not know they could be re-frozen, I gave away the chocolate. I did not care that it was safe-kept for me in the cooler box, which I thought was just a container to store and carry the drinks, until it was later returned to me. My eyes lit up and I happily ate the no-longer-melted chocolate. A childhood memory deeply etched in my mind and fondly recalled during my recent visit to the tourist attraction I have not been to in ages.

New Kid on the Block – Owl Café

Owl coffee is a familiar brand I grew up with and it was with anticipation befitting of its more than 50 years of coffee roasting and blending experience that I made a trip to Super Group's first foray into a physical store. Coming via the sheltered walkway from Buona Vista MRT Station and up the escalator that leads to The Star Vista, the café is on the left with outdoor seating to its right. Against industrial concrete floor, metal chairs and minimalist naked bulbs hanging from the ceiling were lots of wood and nice lamp shades. An extension of the blue in its logo could be seen in patterns on the wall. Interestingly, packets of different coffee (instead of magazines) were displayed at racks around a pillar column. Items on the menu include Straits Asian-inspired drinks and food, ranging from snacks and toast to main course and desserts.