China Street Fritters @Maxwell

China Street Fritters 中国街五香贯肠 at Maxwell Market.

This stall has been around for a long time, offering traditional Ngoh Hiang and Guan Chang
There is not much variety but the standard 7 dishes - sausage, egg slice, meat roll, liver roll, century egg, bean curd and fish ball. They also offer fried bee hoon to complete the meal.

The egg slices ($0.7) are my favorite, every bite is filled with rich egg fragrance and taste. It's even better when you dip it with the starchy sauce provided.

Their sausage or Guan Chang ($2) is also nice. It is usually made with marinated lean pork stuffed into a casting (not sure if its pork intestine or synthetic), boiled and cut into thin slices to serve. Won't describe it as succulent but it's definitely not dry. As you chew further, you will enjoy the meaty taste.

Their liver meat roll ($0.8) is quite unique as well, its liver pieces combined with vegetable wrapped in beancurd skin. The has a rich liver taste, you will like it if you love the taste of liver.

WuXiangGuanChang
Rating: 4/5

The fried Bee Hoon was quite nice, soft rice vermicelli, appropriately seasoned and not too oily. It goes well with the chili provided.

China Fritters are traditional Hokkien Ngoh Hiong. Unlike Teochew Wu Xiang Guan Chang, they do not have the white crispy prawn cracker

Maxwell Road,
#01-64 Maxwell Food Centre,
Singapore
Tel: +65 9239 6464
Opening Hours
12.00pm – 8.00pm
(Closed on Mon)

Lao Ban Soy Beancurd 老伴豆花 @ Maxwell

After spotting 2 office ladies carrying 10 packed tubs of Lao Ban beancurd under the hot sun and hearing my colleague's description of how good it taste, I had been wanting to try their handmade Tau Huay.


Decided to go to the branch at Maxwell as the main stall at old airport road is a bit out of the way. 
Glad that the queue was quite short, maybe because its already late in the evening. However, almond flavour was sold out and we only manage to get the original flavour @$1.50.

Lan Ban Beancurd @Maxwell Market

The chilled Lao Ban beancurd was yummy! Its soft, silky smooth like a jelly or pudding. It is creamier and smoother than the traditional beancurd. Unlike the traditional beancurd which is sweetened with sugar syrup, Lao Ban beancurd itself is already flavourful with the ingredient malt mixture and coffee-mate. The beancurd simply melts in your mouth with soy bean milk bursting out. The taste is more of milky with only slight soy bean taste, it will be perfect if the soy bean taste is richer. 

Textures of Beancurd
Pic 1: Slight tension on the surface
Pic 2 : First scoop showing the soft jelly-like center

Yummy Beancurd
Rating: 4.5/5

Lao Ban bencurd is so famous that there are lots of article and information on this tofu custard, you can even find recipes contributed by internet users which claimed to be as good as Lao Ban's. 

Lao Ban beancurd had started their chilled beancurd around one and half year ago and created a hype that many other stalls follow. All claimed to be the best, using 100% pure soy bean with no soyabean powder or coffee mate. Will find a chance to try the other stalls like QQ Soya Bean Curd and 51 Soy Bean.

Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell Road #01-91 

Mobile: 8299 8211 

51 Old Airport Road
#01-127 Old Airport Road Hawker Centre
Mobile: 81812201

Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 1130am- 800pm (or sold out)
Closed on Sunday

http://www.facebook.com/Laobansoya

Sol Tasca @ Fullerton RiverBoat

Bought Sol Tasca's festive set lunch deal from BigDeal at $19+ for our gals' gathering.

Getting to the restaurant at Fullerton Waterboat House was difficult, especially under a hot sun.
It's not at the Fullerton Waterboat house main building, but you need to walk down a flight of stairs hidden by the bushes. Took me some time before I managed to find the way to the restaurant at the Esplanade Bridge that link one Fullerton to raffles place.

Sol Tasca @ Esplanade Bridge

Took a while to cool down on the high seat chair with a glass of ice water and slight river breeze. Believe it will be a much cooling and nicer setting especially with the bridge lights and cooler breeze in the evening or night.

Dining Area

SOL Tasca's festive 4 course set lunch

Cream of Wild Mushroom
The soup was ok, it was a bit salty and the scent of truffle oil was a bit overpowering for me. Could have been better if there are less salt and truffle oil.

Cream of Mushroom
Rating: 3.5/5

Rocket Salad with Smoked Duck Breast, Cherries and Hazelnuts Oil Dressing
Quite nice especially for those who loved the rocket salad.  The duck breast was not dry, quite succulent with the smoked fragrance.

Smoked Duck Breast Rocket Salad
Rating: 3.75/5

Pan-Seared Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing, accompanied with Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables And Cranberry Sauce.
Meat being too dry is always my worry for Turkey, but it turned out to be quite juicy and tender. The cranberry sauce also enhanced the flavor of the turkey. As for chestnut stuffing, the portion is quite small that I can't really recall much about it.

Pan-Seared Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing
Rating: 4/5

Almond Crusted Salmon Supreme
My friend ordered their salmon, which is served with crushed potatoes, vegetables and saffron cream sauce. The salmon is very tender and very fresh and nicely crisped on the outside. The almond and cream sauce was good too.

Almond Crusted Salmon Supreme
Rating: 4/5

Warm Chocolate Almond Pudding with Triple Chocolate Ice Cream
The warm chocolate pudding was topped with some crushed almond and it was like a lava cake with soft, gooey semi-liquid chocolate at the center. The ice cream was quite delightful too, wondering if its movenpick ice cream since they have an ice cream freezer selling movenpick ice cream right outside their restaurant.

Dessert
Rating: 4/5

Quite a kind gesture for them to call in the morning to inform us that the salmon was not available that day as their salmon supply is not delivered in time.  But its quite disappointing that they are not prepared  to provide alternatives to the salmon, especially when the deal menu only have 2 options - turkey or salmon. Luckily their salmon finally managed to arrive in time for our lunch.

Understand that there will be live band performances Wed - Sat, starting from 8pm.  Lighting under the bridge, live Spanish  music and occasional breeze, think it can be quite an alfresco dining experience at night.

More Deal Reviews at http://monsoondeal.blogspot.com/

3 Fullerton Road,
#01-04 The Fullerton Waterboat House
Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 10.30am – 11pm
Friday – Saturday: 10.30am – 12am (last order at 11.30pm)
http://sol-group.com.sg/soltasca/

Dessert @ Ah Chew, Bugis

After lunch at Yu Kee duck rice at Bugis, we walked down the Liang Seah street to Ah Chew for dessert.

They offer a variety of desserts, both traditional and modern, serve hot or cold.

Dessert Bar

Menu

We tried their Yam with Sago @$3.20. We can immediately smell the yam fragrance and taste the yam when we only have the sago in the first scoop. You can find generous chunks of yam at the bottom of the bowl. Not too sweet, just nice!

Something that I don't like is the ice cubes added to the dessert if you want it cold.  As the ice cube is not fully melted, it kind of affected the texture of the dessert.

Yam with Sago
Rating: 4/5

Service was prompt. Seats are a bit cramp. They have expanded and converted the shop next door to their dining area.

Ah Chew Desserts

1 Liang Seah Street,
#01-11 Liang Seah Place,
Singapore
Tel: +65 6339 8198

Mon–Thu : 12.30pm – 11.30pm
Fri : 12.30pm – 12.30am
Sat–Sun: 1.30pm – 12.30am
Sun : 1:30pm - 11.30pm

The Handburger @ Raffles City

From the name, thought it's some DIY burger place. The hands they are referring to are theirs, which are used to whip up gourmet burgers.

The burger was served on a wooden platter where you can just use your hand to grab the burger and eat. Knife and fork are available for those who still prefer to keep their hands clean.

We got the recommended super combo - The works @$17.80
The Works include almost everything - crispy bacon, onion rings, sunny side up egg, sauteed pesto mushroom, cheddar cheese and grilled grass-fed prime beef. All these are definitely more than a handful. Their caramelized onion bun was quite nice too.

The Works
Rating: 3.75/5 

Happy lamburger @$17.80

Grass-fed lamb patty, sunny side up egg and feta cheese. Did not really like it as the lamb is a bit "gamey".

The Lamburger
Rating: 3.5/5

The burgers come with a choice of side - chunky fries, mushroom soup or salad. Their sides were quite good - fries were crispy and tasty while the mushroom soup was thick and creamy. The soup will definitely be of standard as handburger is under the same group as The Soup Spoon and Soup Broth Asia.

Service was a bit slow. Setting is more of a high-end food court than restaurant.

The HandBurger
Raffles City Shopping Centre
#B1-65/66
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 6334 4577

Opening Hours

Sun - Thur : 11:30am - 10pm

Fri & Sat   : 11:30am - 10:30pm

http://thehandburger.com/

50% off Cheap and Nice Traditional Dim Sum @ Kam boat, Shaw Centre

Kam Boat offer traditional Cantonese Dim Sum. This is not a place where you will find delicate and exquisite dim sum but tasty simple home-made style dim sum with sentimental appeal to some.

They offer 50% discount for 9 types of Dim Sum, the Dim Sum on offer may differ from month to month. Below are some we have tried.

Steam Pumpkin Dumpling - $3.80 before 50% off
quite unique combination of savory and sweet from the pumpkin.

Steam Pumpkin Dumpling
Rating: 4.25/5

Steamed Chicken Feet - $3.80 before 50% off
Something I will always order. Like the relaxing feel of slowly chewing the chicken feet

Chicken Feet
Rating: 3.75/5

Steamed Pork & Shrimps Dumpling (Siew Mai) - $4.50 before 50% off
although the Siew Mai come in different sizes and heights but they taste just as good as those in up-market restaurant, especially the pork and shrimp filling.

Siew Mai
Rating: 4/5

Glutinous Rice Roll "Teochew" Style - $4 before 50% off
Very traditional snack, something we won't ordered if its not on discount. Thanks for the offer, else we will have missed this fragrance oily rice with peanuts, nice simplicity!

Glutinous Rice Roll
Rating: 4/5

Steamed Carrot Cake - $3.30 before 50% off
Loved this down-to-earth steamed carrot cake with waxed meat in a bowl, sprinkled with spring onions and shallots accompanied with some light sauce.

Steamed Carrot Cake
Rating: 4.25/5

Besides the discounted dim sum, we also ordered the Curry Pig Skin & Fish Ball @$7
Have been wanting to try the Curry Fish Balls as it is always shown in Hong Kong drama series. The fried fish ball is very springy and the fried pig skin absorbed the curry, quite nice. Be careful that this fried curry fish ball dish is quite spicy, which we don't usually expect for Hong Kong cuisine.

Curry Pig Skin & Fish Ball
Rating: 4/5

Setting is typical mid-range chinese restaurant with both square and round tables for different group size and a window to showcase the roast stuffs.

Service is "home-style" as well. "Big sisters" will ensure that you get your food and your tea is refilled. They will also tell you directly that you've ordered too much and remind that packing is not allowed for discounted items.

Kam Boat Chinese Cuisine
1 Scotts Road,
#05-14 Shaw Centre, Singapore
Tel: +65 6732 4675
Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30am–3pm, 6pm–11pm
http://www.kamboat.com.sg/

Yet another review for 
Hong Kong Yam-Cha, Lunch Deal, Recommendation for cheap & good, value for money Dim Sum, Hong Kong Chinese Cuisine, Snack on Promotion or offer, Not to be missed deal, Traditional Dian Xin, nice food at orchard :)

3 course Fine Dining @ Parsley & Thyme

Another food deal try-out session, this time it is at a newly opened restaurant Parsley & Thyme, in a shophouse along Kampong Bahru Road.
Cozy modern setting, everything is slick and looks brand new.  The background jazz music and the tealight create a rest & relax ambiance.

Parsley and Thyme

They serve European and Mediterranean-inspired dishes.  Our 3-course set meal @$25 nett include the following

Appetizer - Tartare of Norwegian Salmon on a Salad with Beetroot and Raspberry Dressing
Like the chopped fresh raw salmon with chopped onions tartare topped with nicely roasted tomato. Not the usual combination for salad, it came with pumpkin seeds and beetroot.  Taste quite nice, but it gets a bit too complicated if you combine everything in a mouthful.

Salmon Tartare
Rating: 3.75/5

Main Course - Char-Grilled Hereford Sirloin Steak with Seasonal Vegetables, Potato Gratin and Semi-Dried Tomato/Garlic Butter
It was a very generous portion of beef, much much bigger size then the usual steak offered elsewhere. Really appreciate it especially when this meal is on special discount where other merchants will usually tried to reduce the meal portion to reduce cost.

Like the charred flavour of the outer layer and the pinky, tender and juicy beef within. Its definitely different from those dry chunk of beef served in those budget cafe.


The semi dried tomato and garlic butter really adds the "oomph" to the dish - flavorful garlic butter with a tinge of sourness to balance the oily butter. It came as a beautiful paste-like on top of the beef. But once it start melting and turn to liquid oil, it gets kind of overwhelming and the sense of guilt sink in. A bit "jelat" when I am almost full. Would have ordered a cup of tea to ease the greasiness if I had known early that the Highlanders cafe few shops away was already closed.


Roast potatoes instead of potato Gratin was served.  The potatoes go well with the butter - combination of Carbohydrates and fats is always so yummy. Loved the vegetables that is served with the beef, its flavorfully sauteed/grilled, but a bit oily.

Char-Grilled Hereford Sirloin Steak
Rating: 4/5 

Dessert - Chocolate Fudge Petite Four with Chocolate Mousse and Sour Cherry Coulis
To end the meal with such sweet and heavy dessert is a bit overwhelming for me. Would be able to better appreciate the rich chocolatey Petite and coffee mousse with a cup of tea without sugar. The Sour Cherry Coulis was quite unique, sweet with liquor fragrance on first bites and trace of sourness as you chew further.

Dessert
Rating: 3.5/5

The service was relatively good and prompt given that there is only 3 staffs (1 chef-cum-boss Dennis, 1 sous-chef-cum-waitress and 1 waitress) to serve 12 guests that night.  Our glasses were refilled frequently and the waitress also make the effort to see the guest out after the meal.

For review on deal, refer http://monsoondeal.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-course-fine-dining-menu-at-parsley.html
SAVOUR HAPPINESS! Enjoy 50% off 3-Course Fine Dining Menu at Parsley & Thyme! ONLY $25 nett for Salmon Tartare + Char-grilled Sirloin Steak + Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake with White Chocolate Mousse!


61 Kampong Bahru Road
#01-01 Outram MRT Station
Singapore 169368
Tel : 6226 2801

Opening hours
Monday - Sunday :
12pm to 3pm
6pm to 9.45pm (Last order)