Peach Garden at Novena Gardens, Singapore - Homely Cantonese Fare with Slight Modern Twists

Sliced Roasted Duck accompanied with Wasabi Prawn in Golden Cup

I love good chinese. Yes, I do. The opulent settings, classy china and multi-layered cuisine really strike a chord with me, not least because this is the primary cuisine I grew up with. When it's good, it is so darn satisfying, don't you think? For my mum's birthday this year, I was tasked with seeking out a chinese restaurant we've never tried before. There were so many, but we eventually decided on Peach Garden. At $48/pax for 6 courses, we really couldn't resist. The first course already won me over - excellent roast duck sporting both crispy skin and juicy meat, paired with a huge prawn lightly battered, deep-fried to a golden brown and smothered with wasabi mayo. I absolutely adore prawns prepared this way, with or without the wasabi mayo. The latter definitely gets a bit more tricky if you're looking for a crowd pleaser. My sister, for one, had no kind words for the wasabi mayo but I actually enjoyed the kick. It was pretty balanced and not at all overwhelming.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Dim Sum at Royal China, Raffles Hotel, Singapore

Har Gow (Prawn Dumpling), $4.80

One more week to Christmas! Are you pulling your hair out thinking of what presents to buy? Because I am. But before I head to town to squeeze in with the happy and frantic crowd, here's a post on my current favourite restaurant for dim sum - Royal China. I suppose it's only fair to finally do a post after raving about it so long ago. What I really love about Royal China, other than its unique and classy decor, is its fantastic value for the quality presented. I was here with my family this time round, and we started with the har gow, which was very much perfect with the thin and slightly chewy skins encasing juicy, crunchy prawns. Delicious!

Siew Mai (Pork Dumpling), $4.80

The siew mai came next. I feel that my feelings for siew mai have gradually faded over the years. These days, they seem to be on the table only out of habit. Can any siew mai lover gush about these morsels to reignite my feelings? That said, they were tasty, and even rather unique with dates topping them instead of prawn roe. The skin looks dry in the photo but they actually weren't at all.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant, Jalan Besar, Singapore

Interior

Have you guys been to Swee Choon? I only just found out about this place a few weeks back and I'm beating myself up for being such a latecomer to the scene. I mean, this place has been serving dim sum for almost 50 years! It's no frills dining, but some of the dishes they serve are surprisingly satisfying. Also, their opening hours are from 6pm to 10am on weekdays and 6pm to 12pm on weekends, which makes it the perfect spot for supper. I'll bet Wan Dou Sek just flashed across your mind. Yeah, that's where I've been going for budget dim sum supper until now and they are pretty similar. But I've always felt that heading to Wan Dou Sek was a sort of compromise between quality and budget. Of course, the quality of dim sum at Swee Choon can never be compared to that of a restaurant like Royal China (currently my favourite restaurant for dim sum), but the quality of their main dim sum dishes are definitely a notch higher than Wan Dou Sek's.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Dim Sum at Crystal Jade Palace, Takashimaya, Singapore

Deep Fried Shrimp Dumpling, $4.80

Dim Sum is one of those meals I love having with my family. It feels so special (and zen) just to dedicate an afternoon to yum cha (literally drinking tea) leisurely with loved ones. The small dishes come one by one, the assortment of flavours varied and tantalizing. Almost a performance of sorts where my favourite prawn and pork are stars. At Crystal Jade Palace, the lavish decor complete with crystal chandeliers almost make you feel like royalty, as you enjoy exquisite dim sum over tea. How amazing does this deep fried shrimp dumpling look? It tasted equally amazing - perfectly golden, packed with shrimp and bursting with flavor. Possibly my favourite dim sum that afternoon!

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Tao Heung, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Eggplant with Minced Pork in Claypot

I was a pretty lucky girl in Hong Kong. Shortly after M left, two of my good friends flew over to visit me! We had one of our meals at Tao Heung, a typical Cantonese Restaurant that also does Steamboat (which smelled really good). It was a small meal because we had planned to snack away at Mong Kok afterwards, and our first dish was eggplant with minced pork. When egg plant is done right, it can be so right. The best egg plant I had so far was in a small village in India. Here at Tao Heung, the dish isn't amazing, but reasonably tasty.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

3 Delicious Noodles in Hong Kong

Noodles in Fish Soup with Pork Belly, Sang Kee

Hong Kong is quite the noodle lovers' heaven. Look at this beautiful concoction of sweet fish soup with tender braised pork belly! Actually there were lots of healthier choices of toppings available, including fish balls, fish slices, beef slices, etc, but I just couldn't resist choosing pork belly. Apparently, the milky colour of the soup is attributed solely to an ardious preparation process of the stock, and not because of the addition of milk. Impressive! The fish stock was fresh and sweet. Yummy. It's a healthy and tasty bowl of noodles, if you don't choose pork belly that is!

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Wing Hap Shing Restaurant, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Beef and Egg Claypot Rice (Wo Dan Ngao Yuk Bo Zai Fan), 40 HKD

Have you tried the Beef and Egg claypot rice at Wing Hap Shing Restaurant? The minced beef is diced by hand, and very well seasoned. Mixed together, the yolk adds flavour all round, and the whole dish is simply delicious. They are quite generous with the beef - there is more beef than it seems, and the portion is good for 2 light eaters. The only gripe I had was the lack of crispy charred rice at the side that I had expected. I wonder what the problem was. Perhaps the pot wasn't hot enough, or perhaps the rice wasn't cooked in the claypot. Still, this is really good grub!

In fact, this place has been featured in the media, and the restaurant is famous for this particular dish! You know, it's probably not something I'd travel half the country for, but since this place happens to be right below my house (almost), I have no issues at all(: It's a great place, with a relatively healthy and suprisingly tasty bo zai fan.

P.S. The second time I went, I tried the gong zai min, and the man can yuk (luncheon meat) version my friend had was good!


Wing Hap Shing Restaurant
G/F, 113-115 Jervois Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2850 5723 / 2850 5726

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Dak Shing Restaurant, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Soup of the day

When you're out living alone, you start dreaming of delicious home-cooked meals, right? The thing about eating out in Hong Kong is that you really don't need to worry. People in Hong Kong don't waste time. You can get a quick meal of noodles, fried rice, or dishes with rice, in many proper eateries scattered across the city in about the same time and efficiency as any fast food joint. Obviously, even with the possibility of msg, this option far outweighs the nutrition of a big mac!

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Tim Ho Wan, Mongkok, Hong Kong

Some weeks back, during M's visit, we made our way to the unbelievably popular Tim Ho Wan - the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant. It took us some time to find this legacy of sorts, and when we finally spotted it, it was because the crowd gathered in front of the restaurant was unmistakable. The long wait you've heard about is true. We took our tickets, and stood by the side, just like everybody else, as I tried to peek inconspicuously at neighbouring ticket numbers.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Rainbow Seafood Restaurant, Lamma Island, Hong Kong

Lobster e-fu noodles with superior stock

M and I were wandering around in Lamma Island, some weeks back, because we'd heard that Lamma's a great place for seafood. It was a real fishing village. At least the side where we were in. It basically looked like this:

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Sheung Wan Da Pai Dong, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Sheung Wan Cooked Food Centre (da pai dong)

One of the things I love most about living in a new city, is that you really get to discover things you don't normally see as a tourist. Did you know that tucked away on the second level of the Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building and Civic Centre is an entire floor of da pai dong?

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Lei Garden Restaurant, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

My boyfriend, M, flew over to visit me last week, and I thought a dim sum lunch at Lei Garden would prove a good start to our 5-day vacation! True enough, we were not disappointed(: I'd read that serious foodies preferred the Wan Chai branch to the one michelin star awarded branches in IFC and Tsim Sha Tsui, so we decided to give the Wan Chai branch a shot.

Siew Mai

These were pretty good. The little morsels (slightly smaller than most offerings from other eateries) tasted more refined than those I've tried in other smaller eateries and restaurants in Hong Kong, and certainly had a good prawn to pork ratio.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Sai Kung is beautiful. I went with my friends on a Saturday, and winded up waiting for a bus that were meant only for Sundays. Not surpisingly, we ran pretty late, and eventually took a cab to our trail's starting point. We were intending to find the Sheung Luk Stream, which were supposed to feature 8 falls, some of which you could jump into. I was truly looking forward to jumping into mini waterfalls. But we took a wrong turn, and by the time we realized we were heading in the opposite direction, it was nearly dusk. Still, the hike was an enjoyable experience.

First of all, the air in Sai Kung was unbelievably fresh. I felt my entire system cleansing just walking and breathing in the air. Living in Hong Kong Island means living with bad air. But except for the occasional dryness in your throat, it's difficult to realize how bad the air really is. That is, before I had my first whiff of the air in Sai Kung. It looks like everything in this world is truly relative. You won't know how good something is until you've experienced the bad.

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!

新雅翠燒味茶餐廳, Central, Hong Kong

It appears that Hong Kong has no lack of chinese bbq fast food restaurants. Every corner I turn, I'd see at least one of these chinese bbq restaurants. Well, almost. Wellington Street in particular, as you might already know, has no lack of famous restaurants (Yung Kee, Lin Heung, Mak's Noodles, Tsim Chai Kee etc). Still, it was quite a surprise to all of us that our budget lunch in this random chinese bbq char chan teng turned out to be extremely pleasant too.

Barbequed pork and roasted pork with rice, HK$35

I've since returned again and again to this char chan teng for their char siew siew yuk fan (barbequed pork and roasted pork with rice). I love the crackling on the roasted pork, and the sweet-salty flavour of the barbequed pork. It's the perfect combination, and comes with the obligatory greens that makes me feel better after all the meaty goodness. The sauce is surprisingly flavourful, and my friends often ask for a separate bowl of sauce just so they have more to go with their rice.

The meal includes complimentary coffee, tea or soup, but they are pretty nondescript. I choose the soup most of the time, it's a hit and miss game, but with better odds than the other options. Since our first visit, we have also tried other items on the menu, but nothing really shouts out to us as much as their char siew siew yuk fan. I have to warn that the quality control isn't a hundred percent though. There were times when we have dined and left disappointed when the crackling on the roasted pork was soft instead of crispy, etc. But most of the time, we satisfy our roasted meat craving, leave with a smile on our face, and still have change in our pockets.


新雅翠燒味茶餐廳
G/F, 108 Wellington Street
Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Mon to Sat, 07:30 AM to 10:30 PM
Sun and Pubic Holidays, 11:00 AM to 9:45 PM
Tel: 2542 0010

Tweet
Pin It Now!

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle, Central, Hong Kong

I was craving wanton noodles, and the first place I thought of was Tsim Chai Kee! Possibly cause they're so convenient for me, and probably also cause they're so value for money and my pockets were feeling just a little... empty(;

If you're here during lunch time, you'll witness the intimidating queue extending beyond the shopfront in a neat row. Thankfully, the queue moves fast, and you should find yourself seated in almost no time at all, albeit the fact that you'll probably be sharing tables with strangers. Efficiency is high here, and your noodles are normally served to you piping hot without much of a wait. I love the wanton noodles - It comes with 3 huge wantons stuffed silly with fresh prawns that retain their crunch. The beef noodles are also excellent, as the beef slices are incredibly tender (possibly due to baking soda though). The noodles itself are worthy of mention. "Al dente" with a firm bite to it, the texture of the noodle pleases. yum. It's nothing too fanciful, but for only HK$17 per bowl of noodles, Tsim Chai Kee certainly serves up good value(:

Continue reading »

Tweet
Pin It Now!