All posts filed under: Places we ate at before we turned Vegan

Quan Xiang Yuan 泉馨园 (Jing Ji) Seafood Restaurant @ Jalan Besar

Published by Beatrice

I used to frequent Quan Xiang Yuan previously with my aunt since I was a kid. Apparently, this is one of the oldest Hokkien restaurant in Singapore, founded since the 1930s. First up, we tried Quan Xiang Yuan’s traditional Prawn Roll ($8), handmade using pork, prawn and spice mix. It was well battered (fish-and-chips style) and juicy on the inside. Most prawn rolls tend to be a bit dry inside due to the frying but this one was still supple. We also had the Fish Maw Sea Cucumber Stew ($20), a must order every time we visit a Hokkien Restaraunt. This particular stew had a lot of the ingredients – Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber and Mushrooms so this is good value for money in terms of the amount of ingredients. However, the taste was just average for me. We couldn’t decide between the Fried Hokkien Noodles ($6) and Fried Hokkien Beehoon ($6) so we ordered both in small portions to share. The noodles were definitely traditional, but I think all 4 of us unanimously preferred the Beehoon! The …

NOX – Dine in the Dark @ Beach Road

Published by Beatrice

We decided to celebrate our 100th days of marriage at NOX Restaurant, which is Singapore’s version of dining in darkness. On top of it potentially being an interesting experience, we also wanted to do our little bit to help with the visually impaired in Singapore. As NOX website describes, we are constantly having sensory stimulation. Especially in our modern fast paced environment, our senses are nearly overwhelmed, always having new news to look at, new information to feed into our brains, new people to talk to. So the concept of NOX – Dine in the Dark, is to compel us to be more conscious of our remaining senses since we cannot see, thus heightening our ability to smell, feel and taste! As NOX describes, the experience is to “temporarily surrender one of your dominant senses, sight, in exchange for enhancing the other four, allowing you to completely re-evaluate your perception of the world around you”. When you first enter the restaurant on the first floor, the host will brief on all the necessary logistics – …

Cad Café @ Kampong Glam

Published by Beatrice

Cad Café is a new coffee joint opened for just 3 months, set in extremely hipster Haji Lane! You will walk through a sea of graffiti walls to get to Cad Café! It is  a very small café that can seat less than 20 people in total. Extremely artistic and grungy interiors, Cad Cafe has some good hand drawn paintings hanging for sale. I personally think they blend the décor perfectly with the Haji Lane esoteric atmosphere. It is a rushed breakfast coffee grab, so we tried the Flat White and Ice Coffee. They are using beans from Toby’s Estate, and I must say the coffee is better than I expected (7.5/10)! The Flat White ($5) is medium bodied – quite viscous. It is bitter and only slightly acidic, but is well balanced with the milk, with strong aroma. The Ice Coffee ($4.50) is not too acidic and had quite a long lingering taste. There are tourists sitting around chatting, and given the vibrancy of the café, if I was on a holiday, it would be a …

Cafe Melba @ Goodman Arts Centre

Published by Beatrice

We were looking for dog-friendly cafe after bringing my fluff to NEX, and Cafe Melba Cafe came to mind. Given that it was only a replacement Public Holiday on a Monday (half the people I know were still working), Melba Cafe was relatively crowded. By the way, I suspected and later confirmed that Melba stands for Melbourne (MELB) and Asia (A), so the food is supposed to be Asian interpretations of Australasian dishes. We sat outdoor where it was cosy but also quite warm, and my dog was happily pampered by the children around. We had the Haddock and Chips ($24), Crayfish Linguine ($27)and Chili Crab Calzone ($22). All 3 of us enjoyed the food! The Crayfish Linguine  is cooked Al Dente, and the crayfish bisque was absorbed well into the linguine, giving the pasta a juicy texture. At the same time, the red peppers complemented the roasted crayfish, while the rocket gave the dish a bitter after taste. Complex dish with a Western-Asian blend indeed. The Chili Crab Calzone is like Cheese Prata with Chili Crab, angmoh style; crab meat, egg, …

Butter Studio @ Jalan Besar

Published by Beatrice

After a disappointment along the Jalan Besar trail with Tiramisu Hero, I was a little sceptical to try another new Butter Studio Bakery. I was wondering if it was just another nicely decorated Hipster Bakery with no real substance. But Butter Studio caught my eye from across the road when I was having lunch at the Jalan Besar Food centre (which, btw, has very nice Pahang “sashimi” for $3 at the congee shop), and we decided to cross the road to try Butter Studio out. One is welcomed into the shop house by a tent over grass turf and outdoor table made from stacked up pallets. It is an easy to do set up for people to hang out outdoors. The layout of the cakes and cupcakes is very welcoming at the entrance. There are also very ornate articles like a bicycle outdoors with nice flowers in the front basket. Definitely good impressions from the decoration effort! I am welcomed by rows of interesting cakes, cupcakes, food and tarts on the left when I enter the …

Hong Sheng Restaurant Tzechar @ Toa Payoh

Published by Beatrice

I have been eating this Hong Sheng Tzechar at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 for many years, it almost feels weird to be blogging it only now. I have read various reviews online that say the general flavour of the dishes at Hong Sheng lacks the umami oomph compared to other Tzechar stalls. I have to agree that Hong Sheng food tastes very cosy home cooked style, where there is less salt and MSG. For example, even the tofu, they do not use the stronger tasting egg tofu, but the more authentic white tofu. The soup is also slightly bland. So if you are looking for the strong outstanding flavours in every dish, this is not the place for you. Despite some of the not so good reviews online, be prepared to wait at Hong Sheng. If you don’t arrive by 530pm, the typical waiting time will be at least 1 hour!, so tip is to reach by 530 latest, especially if you have many pax. Tip: They are known for their Horfun, which is wrapped in …

Lai Huat Seafood Restaurant Tzechar @ Jalan Besar

Published by Beatrice

Having passed Lai Huat Seafood Restaurant many times and seeing so many celebrity photos and endorsements on its walls, we finally went to check it out to satisfy my curiosity! The service is not great. I got dissed trying to change tables because they initially sat us at the back, near the wall with lizards constantly invading our personal space. The wait is also incredibly long; we waited about 45 minutes for our first dish to be served. I guess they can afford the far-from-ideal service time, thanks to their good publicity over the years. Thankfully, the food was worth the wait. We tried their signature dish – Sambal Balachan Fried Fish. This is quite a killer combo of fried and spice kick in my taste buds on the first bite. Fish was crunchy with every bite! However, tip is to order a fish for 2, to share for 3 people or more. Two of us “jelat” after 80% of the fish as the dish is really oily and rich tasting. The other dishes were good …

Jalan Sultan Prawn Noodles @ Kallang

Published by Beatrice

One of my favourite prawn noodles in Singapore is Jalan Sultan Prawn Noodles! This prawn mee was introduced by my mum who packed it home for me when I was sick and eating it actually perked me up! So I made a trip down over a weekend to check it out. Jalan Sultan Prawn Noodles is a typical Singaporean alfresco coffee shop. So tip: is to go on cooling day or pack home to eat. We felt baked on a sunny day and with the tentage keeping the heat in the alley. My personal favorite is the King Prawn Pork Rib Beehoon Soup ($8) after trying different prawn sizes, soup/dry. But even if you were to opt for regular prawn ($5), they use the same soup base brewed in prawn shells that make it really strong flavored and delicious! Their pork ribs are also tender without being over fatty. Most of the time, I get chunks of meat in the soup as well. Sometimes when I eat pork ribs prawn mee in other parts of Singapore, I get …

Sushi Airways 寿司航空 Sushi Bar @ Kampong Glam area

Published by Beatrice

Wanted to meet a long time friend for catchup and she wanted Japanese, so decided to try out Sushi Airways! It can be a tad hard to find as it is on the second floor, so this is the shot of it from across the street to make life easier for you guys who want to try it out. Sushi Airways is a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar crafted after the interiors of an aircraft cabin. It can be a bit tacky looking especially with the service staff dressed as air stewardesses, but Theme Restaurants (click to see some bizarre concepts like prison themed restaurants) are big hits in Japan and I must recognize this place for the creative concept! Furthermore, Sushi Airways offers affordable set lunches and has an extensive ala carte selection of fresh seafood flown in four times a week from Japan. Tempted by the very good food photography in the menu, I ordered the Airways Baru Chirashi Sushi set ($15) with chopped salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi and hotate. The ingredients were chopped with …

Brawn and Brains Cafe

Published by Beatrice

Another off the beaten track, oh-no-my-gps-said-i-arrived-but-i-still-can’t-see-it cafe! So, first tip: for drivers, turn into the sports complex! Its there! Or if missed it, just turn left into Guillemard Crescent, and there are parking lots in front of the condominium called Cosmo. Very unassuming small cafe that sits only less than 15 people, which is also why they don’t allow reservations. We were greeted by friendly young server, who reminds me of local celebrity, Lim Peifen. Through our conversation, I learnt that the cafe is named Brawn and Brains because this cafe is in the same building as the rock climbing wall and tuition centre. How quaint! We tried both kinds of open face sandwiches – bacon molten egg and salmon. Both for $7. The Grilled Bacon open face sandwich, served with mozzarella, mixed greens, rocket, cherry tomatoes and a single molten egg. I really enjoyed the crispy bacon with melting yolk texture! The Salmon open face sandwich, on the other hand, is served with cottage cheese, rocket and cherry tomatoes, also served with a single molten …