Cherry Garden - Yu Sheng and Pen Cai

Probably the largest Pen Cai in Singapore, the Cherry Garden Luxurious Pen Cai is served in a huge tub of diameter close to half a metre and weighs more than 25kg. Tons of superior ingredients are used: braised eight-head abalone, lobsters, scallops, sea cucumbers, prawns, dried oyster rolls, conpoy, dace fillet, roasted duck, soy chicken, crispy pork belly, waxed sausages, mushrooms, cabbage and black moss. Excellent and very generous serving! The remaining "lobster-sweetened" gravy goes perfectly with the subsequent egg noodles dish.

The two accompanying desserts, cherries in nu er hong and aged kuei hua wine cocktail jelly with lychee sorbet and fragrant osmanthus cake with honey, are a good twist from the typical version.

The only not so impressive, though not to extent of disappointing, dish is the Prosperity Yu Sheng with salmon and crispy fish skin. It contains lots of fried vermicelli that provide the crunchy texture, but taste pretty dry.

Rating: 8 / 10
Budget: $$$$

Best Cendol (Suvery by UFM 100.3)

Results of 13 Jan 2015 美食大PK on the best Cendol:

1. Dessert Stall at 8 Sentosa Gateway, Malaysian Food Street @ Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098269
2. Dessert Stall at 10 Tampines Central 1, Kopitiam @ Tampines 1, Singapore 529536
3. Makan Melaka at 1 Changi Village Road, 01-2046, Singapore 500001 

Best Roti Prata (Suvery by UFM 100.3)

Results of 6 Jan 2015 美食大PK on the best Roti Prata:

1. Sin Ming Roti Prata at 24 Sin Ming Road, #01-51, Jin Fa Kopitiam, Singapore 570024
2. Casuarina Curry Restaurant at 136 Casuarina Road (Off Upper Thomson). Singapore 579524
3. Rahmath Muslim Food at 32 Defu Lane 10, Stall 12, Soon Soon Lai Eating House, Singapore 539213

Founder Bak Kut Teh @ Rangoon 发起人肉骨茶 - Farrer Park

Location: 154 Rangoon Road, Singapore 218431
Rating: 8.75 / 10
Budget: $$

Bak Kut Teh lovers in Singapore would have heard of Founder Bak Kut Teh at Balestier Road. In 2011, the daughter managed to convince the Founder's owner to start a branch at Rangoon Road and I would say she has done an excellent job. Despite another Bak Kut Teh powerhouse (Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh) in close proximity, Founder Bak Kut Teh @ Rangoon 发起人肉骨茶 enjoys a huge share of customers.

WHAT TO ORDER

The menu at Founder Bak Kut Teh @ Rangoon is a pretty complete with items that you would find at a Bak Kut Teh place. Good thing here is that prime pork ribs are always available, unlike most other places, given there are only 12-14 pieces per pig. Remember to order Gongfu tea and you will have the complete "Bak Kut" + "Teh" meal. 

WHAT SO GOOD

Start off with a spoonful of piping-hot Bak Kut Teh soup, you can experience the magically combination of nice fiery peppery taste and the natural sweetness of the pork. Follow this by dipping the tender well-cooked prime rib into the dark soya sauce with chilli (I like to add chilli padi)....SHIOK!! Certainly among the very top around.

There are also many good aspects worth mentioning here. For example, unlimited soup top-up to drink to your heart's content, availability of tea set/equipment to do your Gongfu tea ceremony, options of al fresco vs air-con, ample parking spaces nearby, accessibility from MRT station....and the list goes on.

NOT SO GOOD

The non-pork items, such as the Tau Pok, Salted Vegetables, Peanuts, are not as impressive to me. Fortunately, these are optional side dishes, though if improved, these could really bring this Bak Kut Teh place closer to perfection.

Prime Pork Ribs

Various soup-based pig organs

Braised pork trotter and intestines

Other signature dishes

Sek Tong Gai 食通街 - Commonwealth

Location: 47 Tanglin Halt Road, #01-317, Singapore 141047

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Budget: $$

Soon Hock cooked with Bean Curd and Minced Meat in Claypot

Used to have a strong following at Kim Seng Road in Tiong Bahru, the defunct See Lee Chinese Cuisine disappeared for a few years before resurrecting as Sek Tong Gai 食通街 in the quaint neighbourhood of Tanglin Halt.

WHAT TO ORDER

The menu is presented unexpectedly using an iPad in this run-of-the-mill Cantonese Cze Char eating place. The 10+ signature dishes are marked, and this is a good way to start. More exotic options like Alaskan King Crabs, Lobsters, Bamboo Clams, are also available.

WHAT SO GOOD
Almost all the tables that night had their signature Soon Hock cooked with Bean Curd and Minced Meat. Not particularly eye-pleasing, but the meat of Soon Hock is very fresh and soft despite having deep-fried first, and combines well with the brinjal and minced meat.

Our favourite dish is the Deep Fried Seafood Rolls with Salad Sauce. Nicely battered crust provides a coat for the tasty fish paste and prawns.

The Claypot Chicken with Salted Fish, is served with tender pieces of chicken thighs and wings. The gravy is delicious, though a tad salty for my taste bud, goes terrifically well with the rice.

The Hong Kong Kai Lan is an interesting one. The leaves are fried, giving them a crispy texture, before serving on top of the stalks.

NOT SO GOOD
The Soon Hock cooked with Bean Curd and Minced Meat is quite pricey. At $94 for the claypot I had, this is not something I will have frequently (I know Soon Hock is not cheap!)

The Mixed Vegetables with Vermicelli in Claypot is rather uninspiring and lacks presentation. The saving grace is the rich broth that you could drink like a soup.

Deep Fried Seafood Rolls with Salad Sauce

Claypot Chicken with Salted Fish

Hong Kong Kai Lan

Mixed Vegetables with Vermicelli in Claypot

One dish that I have missed out is the Steamed Pork Ribs, which has received rave reviews on the Internet.

Best Steamboat (Suvery by UFM 100.3)

Results of 30 Dec 2014 美食大PK on the best Steamboat:

1. Hai Di Lao (海底捞) at 313 Orchard Road, #04-23/24, 313@Somerset, Singapore 238895
2. Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat (黄金瑞记) at 6001 Beach Rd, #B1-20, Golden Mile Tower, Singapore 199589
3. JPOT at 1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-53, VivoCity, Singapore 098585

2014 Hawker Masters (Awards by Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao)

The search for Singapore's best hawkers in 2014 was over and 6 new Hawker Masters has been announced. The annual hunt is in its fifth year

More than 600 nominations for the 6 categories were received from the public. The finalists for each categories were voted by more than 2,000 readers. A panel of eight judges then made their rounds of the finalists in each category to decide on the winners.

Lor Mee
Name: Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee
Location: Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Road, 02-80.
Opening hours: 7.30am to 2.30pm (Wednesdays to Sundays), closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Beef Noodles
Name: Zheng Yi Hainanese Beef Noodle
Location: Kin Seng Coffeeshop, 47 Tai Thong Crescent.
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm (weekdays), 10am to 6pm (Saturdays), closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Mee Goreng
Name: Hass Bawa Mee Stall
Location: Block 84, Marine Parade Central, Market and Food Centre, 01-150.
Opening hours: Noon to 9.30pm, closed Wednesdays.

Popiah
Name: My Cosy Corner
Location: Coronation Shopping Plaza, 587 Bukit Timah Road, 02-02.
Opening hours: 10am to 7.30pm daily. Popiah not available on Sundays.

Fish Soup
Name: Piao Ji Fish Porridge
Location: Amoy Street Food Centre, 02-100.
Opening hours: 10.45am to 3.45pm, closed Thursdays.

Mee Soto
Name: Riyan Hidayat Satay Solo, No. 31
Location: Serangoon Garden Market and Food Centre, 01-31.
Opening hours: 11am to 9pm, closed Mondays.