Da Shi Xi - Geylang

Ta Si Xi has three branches in Johor Bahru and is famous for its dim sum. However, when Chef Eric Teo, the celebrity chef who has appeared in a number of TV shows in Singapore, and his Malaysian partners decided to open a new branch in Singapore, they decided to offer cze char instead. Listed on the menu, you can find cze char items of Malaysian influence.

One of the signature dishes here is the Crab Claypot Rice. There are two options available (1 crab @ $50, 2 crabs @ $90). The amount of rice you will get for these two options are the same, so they differ only in terms of the number of crabs which are around 800g each. The rice is first stir fried with bacon until fragrant, and boiled with superior broth. The crab(s) and dried sole pieces are then added into claypot. At this point, all the sweet juices will start to flow and infused into the rice. When you open the claypot cover, the aroma will just fill the whole place! The rice is sweet and fragrant, and don't forget to scrap the bottom of claypot for the slightly burnt rice grain. On the other hand, the crab(s) has lost much of its flavour, sacrificing to the rice.

Another nice dish is the JB Curry Fish Head. Most of the ingredients are usual ones, though you will notice the generous addition of deep fried beancurd skin. What I like is the gravy, which is not as thick as typical, but is surprisingly "drinkable" and as a result very additive.

Also worth mentioning is the Deep Fried Pork Belly Hakka Style. Marinated with fermented red beancurd and other seasoning, the tender pork belly is deeped fried with flour to create crispy and tasty outer layer.

I have tried several other dishes, and found them to be quite nice as well.

Chef Eric also has partnership in The Red Chef, a family-styled restaurant at Bukit Batok Civil Service Club as well as Teochew Traditional Steamboat Restaurant at Balestier. Will pay a visit to these two eateries one of these days.

Budget : $ $

Rating : 8.5 / 10

Jin Jin Hot / Cold Dessert - Alexandra

If you go to ABC Brickwoods Food Centre, you will find several long queues. One of the longer queues is likey to be at Jin Jin Hot / cold Dessert stall. Running this stall are Calvin Ho and Ewan Tang, who have given up their previous occupations and turned into hawkers, contributing to the food scene in Singapore. In their efforts to bring the high quality desserts to their customers, they have tried out many different dessert stalls in Singapore as well as brought back the iconic desserts from the neighboring countries, and continuously improve the desserts.

One of the desserts you should not miss the Power Cendol. Apart from the coconut milk, gula melaka (palm sugar) is added onto the shaved ice. Unlike the typical gula melaka, the gula melaka here is further processed, using a top grade imported from Indonesia, by adding cane sugar which caramelized during the cooking, to form an end product that is thick, sticky in texture and intense in flavour. Inside the layer of ice, you will be able the usual ingredients, such as cendol (the green jelly is actually called cendol, but nowadays this name is also commonly used for the dessert), red beans, attap chee (young seeds of nipah palm), which maintain the originality of this dessert. I have tried quite a number of Cendol in Singapore and Malacca. This is easily one of the best ones.

Another must-try is the Gangster Ice (Durian Mango Ice). This name actually derives from combining the first word of 榴槤 (durian) and 芒果 (mango) into 榴芒, and this sounds exactly like gangster in Mandarin! The owners have actually obtained trademark for this name. What you will get for this dish is the sweet Thai mango dessert topped with D24 durian puree and condensed milk. I generally like to eat durian on its own, instead of mixing into other dishes (e.g. mooncakes), but for this dessert, I find this quite a nice combination.

Overall, I like the presentation of the desserts, the generous serving of ingredients, and the continuous effort to improve the taste.

Budget : $

Rating : 9 / 10

UFM 100.3 Survey: Best Fried Chicken

Results of this week 美食大PK:

1. Arnold's at City Plaza #02-99
2. Golden Rooster at Blk 284 Bishan St 22
3. Jollibee at Lucky Plaza #06-048A

According to the DJ, Arnold's has an overwhelming lead over the rest of the competitors. Also worth mentioning is IKEA also receives quite a huge number of votes for its fried chicken wings, but not considered for this survey as it is meant for fried chicken.

Could not believe that I have tried none of the above in the Top 3! More food options for me and I got a lengthy backlog now.

Pls give your support for this segment on UFM 100.3 and cast your vote before 8am every Tuesday.

East & West Rendezvous - Malacca

The shop may look unassuming from outside, but inside you can find hidden gems - excellent Nyonya Chang, one of the best I ever have so far. This place is so famous for its Nyonya Chang that it is highly advisable to place your order first before you turn up to avoid disappointment. And this was what happened to me. The person in front of me bought all the cooked Nyonya Chang!

The glutinous rice is coloured with the blue concentrated juice from the flowers of Cliterio ternatea, also commonly known as butterfly-pea or blue-pea. You can find this colouring in kuih ketan, or pulut tai tai as well. This makes the Nyonya Chang look visually appealing and interesting.

The best part is the fillings which is very generous in portion. Made up of minced meat, mushrooms and wintermelon, special spice is added to create that magical combination of fragrance and sweetness.

If you buy the uncooked Nyonya Chang like me (the best alternative if they have sold out the cooked ones), what you need to do is to boil a pot of water, add some salt, immerse the Nyonya Chang in the water and continue to boil for another 1hr 45min. That was what the owner Grace Tan taught me. Once cooked, you can keep the Nyonya Chang in the freezer up to 3 weeks, but I bet it will be not long before ending up in your stomach.

Not forgetting to mention, this place serves nice cendol as well.

Budget : $

Rating : 9.25 / 10

2014 Weekender Foodmania Awards

The winners for Weekender Foodmania Awards 2014 are out!

Here are the various categories, with judges' picks in ():

Chinese

• Top: Tunglok Signatures (Crisply Salmon Skin with Salted Egg Yolk)
• Hot: Peony Jade (Tea Smoked Duck), Putien (Bee hoon with in-house chilli)

Japanese

• Top: Ma Maison (Scallop Carpaccio)
• Hot: Tenkaichi Restaurant (Wagyu cuts)

Buffet

• Top: Oscar's (Curry laksa)

Indian

• Top: Ras The Essence of India (Tandoori prawns)
• Hot: Samy's Curry (Fish head curry)

Italian

• Top: Alkaff Mansion Ristorante (Slated Baked Fish)
• Hot: Enoteca L'Operetta (Enoteca)

Thai

• Top: Yhingthai Palace (Tom yum soup)

Malay-Indo

• Top: Pagi Sore Indonesian Restaurant (Ikan Otah Kukus)
• Hot: Cumi Bali (Squids)

Western

• Top: Chili's (Ribs)

UFM 100.3 Survey: Best Kway Chap

Every Tuesday morning, UFM 100.3 has a segment (美食大PK) whereby a local dish will be announced and the listeners will vote what they think is the best via sms.

This week, it is Kway Chap.

The top 3 go to:

1. Blanco Court Kway Chap at Old Airport Road Food Centre
2. Garden Street Kway Chap at Serangoon Garden Market
3. Lucky Kway Chap at Tampines Round Food Centre

More food choices for me!

To support your favourite choice, make sure you tune in to UFM100.3. The voting, I think, closes at 8am.

ieatishootipost Survey: Singapore Top 10 Hawker Dishes

Recently, a survey was conducted by ieatishootipost on Singapore Top 10 Hawker Dishes. A total of 9479 votes has been casted. Below is the result:

1. Chicken Rice 1228
2. Hokkien Mee 966
3. Char Kway Teow 853
4. Carrot Cake 809
5. Laska 794
6. Bak Chor Mee/Mee Pok Tar 740
7. Wanton Mee 672
8. Prawn Mee 646
9. Oyster Omelette 340
10. Prata 324

I have tried all the above before. Based on my own personal preference, I would move prawn noodles and bak kut teh up the ranking.

How about you? Do you agree with the results?