Chinese / Hong Kong / Taiwanese

Doesn’t the rainy weather make us all crave for the comfort of warm soup? Here’s my recommendation! I recently enjoyed Ya Ge’s seafood hotpot with my foodie friends and we had a nourishing and indulgent meal with the Live Mud Crab Set in Lemongrass White Pepper Soup.

In addition to the Mud Crab, the pot also came with an array of fresh seafood like Abalone, Prawns, Mussels, Scallops, Clam, Handmade Cuttlefish paste and Dace Fish balls, together with wild black fungus, baby cabbage, corn, kombu, rice cake, hotpot vermicelli, gluten puff, enoki mushroom, crispy beancurd skin, bamboo shoot, and broccoli. This was literally comfort in a pot! What really stood out for me was the super appetising and unique Lemongrass White Pepper Soup (think pig’s stomach soup with that extra zest from the lemongrass) which truly elevated the overall taste experience and complemented the seafood extremely well! Another available soup base is the Sugarcane & Imperatae Soup which sounds really good too!

Available till 31 Dec 2023, Ya Ge’s Seafood Hotpot series also includes 2 other choices:
~Tiger Garoupa (S$168++, good for 3-4 pax)
~Australian Live Lobster (500g) and South African Abalone (S$218++, good for 3-4 pax)

I visited Qiu Jin Xiao Chao at Harbourfront Centre for dinner with a friend recently. This is the brand’s first ever overseas outlet, after successfully expanding its presence across various regions of China, serving authentic Sichuan dishes. We tried:

~Stir-Fried Rattan Chicken ($15.80)
~Sour & Spicy Golden Beef ($15.80)
~Traditional Sichuan Stir-Fry Pork Belly ($14.80)
~Black Pepper Fried Rice ($7.80)
~Wagyu Mapo Tofu ($14.80)
~Fried Shredded Potato ($6.80)
~Poached Lettuce ($6.80)

First off, the food here were all really heavy in flavours (重口味), which suited me to a T! The highlight was their Wagyu Mapo Tofu, an interesting (and numbing) fusion dish with tender, marbled slices of Japanese A3 wagyu beef. Other dishes I liked were the Stir-Fried Rattan Chicken, the Traditional Sichuan Stir-Fry Pork Belly, and Fried Shredded Potato (I was genuinely surprised by how good this was). Would definitely revisit again if I’m in the area and craving for good Sichuan food that won’t break the bank!

We visited Mui Kee’s Shaw Plaza outlet for dinner recently.

The highlight of our meal here was definitely the Steamed Whole Baby Threadfin (400g, $28.80), which was so fresh and tender! I’d also recommend the Garoupa Belly Congee ($15.80) which was smooth and had a nice wok hei flavour! I actually tried their congee back when they first opened at Shaw Centre back in 2018, so it’s nice to see that the standard of their congee has remained consistently good! For something homely and comforting, you can consider the Pork Patty with Premium Salted Fish ($12.80). Lastly, we also had the Beef Brisket Noodles ($13.80) which was pretty yummy too with the tender slow-cooked beef brisket and springy noodles!

Overall, this is certainly a good spot to enjoy Cantonese food with your family or friends! Do come during weekdays to avoid the weekend crowd.

Was over at Fu Xiao Xian with a friend for dinner recently, where we enjoyed their Yunnan-style pressure-steamed fish, along with some of their other dishes.

We paired the Qingjiang fish with their spicy sour bamboo shoot soup base. The cooking process was pretty interesting; the fish was naturally pressure-steamed at high heat to extract its natural flavour and nutrition, while a woven bamboo hat was used as a wok lid to preserve the temperature and aroma. Taste-wise, the fish was fresh and tender, while the soup was comforting, with a nice balance of tangy and spice! You can also add on additional ingredients (I’d recommend the Sliced Fresh Beef w/ Raw Egg and Fried Tofu Skin!) into the pot to have it together with the fish (the recommendation is to drink the soup first, then eat the fish, before adding in the other ingredients) in the appetising broth!

Was over at Sō’s nex outlet recently to try their latest festive seasonal dish - Flaming Lobster Poached Rice!

This was such an enjoyable dish! The flame-torched Boston lobster topped with mentaiko and cheese was succulent and had a nice firm texture! The seafood tonkotsu broth was both comforting and umami-laden, and the squid and scallop added some sweetness too, while the crunch came from the puffed rice. Also liked that the dish was served in stone-pot so it stayed warm throughout our meal!

There's only a limited number of Flaming Lobster Seafood Poached Rice Set ($24.90) sold daily, and is only available for dine-in at all their outlets till end of March 2023, while servings last!

The recent rainy weather certainly makes one crave for warm soupy food, and that’s what we had for dinner a few days ago at Nan Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat Corner!

We had their Red Grouper Fish Head Steamboat with the whole fish (1.5kg, seasonal price). The hotpots here are all charcoal-fired, and it adds an extra smokiness to the taste of the already flavourful broth that’s prepared with fish bones. The fish we had was very fresh, its meat - firm, flaky and not fishy at all! My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this and it’s certainly one of the best fish head steamboats we’ve had so far in Singapore!

We visited Kuan Zhai Alley in the CBD, just ahead of their official opening on 31st October 2022. The first thing that struck me was their beautiful interior decor (you can check out their socials for the restaurant visuals)! Their food was also plated beautifully too, and thankfully, they did not disappoint in taste as well:

~Double Flavored Chicken
~Boiled Fish with Sichuan Pickles
~Golden Shrimp Balls
~Chilled Fruit and Vegetable with Sesame Sauce
~Rabbit Mousse Pudding / Assorted Pudding

Our favourite dish was the Double Flavored Chicken, which comes with chicken cooked in two tantalising ways. We also enjoyed the Boiled Fish with Sichuan Pickles that has a piquant broth and fresh, flaky fish! The Golden Shrimp Balls is a good dish to share. Get your cameras ready when the dish is served to capture the IG-worthy process! They have an open bar counter within the restaurant too, and you would do well to order some of their fancy cocktails like KZA Queens to pair with the food!

This place is worth checking out for its lovely ambiance, good tasting food, and the attentive service from the staff.

It was an umami-laden dinner over at Fei Lou Fatt last week, where we enjoyed their Ang Kar Prawn Pao Fan ($16) and Signature Fei Lou Noodle ($20) respectively. The broth that had been simmered for over 8 hours was robust and savoury, and the prawns were fresh and of quite a substantial size! Love the crispy rice crackers in the former and also enjoyed the addition of abalone in the latter.

We also got a plate of Lok Lok to share, where we enjoyed the well-fried ingredients that were dusted with an addictive sze chuan mala powder. They are currently having a ‘STACK ALL YOU CAN’ Lok Lok Challenge, where for just $5, you can enjoy unlimited lok lok ingredients as long as you can stack them on a plate. You then get your choice of seasoning (Seaweed / BBQ /Sze Chuan Mala / Furikake) and dipping sauces!

The next time you are craving for some Hong Kong food before your flight or if you happen to be around the Changi Airport area, you can check out Terrace Chinese Kitchen at Terminal 1 Viewing Mall!

~Cart Noodles (Price varies)
~Pork Spare Ribs with Capsicum & Black Bean Sauce served with Rice ($16)
~Authentic Cantonese Fresh Shrimp Wonton Soup ($10)
~French Toast with Syrup & Butter ($6)

I enjoyed the Cart Noodles, which is entirely customisable from the choice of noodles to broth and ingredients. We chose instant noodles and braised spicy beef broth, topping it with braised beef brisket, curry pork skin, and curry fishball. Another dish I liked was the Authentic Cantonese Fresh Shrimp Wonton Soup! I liked that each wonton was plump and had fillings like ti po (dried sole fish) inside! We ended our meal with the Indulgent French Toast with Syrup & Butter.

Tan Yu has recently opened their latest outlet at Waterway Point and exclusive to this outlet is the Grilled Fish with Sauerkraut! The standard of their grilled fish is always consistently yummy, and it’s no different with this new flavour ! It’s fragrant, piquant and flavourful, especially with my favourite limbo fish! This is also suitable for those of you who cannot handle spice well.

Westies rejoice! Tai Er hasofficially opened their 2nd outlet at Jem! Here are the dishes we tried at their pre-opening:

~Suancai & Fish
~Spicy Cereal Prawn
~Griddle Cooked Bullfrog With Chili And Pepper
~Poached Sliced Beef in Hot Chili Oil
~Yummy Steamed Chicken With Chili Sauce
~Seaweed Roll With Salted Egg Yolk
~Egg Coated Glutinous Rice Rolls With Brown Sugar
~Ice Jelly With Coconut Milk
~Sichuan Pepper Milk Tea

They are well-known for their signature Suancai & Fish and I can see why! The broth is so piquant and appetising, while the fish slices are so fresh and flaky! It’s definitely a dish that I would return again for! Other dishes I’d strongly recommend are the Spicy Cereal Prawn (deep-fried till very crispy and you can eat the prawns together with the shell, very addictive!), Griddle Cooked Bullfrog With Chili And Pepper (love the tender bullfrog meat!), and Egg Coated Glutinous Rice Rolls With Brown Sugar (an indulgent treat!). Special mention goes to the Sichuan Pepper Milk Tea too, which I think is a really interesting drink! I felt the combination of Sichuan pepper and milk tea worked surprisingly well! 10/10 would recommend this authentic Chinese Sichuan restaurant!

We were over at Ya Ge recently to try their Taste of Ya Ge 8-Course Set Menu (feeds 4-5 pax), which features a selection of the restaurant’s signature dishes in one seating:

~Roasted Floral Tea Infused Chicken
~Deep-Fried Marble Goby with Supreme Soya Sauce
~Sautéed Diced Beef with Black Garlic
~Crispy Mini Pumpkin Pastry with Minced Chicken, Mushroom & Thyme
~Carrot Cake with Dried Shrimp Paste
~Fish Maw with Crab Meat in Superior Broth
~Chilled Hua Diao Chicken Roll
~Egg White Seafood Fried Rice With XO. Sauce

I really enjoyed the dishes, and some of the standouts for me are the Roasted Floral Tea Infused Chicken (the chicken was aromatic, crispy and tender - even the breast meat was so tender!), Sautéed Diced Beef with Black Garlic (each beef cube was succulent and flavourful!) and Crispy Mini Pumpkin Pastry with Minced Chicken, Mushroom & Thyme (pastry was QQ, with a burst of savoury and earthy flavours from the fillings!).

This set will be available till 30th September 2022. It will definitely be a great choice for a gathering among family or friends, while those working in the CBD looking for a lighter meal can go for Ya Ge's ongoing lunch and dinner sets priced from $48.80++/pax for two or more persons daily.