Chinese | 好吃

Newly opened Niu Dian 牛店 at Holland Village is their second outlet in Singapore. With Show Luo as their brand ambassador, I would see many swarming to try out this store.

Their menu is simple - different cuts of beef with noodles, with either soup or dry options. They do have a premium version as well which has the meats in a braised option.

I went for the simplest option to taste the broth at its origin. Having recently been to Taiwan, I had pretty high expectations as the ones in Taiwan were pretty unbeatable.

Noodle texture wise, you could choose between soft, medium & hard. Went for the medium and it was q and chewy, perfect with the thick broth.

A must-order whenever I visit a dim sum store to judge their chilli quality, wonton skin & wrapping skills.

The skin was slightly thicker than usual, but still silky smooth when you bite & slurp it up. The fillings were meaty, with small chunks of prawns available in each bite. The sauce mixture though was slightly lacking. We had to add in more vinegar & chilli to oomph up the kick. Then again, if you're not a fan of anything too sour or spicy, this would be just right for you.

When you serve this in your menu, you know you're up against tough competition with the likes of DTF & KOFR. Seeing that it's one of the staples, we had to give it a try.

Alas, the dish wasn't as good as we expected it to be. First, let's talk about the rice-while it looks perfectly fried with each grain being separated from the other, it was dry & slightly under seasoned, making it rather underwhelming. However, the pork chop wasn't too bad. The crispy panko-crusted batter helped to retain some moisture within the meat, but still didn't help to bring out the flavours of the dish.

The team might be having a rough day, but I'd skip this the next time round.

Ding Tele 鼎特楽 has always been on my to-visit list having walked past the outlet & seeing long queues. So when I got the chance, I finally made it without having to join the queues to see what the hype was all about.

We ordered some signature items such as the crispy pork soup buns. There are 3 variations - 1 mixed platter, one with prawns & the original (as featured). We got the original version just to see what it's about.

The bun comes with a thick skin & is steamed before the bottom half being pan-fried, giving you that half and half bite of soft yet crispy mouthfeel.

While the skin is slightly thicker in texture, it does hold the soup & meat pretty well, allowing you to slurp down the soup as you bite into it. The meat is juicy & tender while the soup is slightly salty, but balanced out well when eaten all together.

Spiciness: 🌶

A must order whenever you're at a skewer shop is 辣子鸡! Perfectly deep fried crispy bits of chicken is tossed with dried chilli, peppercorns, salt & pepper. This simple yet extremely addictive dish is best paired with beer, or rice, whichever way you roll.

This portion is not as spicy as what I've had elsewhere which is great cause it's much more bearable, allowing you to go in for one nugget after another.

Located just about 10 minutes away from Chinese Garden MRT, Xiao Yao Ge 逍遥阁 serves up 东北 cuisine, aka skewers and grilled dishes that everyone loves these days.

Being in this neighbourhood, the prices are more affordable & cheaper than those found within Chinatown, so if you're a westie, this is an alternative for you!

At $4, the grilled eggplants comes in 2 portions, topped with cumin, garlic, chopped coriander & chilli. The result is perfectly grilled eggplants that are so so soft and well-balanced toppings without being too overpowering. It also has a slight smokiness from the grill which adds to the aroma of the dish. Definitely a must order when you're here!

Found a perfect spot to satisfy my 烤鱼 cravings without the crowd & without the hefty price tag. Service is also great & prompt, making it a perfect space for family gatherings or just a date night for 2.

The Sweet Fragrance Sauce has only 1 🌶, which is perfect for those who are afraid of too much spice. This version is a nice sweet concoction with garlicky bits! It reminds me of of the Thai sweet chilli which is refreshing & comforting as well!

We chose Sea Bass which goes well with any of the sauces they have on the menu! Worth a go if you're into it!

Spiciness: 🌶 🌶🌶

Nestled in the heart of Chinatown, Sichuan Village serves up your classic szechuan dishes as well as skewers! The best part, they open till late (3am)!

A must have would include the spicy chicken 辣子鸡 as that sorta sets the benchmark for a good Szechuan store.

Oh boy were we in for a ride. If you're a fan of spice, you have to try this!! Although it looks fairly harmless, the spiciness hits you, till you get a tad bit dizzy, but after that when you settle back down, you realise how fragrant & addictive these tiny bites are & you go back again, only to realise that you're starting to get droplets of perspiration trickling off your forehead.

But fear not as you have your trusty ice cold beer 雪花 on the side to wash down all the spice & for you to put yourself through that "joy" again.

Spice: 🌶🌶
Portion: 2 pax

Located within Holland Village Food Centre, Mala Xiang Guo (Chong Qing Kao Yu) is a corner store serving up your usual MLXG & other cooked items!

The ingredients range between $1-$3 each, so the price fluctuates slightly if you add more meat in, but other than that, their medium spice hits all the right spots & was well-balanced in terms of the numbing & spicy departments.

Spiciness: 中辣 (M) 🌶🌶

Was deciding what to have for dinner & was craving for mala, so I scrolled through Burpple & found this new store that has recently opened nearby.

Took a walk over to find it located within the S11 behind the Bishan Library, just a quick 3 minutes walk from the library.

As the entire coffee shop had recently undergone renovation, everything was new & really clean!

The store had their fridge outside the store and had the usual suspects that you would need to find. At $6.60, I took the following items: oyster mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, black fungus, Tau gua (beancurd), beancurd skin, potatoes, lotus root & instant noodles. These are my usual orders & I'd usually pay at least $8 outside, but the rates here are really competitive!!

Ordered it & paid easily with favepay (yay), and allow for us to tweak it accordingly to the amount of oil and salt that you'd like.

Waited for about 15 minutes amidst the dinner crowd at 6.45pm and was greeted with a nicely plated bowl of my ingredients topped with peanuts (yay to no parsley). The spiciness for medium was alright, not too spicy, and they really cut down on the oil and salt, which made the bowl much more flavourful!

Tried this store after looking at the huge crowd that was waiting for their food orders!

The long queue was due to the fact that they only had 1 Chef cooking, but that also meant that there was quality control & you definitely can’t taste it!

Every mouthful was flavourful (香) & numbing, yet we wanted to dive in for another bite time & time again. We only ordered less spicy (小辣) but it tasted spicier than most less spicy versions out there! So do remember to order a level lower if you can’t too much spice.

Apart from the stir dry, it also comes with soup options if you prefer mala soup, or even the tomato or chicken soup bases.

If you’re a fan of all things spicy, I suggest you try out their Spicy Beef! Best cooked in the mala broth, the tender beef slices are marinated in a picante sauce, before being dusted with chilli flakes.

After cooking, majority of the chilli flakes would have joined the broth, and what you get is a tender slice of beef with hints of spiciness tingling your taste buds!

Definitely not for the faint hearted or those who can’t take spice!