Tong Shui Cafe II

Yesterday night i went to TSC again. This time i introduce my secondary school classmates to the place, and they got very much into the thick toasts. Hahaa. The peanut butter one was a hit as usual, but last night i tried something even more fulfilling, it's D24 durian paste. Just imagine a very thick layer of D24 puree on a 2" thick toast, creamy on the top, crispy on the sides, soft white bread in the middle and not to forget the slightly salty butter just under the puree. A heavenly combination, especially for durian lovers. One not to be missed.
Besides that we also tried a coconut floss one, which also has a very rich taste, but i'm not particularly a fan of coconut floss, so yah. you could try it our urself.. haha.. We also ordered this yuan yang paste, it's almond plaste and black sesame paste.. something not many ppl will imagine putting together.. but i tell u tastes pretty good.. and the key thing is they made the paste more dilute here.. the original/tradition method may be to make them super thick.. but that's too filling.. here they made it just rite for dessert... try it..
here my fren looks sceptic at 1st.. after the 1st taste.. he just went on and on.. hahaa..

Yummy Food Fiesta

My 1st contribution to F.A.T.E. and it seems to start off with Korean again.. Well.. it's a start...

Had dinner with yanli at the foodcourt @ Millenia Walk.. There's this korean stall which i had mention before, quite some time back i think.. It sells pretty tasty Korean fare, although the dishes look pretty much similar to other Korean stalls in other foodcourts, but it's not... It tastes much much better, and the reason behind it? that's b'cos it's a branch of a very very nice and a little expensive Korean restaurant called MANNA.. no, it's not country Manna, totally nothing to do with it.. anyway, the restaurant is @ Telok Ayer St.. the food is nice.. but not cheap. the place gives u a feeling of modern korea, and there are always korean speaking ppl there..

ok ok.. back to the foodcourt stall.. this stall is my fav place for cheap and tasty bulgogi, saba, kimchi soup & bibimbaps.. there's also cold noodles, which i have yet to try.. maybe next time.. just take a look at the mouth watering food..


aftermath..


Supper was at Tong Shui, or TSC which means tong shui cafe.. haha.. i had my 1st try in this shop at the shop opp great world city.. this place is famous for it's Super Thick Toasts and desserts.. but many ppl order a maggi-lookalike-tastealike ramen.. haha.. anyway.. it's a good place for supper.. it opens from 12pm till 6am.. there's scv too.. haha.. we visited the new opened branch at liang seah st.. somehow the business here looks poor.. perhaps it's still un-noticed..

the decor is pretty nostalgic.. and the staff's uniform, traditional too.. haha.. but the main attraction is still the food.. not exactly coffee shop price.. more like a chinese style starbucks.. but the food is GOOD.. just look at the dripping peanut butter...



just click the photos for more..

Part II of the Korean chicken saga

A continuation... yi couldn't help it after reading car's yummy post.



eheheh. amazing how much 2 girls can demolish. tho i've been here many times before, this was the first time trying the rice with beef. didnt't think it was as tasty as pork. but the pancake was yummy (15bucks) tho i wished it had abit more seafood in it. but it has to be eaten hot. then again all their food has to be eaten hot, cept tat the rice and soup is still nicely kept warm in their stone pots. go on, u know u jus want to try it too!

Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken BBQ

With all the Korean fever nowadays, it's weird tt I haven't gone into a real Korean restaurant to savour all the yummies. My Korean food intake has largely been limited to food court Bibimbaps (mixed rice in stone pot) and a really delicious meal in Vancouver BC (Canada) in an authentic Korean restaurant. I still dream of the yummilicious Korean seafood steamboat complete with the most gigantic crab I’ve ever eaten.

Look at all the fresh seafood! And yah, we were super hungry and tired so were just waiting for the food to be cooked before we could tuck in.

Back to the main topic. Decided to go try this restaurant since I am a big fan of soups and have always wanted to try Korean Ginseng Chicken soup. It’s in Takashimaya level 4, near the arts supply store, in the location of the previous CJ la mian xiao long bao. When we were there 2 separate ppl were asking where the xiao long bao shop is.

We decided to get the Set B for 2 ppl, $59.90++. It consists of 6 side dishes ($8), seasonal sautéed vegetables ($12), Korean Ginseng Chicken soup ($25), Beef Bibimbap ($16), Grilled Mackerel Fish ($16) plus complimentary fruits. Quite good value we thought, but it was way too much food. Will let the photos tell you why.

The side dishes were not too bad, from left to right: caixin, soya bean sprouts, French beans, ikan bilis, kimchi and potato salad. All of them were served cold. Of these I liked the ikan bilis, soya bean sprouts and kimchi. I just love kimchi cos its both spicy, sour and kick starts your appetite. The rest were ok, but not exceedingly value for money ($1.50 per dish if you order it ala carte).

The vegetables were well executed, simply fried with some oil and garlic, it tasted nice, fresh and uncomplicated (no thick oyster sauce to smother away the veggie taste).

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup. My fave of the lot, well flavoured, but not greasy, you can also taste the faint hint of ginseng, not too much tt it overwhelms you and puts you off. There was a whole chicken in the soup! It was super tender. And it was stuffed with glutinous rice, chestnuts, red dates and lotus seed, which absorbed all the flavours of the soup. Even though I was stuffed, I kept going at the glutinous rice. Yummy!

Beef Bibimbap. Nicely done and executed. It’s served with lots of veggies, beef, one raw egg yolk in a stone bowl (which has been heated on a stove). You mix everything together with Korean soya bean paste, and the heat from the stone bowl keeps everything nice and warm plus makes some of the rice crispy. TJ loves bibimbap, he ate this super authentic one in Canada and he tells me tt this is comparable. Go try!

Grilled Mackerel Fish. I love nicely grilled fish, and this is one of those. Drizzle abit of lemon juice on it and it becomes heaven. Mackerel is an oily fish which makes it suitable for grilling. The flesh is nice and juicy. But be careful cos it has lots of tiny bones.

The price was a tad steep, but in my opinion it’s well-justified. Korean food is full of veggies so it’s nice and healthy, soya bean is supposed to be good for you, and the chicken soup wasn’t oily (which I absolutely love). One thing I didn’t like was how the food came all at one shot, which overwhelmed the both of us and food tends to go cold. And it was way too much food for two ppl, we were majorly stuffed and even had to take away half a chicken and one grilled fish. So if you go there and order this set, make sure u have at least 3 ppl with you.

All in all, a satisfying meal. I haven’t eaten enough Korean food to comment on its authenticity, but it’s delicious and I’m not complaining.

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Hey so qiao i also went to korean bbq on sat.. but apart fr the rice and the soup (which i wholeheartedly agree is damn good), i also had the bbq pork neck. super juicy, yummy esp when its hot off the grill, it kinda melts in ur mouth even tho its abit chewy.. *drool* try it! its quite fun to bbq, but if u're lazy like me, jus ask them to bbq for u. somehow the portions are bigger when they bbq for u also. dunno why.. and try the prawn in egg batter also not too bad. anyway, if u wanna order extra soup (jus soup) also can, but gotta top up 8 bucks. but worth it la i love the soup! next time we all go la, then can order more! heheh

=0)

Indian buffet

in line with my fate with hei tao hua, it was inevitable i eat at indian restaurants.

this one was surprisingly cheap considering it was a buffet and tat it was in clarke quay. think its called riverside something someting fine indian cuisine. its opposite clarke quay mrt, think near where jumbo is?

anyway it had quite a good buffet spread, cheap considering it was only 15 plus per person? there's also a free basket of garlic naan, which goes great with the butter chicken sauce mixed with some fish curry. heheh sounds gross i noe but its really quite yummy! then there's like really great tandoori chicken, cos its so tender, lamb, etc. skip the soup tho..i can make better soup with campbells.

there was also dessert, the super sweet milk balls, fruit custard, but didnt really had the space to enjoy it cos it was filled with all the curries and meats. also ordered the cheese naan which was really quite yummy too!

Indulgz

a new place by a friend's friend (technically my friend). situated at tan quee lan street, entrance opposite the balloon place. nice place really, love the ambience and the music is pretty good. have visited it twice w/i the last 2 weeks and found the food to be good and reasonably priced.


the entrance to the place


nice decor

over the past few occassions, have tried a couple of the dishes as follows:

side dishes:
potato salad



main courses:
stuffed portobello mushroom, butterfish steak burger, rib-eye steak with red wine jus, cheese fondue.









desserts:
chocolate fondue, white chocolate cheese cake, waffles w ice cream, lemon souffle.









too many food pictures. all the food was yummy, ingredients were fresh and good quality, presentation was excellent. of these, my faves were: potato salad, rib-eye steak, white chocolate cake and lemon souffle.

potato salad was made with new potatoes, slightly crunchy, the mayo dressing was good, topped with crispy bacon bits and spring onions. yum!

rib-eye steak *drool*. perfectly marinated slice of meat, tender and juicy and not ruined by all the sauces (e.g. brown sauce or black pepper)which tends to drown out the natural taste of a good cut of meat. the mashed potatoes were nice and fluffy, not drowned out by too much butter (comes on it's own too), and the side salad tt comes with it was fresh and the slightly sweet dressing complements it wonderfully.

white chocolate cake was moist, chocolate rich with a nice touch of white chocolate.

lemon souffle. i've never had souffle b4 (suaku) but this doesn't really fit my image of a souffle, and my friend concurred. served in a sleak margarita glass, it comes topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries. it's nice, not overtly sweet, and the tangy lemon flavour shines thru but doesn't put u off by being too sour. so i dun care if it's a souffle, it's good stuff.

a nice cosy place with friendly staff though the waitress can't pronounce basil properly. all in all a good place for a quiet night out with good, unpretentious food. the most expensive item on the menu (the rib-eye steak) is only $22+++ so it won't hurt ur pockets tt much too! go visit if u're free.