Morokoshi (corn) tofu, S$10.00

Opened since early 2008, Tetsu specializes in tempura and tonkatsu, but lately, they’ve expanded their menu to include more items, as well as a new appetizer selection. The appetizers are an ideal accompaniment to sake or shochu. Some appetizers are available from a special price of $4.80 (Mondays – Thursdays, 6pm – 10pm).

Fugu Mirin Boshi, S$10.00

The corn tofu was nice, but forgettable. But the fugu mirin boshi was something I couldn’t get out of my head! I mean, how often do we get to eat the deadly blowfish?

Besides the thrill factor, what made it so unforgettable was its addictive quality! The fugu mirin boshi is best summed up as sweet-salty and smoky, with a pleasant chewy texture that’s a cross between dried cuttlefish and bak kwa (barbequed pork jerky).

Daikon Goose Liver, S$20.00

Yes, foie gras is supposed to be the star of this dish, but the daikon (radish) far outshone the overcooked goose liver with its explosive juiciness and flavors. I wonder if the stewed daikon is available on its own?

Renkon Chips, S$4.00

Thin and crunchy, lotus root chips are a safe crowd-pleaser.

Kaki Bacon Yaki, S$14.80

Oysters wrapped in bacon, then grilled, this will pair very well with beer. Unfortunately, oysters aren’t really my thing.

Aji Shioyaki, S$18.00

The grilled mackerel was competently executed and elegantly presented.

Ebi Mentaiko Yaki, S$14.80

Ebi=prawn, mentaiko=roe, yaki=grill. What they did was mix the mentaiko with mayonnaise, smear the mixture on split prawns, then grill till a browned top develops. The creamy mentaiko mixture was very more-ish!

Hiyashi udon, S$6.80

Specially air-flown from Japan, the chilled udon is thinner than regular udon, but thicker than inaniwa udon. What makes it so good is its bouncy, QQ texture. If it weren’t so filling, I’d definitely have gone for a second helping!

Katsu Curry Rice, S$16.80

According to Tetsu’s PR rep, the katsu curry rice is one of their bestsellers. Their curry is specially blended to ensure that it’s smooth and doesn’t have a powdery taste.

Although I’m not a big fan of Japanese curry, I must say the curry is definitely one of the better ones I’ve tasted. The katsu crust remained crispy and grease-free even when cold. Very impressive! But the pork loin was not quite juicy. This is probably our fault as my dining partner and I took too much time snapping photos.

Tempura Moriawase, S$15.00

The mixed tempura platter consists of fish, prawn, and vegetables like baby corn and ladies’ finger. While the batter was very light and crispy, it retained a touch of grease. Otherwise, this would have been a faultless execution.

Dragon Roll Maki, S$16.00

Visually stunning, the Dragon Roll, unfortunately, looks better than it tastes. I think the weak link here is the lettuce. Its presence causes the rice roll to become loose. The chef probably has good intentions here, i.e., to introduce a refreshing dimension with the lettuce, but I think it’s ultimately too distracting.

Yuzu Komachi Sake

My friend, Vincent, casually mentioned a yuzu drink that he once tried on a flight to Japan, and the friendly staff kindly offered this yuzu sake for us to try. Now, why didn’t they bring this out earlier? This would have been the perfect drink with the appetizers!

The alcohol content for the yuzu komachi is 7%, so it’s light and easy to drink. Its sweetness and fruity scent reminds me of Choya, except that this is made from yuzu, unlike Choya which is made from plum.

Goma (black sesame) ice cream

If you come to Tetsu, don’t leave without trying the desserts pictured here. The ice cream and sorbet here are out of this world! Both Vincent and I couldn’t stop gushing over them.

I’ve never been crazy about black sesame ice cream, but Tetsu’s version had me at “hello”. Some versions I’ve tried overdo the black sesame; some are even bitter. But here, the black sesame isn’t overwhelming, yet it’s very rich and fragrant. The ice cream is also very smooth, creamy, and not too sweet.

Yuzu & strawberry sherbet, S$5.80

The yuzu and strawberry sherbet is just as gorgeous, but in a totally different way. If you prefer something tangy and refreshing, this is it. We couldn’t believe that something so simple could taste so amazing! Personally, I love both the ice cream and sherbet equally. There’s just one word to describe them: Divine!

Final thoughts: While Tetsu ain’t no Tetsuya’s, it is a family-friendly Japanese restaurant offering competently executed and reasonably priced dishes. Its varied menu means there’s something for everyone.

Do hop over to my friend Vincent’s blog to see his pictures.

Many thanks to Tetsu for the generous invitation, and to the staff of Tetsu and Racheal for their wonderful hospitality.

Tetsu Japanese Restaurant
163 Tanglin Road
#03-18 Tanglin Mall
Singapore 24793
Tel: (65) 6836 3112
URL: http://tetsu.com.sg

Everyone loves a good puff! No, not the nicotine kind. We’re talking about curry puff! The latest Tried & Tested compares some of the most popular curry puffs to see who’s the hot favorite. Click here to read the article.

Y.E.S. 93.3FM DJs Xie Jiafa 谢家发 & Lin Peifen 林佩芬.

If you tune in to MediaCorp’s Y.E.S. 93.3FM on Wed, September 30, 2009 from 6pm to 7pm, you’ll get to hear me and Hungry Cow speaking in mangled Mandarin on radio! On Sunday night, we joined DJs Jiafa and Peifen for dinner at House of Seafood @ 180. Together with the other guests, we made up the tasting panel for the foodie segment called 美食鉴定团.

Huiji Fruity Lite

The foodie segment is sponsored by Huiji 匯集, a local company that specializes in Chinese health products. They are best known for their waist tonic. My mom-in-law swears by it!

One of their latest products is Fruity Lite, which is fast becoming another topseller. We tried it, and liked its sweet, tangy, and refreshing taste. Made of hawthorn fruit 山楂, black plum 乌梅, honey, and sugar, it comes in powdered granules that dissolve in water. It’s supposed to quench thirst and aid digestion.

招牌豆腐　Tofu with pork floss

Kicking off our 10-course meal was deep-fried blocks of tofu topped with pork floss. The tofu was quite smooth, but the outer skin was a little over-fried, making it slightly tough.

马来面　Seafood mee goreng

There’s a generous amount of prawn and squid, all hidden under the noodles! This dish was quite oily and spicy.

马来风光　Stirfried kangkong with sambal

Another oily and spicy dish!

生柠排骨　Lemon pork rib

If I had to pick a favorite for the night, this would be it. I could hardly detect any lemon flavor, but the pork ribs were very tender to the bite, and I like the deliciously sticky condensed milk-like coating.

三杯鸡　3-Cup chicken

Savoury and tasty, the chicken would be good with rice.

辣椒虾婆　Chilli crayfish

HungryCow and I both didn’t like the strong taste of belachan in the chilli gravy, but the crayfish flesh was sweet, juicy, and cooked just to the right timing.

黑椒螃蟹　Black pepper crab

A signature dish, the black pepper crab here is different from the usual version using cracked whole peppercorns. Instead, a smooth sauce of ground pepper, sugar, salt, and dark soy sauce is used to coat the crab.

辣椒螃蟹　Chilli crab

The chilli crab also has a unique touch. Finely chopped peanut is sparsely mixed into the tomato-y gravy, so you get an extra nutty bite that’s not obvious unless you notice. Mini mantou, both steamed and deep-fried, were provided for mopping up the gravies.

Four lucky numbers!

Each crab at House of Seafood comes engraved with a unique four-digit number for those who wish to try their luck at the lottery!

辣大头　Chilli mussels

By the time the chilli mussels came, most of us were already stuffed, so this was mostly left untouched.

Longan and sea coconut

After all that rich and spicy food, the refreshing iced longan and sea coconut was much welcomed, even though it was just canned fruit.

Perhaps I prefer seafood cooked in lighter styles, I thought tonight’s food was smothered in too much spices and grease. It was also quite a waste for all that fresh seafood to be covered in heavy sauces. Steaming would allow one to better taste the natural sweetness and freshness of seafood. All this talk of seafood just reminds me of our fabulous dinner at Ming Kee just a month ago!

Snapshots of a crabby dinner!

Besides two food bloggers, there were 4 invited guests who formed the rest of the tasting panel.

"Can I tell you how cute you are?"

Our interviews were recorded in Mandarin, and will be aired this coming Wednesday. Because my Chinese is kinda rusty, it was a struggle not to get tongue-tied!

Being DJs of a Chinese radio station, it goes without saying that our DJ hosts are fluent in Mandarin, but I was surprised that they also speak and write English very well. And they’re both so gorgeous-looking! Young, talented and good-looking, *sigh* I’m so envious!

Peifen lights up the room with her radiance!

Do tune in to Y.E.S. 93.3FM on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 from 6pm to 7pm if you’d like to catch our interviews on radio!

A big thank you to House of Seafood @ 180 for generously sponsoring this dinner, and MediaCorp Y.E.S. 93.3FM and Pris Yap for the kind invitation.

House of Seafood @ 180
180 Yio Chu Kang Road (off Serangoon Gardens)
Singapore 545628
Tel: (65) 6282 7180
URL: www.houseofseafood.com.sg

It's gonna get messy...

This is priceless! Rick and I had a hoot taking this pic while waiting for our food to ermm, come.

Super Star with cheese.

Actually, this meal took place some time ago, so I can’t remember the prices. All I can remember is that hubby snuck out of the office for a quickie lunch date. He was hungry for meat and buns, heh!

Char-broiled Chicken Club Sandwich.

Among the various fast food chains, I must say that Carl’s Jr has the best burgers. But we don’t eat there often as it’s pricey. Fast food isn’t that healthy either. So we only indulge once in a while!

Onion rings and fries.

Their thick-cut fries and onion rings are pretty satisfying as well. The crumbs for the onion rings could be lighter, but look, there’s real onion! It sure beats Burger King’s onion rings!

Click here for the listing of Carl’s Jr. outlets in Singapore.

Durian puffs, S$4.20.

This was a random pit stop in the midst of aimless wandering at AMK Hub. I wasn’t hungry, and planned only to have mango sago pomelo, but the cute waiter convinced me to order a dimsum item to go with it.

Molten durian filling.

The fried durian puffs turned out to be surprisingly good. Although the filling wasn’t pure durian pulp—it’s probably a mixture of durian and custard—it had sufficient durian flavor and scent. Served piping hot, the molten filling was lusciously smooth.

Thin, light, and very crisp, the grease-free pastry shell was impressive too. I ended up enjoying this more than my original order of mango sago pomelo.

Mango sago pomelo, S$3.80.

It’s not the best mango sago pomelo I’ve had, but neither was it the worst. The mango wasn’t sweet enough, but to be fair, mangoes aren’t at their best now because they’re not in season. Also, I was expecting to see more mango, and cut in chunkier cubes.

My gold standard for mango sago pomelo is still Mei Heong Yuen. So far, none I’ve tried has surpassed their version.

Surprisingly, Sweet Spring is opened by the management of Fish & Co. Hmm, Chinese sweet soups 糖水 is quite a departure from fish and chips, yeah?

I couldn’t linger for long, but Sweet Spring’s a casual, pleasant joint for catching up over desserts. I saw other tables having the homemade beancurd that comes in a quaint wooden tub, presumably one of their signature desserts. On the menu, there’s also the usual Chinese sweet soups, snow ice desserts, and a limited dimsum selection for nibbles.

Spring is sweet, indeed.

Sweet Spring
#02-19 to 21, AMK Hub (next to Ang Mo Kio MRT)
53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3
Singapore 569933
Tel: (65) 6753 9856

Weekdays: 11am – 10pm
Weekends: 10am – 10pm

Traditional Cantonese-style baked mooncakes

I knew that Kia Hiang has a long history, but never knew that they were the first to introduce durian mooncake. Or so they claim. They also claim to be the innovator of bak-kwa 肉干 (barbequed pork jerky) mooncake, which I’ve reviewed for inSing.com as one of 5 innovative mooncakes of 2009. This post will explore the rest of the Kia Hiang’s mooncake offerings for 2009.

Baked mini mooncakes

There’s a wide variety of baked mooncakes to choose from. For the traditional Cantonese-style mooncakes, they are available in both large (plain, single yolk, or double yolk) and mini sizes. The walnut mooncakes (those with shortcrust pastry) are available only mini sized.

Low sugar white lotus with single yolk (large) - S$22 for 2pcs; $41 for 4pcs.

Alright, I’m not going to post a pic of each kind of lotus paste mooncake, since they look the same, mini or large. But they all share the same traits — super thin skin, fresh salted egg yolk, crunchy melon seeds, and lotus paste that’s not too sweet.

Orange lotus paste with walnut & yolk - S$24 for 6pcs; $34 for 9pcs.

To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of the Cantonese-style mooncake with its rich, chewy crust. Maybe that’s why I prefer the shortcrust pastry mooncake. Its lighter, crisp crust makes it a nice change. The citrus fragrance in the lotus paste is a lovely touch, and gives a refreshing edge to the otherwise sweet and heavy lotus paste.

For snowskin mooncakes, there are four flavors this year.

Green tea lotus paste in snowskin - S$24 for 6pcs; S$34 for 9pcs.

Now, I don’t usually like green tea in mooncakes, but fortunately, there’s no overpowering taste of matcha here. In fact, there’s a very delicate scent of jasmine in the paste. It’s also not too sweet, and the melon seeds provide a nice crunch. I’m a convert!

Blueberry and cheese in snowskin - S$25 for 6pcs; S$36 for 9pcs.

This was creamy, slightly sweet and tangy. Taste-wise, it was ok, but didn’t exactly make me go crazy.

Chocolate with rum & raisin - S$28 for 6pcs; S$40 for 9pcs.

But I did go gaga over the chocolate with rum and raisin! The bittersweet, dark chocolate filling is to die for! The only thing I didn’t like as much is the snowskin.

Fresh durian in snowskin - S$28 for 6pcs; S$40 for 9 pcs.

Sorry, this pic doesn’t really do justice to the snowskin. The durian mooncake had to be frozen, and after defrosting, the skin got limp and soggy. But durian lovers will love the pure durian pulp filling! Hubby and I were fighting over the last durian mooncake. It truly is divine! Like the chocolate, we enjoyed the filling more than the skin.

Click here for the full listing and prices of Kia Hiang’s mooncakes 2009.

If you haven’t bought your mooncakes this year, do hurry as Mid-Autumn Festival is just a week away! This year, it falls on Sunday, October 3 (15th day of the 8th lunar month).

Check out Camemberu and Sparklette‘s reviews on Kia Hiang mooncakes.

Thank you to Kia Hiang Restaurant and Pearlyn for the generous mooncake samples.

Kia Hiang Restaurant
201 Kim Tian Road
#01-400 (junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Kim Tian Road)
Singapore 160201
Tel: (65) 6273 7353, 6272 008
URL: www.kiahiang.com.sg

Kia Hiang mooncakes are also available at these locations:
- Century Square, level 1 main lobby
- Takashimaya Square, B2
- Bugis Junction
- Raffles City, level 3
- VivoCity, facing Tangs
- Chevron House (Change Alley)
- Raffles XChange

Hi everyone! Sorry if this blog has been neglected for the past week. I’ll be back with updates soon!

This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on October 3, which is just 10 days away from today. Have you bought your mooncakes yet? Tired of the usual flavors? How about trying out something different? The latest Tried & Tested article on inSing.com highlights 5 exciting mooncake flavors. Click here to read the full story.

Save the airfare to Penang and come here instead!

Sounds luxurious? The reality: Buffet was hawker fare, and the shopping was just wistful browsing. “Ooh, look! So gorgeous! Wah, so ex!”

We are, after all, merely HDB tai-tais. Still, it was fun!

Back to the food, which is the main reason for the outing. Ever since my Penang trip, I’d been unable to forget the delicious street food. Besides, I’d been wanting to try York Hotel’s legendary Penang hawkers’ buffet. Ongoing since 1986, the hotel flies in hawkers from Penang 3 times a year (in March, September, and December) for this theme buffet.

Compared to usual hotel buffets, this one has considerably less variety. The focus is on hawker food. Each dish is prepared a la minute at live stations. The whole set-up is like a food court!

Lor bak (fried meat roll)

Let’s start with my favorite item of the spread. Lor bak = Singapore’s ngoh hiang. Served with other deep-fried items like prawn fritters, beancurd, battered taro and sweet potato.

The batter was very light and crispy, and nearly grease-free. Even the prawn shell was crispy enough to be devoured. This was really addictive!

Hokkien mee (prawn noodles)

Penang Hokkien mee = Singapore prawn mee. The prawn and pork broth was flavorful and tasty, and the pork ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender. But why did they use such small prawns? Crunchy they were, but not particularly sweet.

Koay teow thng (fish ball noodle soup)

Not a terribly exciting dish, but this was well-executed. The soup was very clear, and tasty but light at the same time. The dry-tossed version is also available.

Assam laksa

I actually enjoyed this version more than the one I had in Penang, probably because the broth here is less fishy and sour. I liked the balance of sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors. Very appetizing!

From left: Ban chang kueh (peanut pancake) & apom balik

Another “hot” stall was the pancake station. The apom balik is a new addition. There’s a small piece of banana hidden in the fold of the soft pancake. We were pleasantly surprised by coconut shreds in the batter, which gave the pancake a wonderful fragrance and texture. The apom balik was so popular that there was no more when we went back for seconds!

The peanut pancake was just as more-ish! Filled with crushed peanut and sugar, the wafer-thin pancake was very light and crispy. There’s a slight drizzle of melted Planta margarine inside, which gave a subtle kick!

Penang fried koay teow

Without doubt Penang’s most famous dish, the fried koay teow station had the longest queue! According to Camemberu who did the queueing, there were two chefs, each frying a wok of koay teow. One is the master and the other is the disciple. She got a plate from each of them.

The difference in taste was heaven and earth! The disciple’s version tasted flat, and the noodles were broken and looked unappetizing. But the master’s fried koay teow was full of wok breath, and the flavors were robust and complex. So now you know whose koay teow you should queue for!

Fried oyster

Penang fried oyster egg is more “wet” in style. I’m not crazy about oysters, so this was just ok for me. The eggs were very tasty.

Penang rojak

Penang rojak is fruit-based. The thick hae ko (shrimp paste) was delicious, but I’d have preferred it to be more piquant.

Ju her eng chye 鱿鱼蕹菜 (cuttlefish & water spinach)

Ok, I’m not a fan of ju her eng chye, so no comments.

Cendol & ice kachang (background)

The cendol was sorely disappointing! I was so looking forward to it, but it isn’t authentic. The green bean jelly isn’t the soft, pale green type, and there’s no distinctive gula Melaka taste. Even the ice kachang was lacklustre. I really miss the awesome cendol we had in Penang.

So, did this satisfy the Penang food craving? Well, I was very happy up to the point of the cendol, which shaved many points off the overall grade! I was also hoping to see more items, like satay, curry mee, or even curry chee cheong fun, but no such luck. Some might say 30 bucks is too much to pay for hawker fare, but hey, it’s still cheaper than the price of a plane ticket to Penang!

The buffet also includes free-flow bandung (rose syrup and milk drink).

Penang Hawkers’ Fare (4 to 20 September 2009)
White Rose Cafe, York Hotel Singapore
21 Mount Elizabeth
Singapore 228516
Tel: (65) 6737 0511

Lunch: 12 noon – 2:30pm
Dinner: 6:30pm – 10pm
Price: S$25.80++ (adult), S$18.80++ (child below 12 years)
No table reservations.

Teriyaki chicken, S$5.50.

This was Rick’s choice when we were lunching at Old Airport Road Food Centre. He was browsing the stalls when one of the signboards caught his attention: Holy Grill.

Holy smokes, what a witty name! Amused, he ordered the teriyaki chicken.

Morale of story: Use a catchy and memorable name for your business to stand out from the crowd!

I stole some of his food to sample. Mmm…Hallelujah! Although the boneless chicken leg was grilled till crisp and slightly charred, the meat was very succulent. The teriyaki sauce was just right; not too sweet and not too starchy.

You can also pick your own side dishes. There’s both fresh and hot selections, like pasta salad, house salad, baked potato, mashed potato, corn, rice, etc.

Hubby picked coleslaw and potato salad. Both tasted fantastic! Ingredients were super fresh, and the seasoning faultless. We were very impressed.

Other items on the menu sound enticing too: NZ prime sirloin, pork chop (from France!), Australian lamb chop loin, grilled salmon, hickory BBQ chicken, and more!

If Old Airport Road weren’t so far from our home, we’d definitely be back soon to check out the rest of the menu!

The holy grail of grill?

Holy Grill Authentic Western Cuisine
51 Old Airport Road Food Centre
#01-27
Singapore 390051
Tel: 9009 7762 (Johnny Quek), 9009 7763 (Grace Wee)

Mon-Sat: 12pm – 9.30pm
Sun: 2pm – 9.30pm
Closed on Thursdays

Takoyaki (fried octopus balls), 6 for S$4.80

On the same night we had dinner at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, I joined the queue for the much-hyped takoyaki from Tsukiji Gindaco at ION Orchard’s B4 food hall.

Verdict: Miles better than Takopachi over at Takashimaya! There’s a nice-sized chunk of octopus in each ball, and the beni shoga (red pickled ginger), tenkasu (crunchy flour bits), leeks, and katsuobushi (fish shavings) are of much better quality.

The best part was the crispy, browned exterior. They achieved this by pouring a final round of oil onto the hot iron pans to further brown and crisp up the cooked flour balls. Sweet…!

Left: Pre-battered balls; Right: Ready to be served!

While it was delectable, it wasn’t quite as mindblowing as I’d expected. Hmm, maybe my expectations were too high? But a friend who’s tried the real deal in Japan told me that while it’s better than what’s currently available elsewhere in Singapore, it still falls short of the original ones in Japan.

Oh well, I guess we can’t eat chicken rice in Russia and expect it to be as authentic as in Singapore. At least we now have something closer to the real deal.

Tsukiji Gindaco
#B4-64/65, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Open: 10am – 10pm daily