YES 933FM DJs Jiafa & Weibin

Built to re-create the charming ambience of an ethnic kampong (village), Ulu Ulu Safari Restaurant offers a wide culinary selection, from local cuisine like satay, laksa, and chili crab, to international favorites. There’s even an Indian-themed buffet after 8.45pm daily.

The Chief's Room

For this tasting session, we were hosted in The Chief’s Room, which is available for private bookings and can comfortably seat up to 16 people.

Antique radio!

See how the nostalgic theme extends to this tastefully-decorated room, adorned with specially-sourced artifacts like this antique radio.

A special degustation menu was put together for us to sample various Ulu Ulu signature dishes.

Ulu Ulu Satay with Condiments & Peanut Sauce

The satay was simply out of this world! All of us were raving over the gorgeously-marinated chicken and lamb satay. That has to be the best lamb satay I’ve ever tried. So tender and no gamey smell at all!

Even more unforgettable was the peanut gravy. It was so fragrant, smooth and chunky at the same time. We were asking if the peanut gravy was available in bottles. We wanted to buy some home!

Ulu Ulu BBQ Chicken Wing with Special Chilli Sauce

The BBQ chicken wings were also perfectly executed. The skin was lightly sweet and evenly crispy. Squeeze some lime and dip into the zingy chilli sauce. Yummy!

The chilli sauce –which is similar to the one for Hainanese chicken rice– was very shiok!

The ala carte version

This is the usual presentation if you order the ala carte BBQ chicken wing at the restaurant.

Trio Meats served with Fragrant Chicken Rice / Prawn Dumpling Soup

Ulu Ulu also serves international fare like Cantonese-style roast meats and Hong Kong-style shrimp wantons. This was our sampling portion.

Roast duck rice set (ala carte version)

The actual set looks like this.

Indian Fish Tikka with Garlic Naan Bread

Ulu Ulu has a native Indian chef who oversees the North Indian menu. They even have a proper tandoor oven.

Unlike most tikka meats we’ve tried, this fish tikka was relatively soft and moist. The garlic naan was also very nice! That green dip is probably a blend of green herbs, while the orange dip is curry.

Ulu Ulu Chilli Crab with Mantou

This is the ala carte serving for chilli crab. Such a huge platter!

Everyone got very crabby!

See how excited everyone was over the chilli crab. It’s one of Singapore national dishes, no wonder we’re so passionate about it!

Chilli crab - degustation style

Thankfully, for people like me who are too lazy to peel crab, our individual portions came with two peeled claws each.

Weibin can't wait to dig in!

The accompanying fried mantou was really scrumptious. It was crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy inside, and amazingly non-greasy. Perfect for dunking into the crabbi-licious gravy!

Ice Kachang in Sampler Cup

A refreshing cup of sweet ice kachang rounded off our magnificent feast.

Special dessert for Halloween

Wait! The chef says he has a surprise for us!

It’s a dessert specially created for this year’s Halloween menu. We’re so privileged to have a preview of this cheeky dessert — a “coffin” and “bone” in a pool of “blood”.

Sounds scary? That’s just chocolate hazelnut cake and meringue cookie in raspberry sauce!

Chef Liew Kok Hian with DJ Lin Peifen

Here’s the hero behind tonight’s wonderful dinner — Chef Liew Kok Hian with special guest YES 93.3FM DJ Lin Peifen.

The lucky winners of last week's contest

Of course, other guests included four lucky winners from last week’s contest.

"Tell me, what's your relationship with Mr Messy?"

Here’s Jiafa and Weibin interviewing them for this week’s radio segment.

"He is my.......uncle! Really!"

After dinner, we were treated to a tram ride around the Night Safari. We saw lions, hyenas (!!!), capybaras (really huge rodents!), Malayan tapirs, and many more animals. Some free-ranging animals walked up to our tram. They were so close we could touch them, but of course we weren’t allowed to.

We also saw Chawang the elephant, who came to greet us! He’s so majestic!

It’s a totally different experience being at the zoo at night. Somehow, the darkness adds a sense of mystery and heightens one’s senses. Amazingly, the animals are rather active at night!

To hear more of what we have to say about our dinner and tram ride at the Singapore Night Safari, tune in to Y.E.S. 93.3FM‘s 综合娱乐城 on Wednesday, 12 May 2010 from 6pm to 7pm!

A BIG thank you to Jennifer, Liang Min, Chef Liew, and staff of the Singapore Night Safari for your gracious hospitality!

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

The Peranakan dishes on bain marie section.

82-year-old Baba Jolly Wee, a renowned Peranakan cooking expert, was specially invited to helm Spices Cafe for this authentic and traditional Peranakan spread.

From left: Beef rendang, sambal sotong, ayam buah keluak, sambal ikan tenggiri, babi assam.

I’m not an authority on Peranakan food, having tried it at most 5 times in my entire lifetime. With the exception of the tenggiri (mackerel) which was a tad overcooked, I enjoyed all the items above. The sotong wasn’t rubbery, and all the meats were fragrant and tender. The flavors and spices were nicely balanced too.

Nyonya rojak and otah

The appetizing rojak and spicy otah was great for perking up the tastebuds in between courses! There’s a live rojak station, and otah is also freshly grilled. Nyonya rojak is slightly different as there’s no you tiao or tau pok. It’s distinctly more refreshing with more use of fruit like jambu (rose apple).

Duck noodle soup

Although the focus is on Peranakan dishes, there are also other local Singapore dishes available, like this Teochew duck noodle soup. Prepared at a live station, yellow Hokkien noodles, kway teow, and bee hoon are available.

Hungry Cow was also there, and we both LOVED this! Slurped up every bit of that hearty broth! It was deliciously flavorful and didn’t have an overpowering herbal taste. They were very generous with the tender braised duck too!

Loh kai yik and lontong

Baba Jolly Wee told us that he wants to introduce the younger generation to foods that he ate in his younger days which are no longer available now. One of them is loh kai yik — a brownish-pink stew of chicken wings braised in nam yu (fermented tofu). He told us that many years ago, he and his parents would eagerly await a hawker who would peddle loh kai yik door-to-door. The hawker would carry a big pot on a charcoal stove in bamboo baskets, and then set them down and start cooking when residents came out to order.

What an interesting anecdote! This was really exciting for me cos I’ve never tasted loh kai yik before. The gravy stew itself is sweetish and slightly savoury. Chicken wings, pork belly, and chicken liver give depth to the gravy. There’s also kangkong and taupok for extra texture. Mmm…yummy! Why don’t people make or sell this anymore?

Chilli crab and chicken satay

Other “hot” items are the chilli crab and chicken satay. We had to go back a few times before we finally got our hands on this plate! The crab is alright; but the satay is really addictive. Tender, juicy chicken leg is used, and the marinade had thoroughly penetrated the meat. The peanut gravy was just right – sufficiently flavorful and chunky. There’s supposed to be grated pineapple for the peanut gravy – a signature touch for Nyonya satay – but there was no more. *sad*

Nyonya kueh and pastries

Maybe I have more of a savoury rather than a sweet tooth, but I was more impressed with the mains rather than desserts. Or maybe I was just too full to appreciate them. On this plate, starting clockwise from 12 o’clock: sago with gula melaka and coconut cream; durian puff; kueh lapis; kueh dadar (the skin is strawberry flavored); apong (pancakes with banana sauce); and center, pandan-flavored pancake (sorry I didn’t get the proper name).

There were other dishes I didn’t try or photograph, like cabbage rolls, baby octopus (starter), stir-fried beef slices, pork chop (nice and crispy), macaroni soup, sambal stingray, fried sesame balls, bubur terigu, and fresh fruit. See my Flickr set for more photos.

The buffet is a modest spread, but I think for a weekday lunch, it’s more than sufficient. Prices are pocket-friendly too. Most of all, I think it’s a great introduction for those of us unfamiliar with Peranakan cuisine.

There’s actually many more items on the Peranakan menu, but only a few are highlighted each day. Dishes are rotated weekly every Tuesday. Should I return next week to try the pineapple prawns, tauyu bak (braised soy sauce pork), sayur nangka masak lemak (young jackfruit in spicy coconut milk), and itek tim (duck in salted vegetable soup)? What a tempting thought!

Many thanks to Evelyn of Concorde Hotel for the invitation and hospitality, and Baba Jolly and Rosemary for sharing their interesting stories on Peranakan history and food.

Singapore Flavors Lunch Buffet: Focus on Peranakan dishes (July & August 2009)
Spices Cafe (Lobby Level 3)
Mondays to Fridays, 12 noon to 2:30pm
$25++ per adult, $12.50++ per child (3-12 years old), $19.65++ per senior citizen (above 55 years old)
Tel: (65) 6733 8855 ext. 8133

Concorde Hotel Singapore
100 Orchard Road
Singapore 238840
Tel: (65) 6733 8855
URL: www.concordehotel.com.sg

Note: Since October 2008, Le Meridien Hotel in Orchard Road has been rebranded Concorde Hotel. Cafe Georges has also been renovated and renamed Spices Cafe.

Both media and food bloggers were invited for food tasting sessions prior to the launch. Besides being a preview, it was also a feedback session. Hence, some dishes may be fine-tuned; taste and presentation may differ slightly from what you see here.

Black pepper Sri Lankan crab

As it was a private tasting session, dishes were presented ala carte. Let’s start with an all-time Singaporean favorite: black pepper crab!

Actually, crab done black pepper-style has never been a favorite of mine. Most versions I’ve tried tend to go overboard on the black pepper. But Ellenborough Market Cafe’s version has won me over! The zingy black pepper packs a pleasant punch that doesn’t overpower the sweetness of the crabmeat, and you can taste other flavors in the seasonings as well.

Sri Lankan chilli crab

Another classic — chilli crab! Again, I was impressed with the chilli gravy. It’s not too spicy, but I like! Sweet, spicy, savoury — the different flavors harmonized to create a balanced and pleasing result. Very shiok!

Deep-fried mini mantou (Chinese bun)

Here’s the perfect sponge to mop up that thick, scrumptious chilli crab gravy! They used to serve full-sized mantou, but now, these mini ones are served instead because previous customers indicated their preference for smaller buns.

Nyonya curry crab

On to the Nyonya curry crab! For this dish, instead of Sri Lanka crabs, the sweet, delicate flower crab is used as it’s better suited to the spices of the curry gravy. Again, another winner!

Fragrant Thai sauce crab

Of the four, my personal favorite is the Thai sauce crab. There’s a certain allure about this aromatic sauce that I just can’t quite describe. Sweet, tangy, spicy, and redolent of herbs and spices…mmm, there’s a complexity about it that’s simply intriguing.

Salad of Hokkaido crabmeat with apple & walnut

Actually, we started our session with this refreshing salad. This was presented individually. We were told that the original plan is to serve this in a big bowl for diners to help themselves to at the buffet. But all the bloggers commented that perhaps a better alternative would be to portion the salad out into small portions, like in shooters or Chinese spoons.

Crab risotto

There was also crab risotto, but after the spicy crabs, I couldn’t make out the flavors in it! So here’s a useful tip. At the buffet, try the risotto first before attacking the spicy crabs!

On top of the crab items, there’s a spread of both local and international fare normally available at the Ellenborough Market Cafe buffet. But do note, the crab buffet is available only for dinner.

Bubur chacha

We also got to help ourselves to the dessert spread at the buffet. There’s chocolate fountain, cakes and pastries. But Ellenborough Market Cafe is renowned for its Straits Chinese, or Peranakan cuisine. That’s because the Peranakan section is helmed by the famous Nyonya chef Shirley Tay.

Kueh dadar

Just like a traditional Peranakan matriarch who doesn’t believe in shortcuts to cooking, Chef Shirley Tay insists that the kueh dadar has to be freshly made at a live station. In fact, you can see her personally making the kueh dadar, unless it’s her day off. That’s true Nyonya dedication for you!

This has got to be the softest kueh dadar I’ve ever tried. What a BIG difference from store-bought ones!

Durian cheesecake

This isn’t your usual New York cheesecake. It’s infused with durian! Don’t worry, the durian taste is actually very subtle. I didn’t expect cheese and durian to go together, but the light cheesecake with a faint durian scent turned out better than I expected.

Durian pengat

Saving the best for last, here’s Market Cafe’s legendary durian pengat! It’s creamy and rich, but light as air so that you can go for seconds. It’s mindblowingly divine!

Unlimited crab and durian pengat, this must be a Singaporean foodie’s fantasy come true! Just these two are enough to entice me to try out the buffet.

Many thanks to Sok Hoon and Yvonne for their invitation and gracious hospitality!

Ultimate Crab Buffet Dinner
25 June to 12 July 2009
Adult S$46++, Child S$23++
Enquiries: 6239 1848

Ellenborough Market Cafe
Swissotel Merchant Court
20 Merchant Road
Singapore 058281

Achar and fried anchovies

At Palm Beach, there’s no view of palms or the beach. In fact, if dining indoors, there’s not even the view of the marina because of renovation works going on. But if you dine al fresco, you can still enjoy watching the Merlion spew water into the bay.

Crispy fried anchovies with sweet chilli sauce

As soon as we were seated, the wait staff plonked dishes of achar and fried anchovies on the lazy susan. Mind you, these pickles aren’t a gesture of goodwill. Unlike the complimentary bread basket, Chinese restaurants here in Singapore have this arbitrary practice of charging you for pickles and wet towels that you didn’t ask for! I’m sure these added at least S$10 to the bill!

Crispy crullers

Unluckily for me, I was nursing a bad throat infection, and so couldn’t eat much.

But I couldn’t resist eating just one Crispy Cruller (deep-fried food is a no-no for sore throat)! It was fabulous! Popularly known as sotong you tiao, the fat doughstick was stuffed with lots of minced squid. The you tiao was soft and chewy (in a nice way) and the squid was juicy and bouncy.

Yums! Pity I had to stop at one.

Golden Almond Prawns

I also had just one prawn, which looked more spectacular than it tasted. Those crispy, golden bits were quite fragrant, but I thought using larger prawns would have worked better here.

Chicken Wafer

This dish imitates the concept of Peking duck slices in crepes, but using thin, crispy pieces of chicken instead.

Chicken in crepe

Honestly, I couldn’t taste anything much. Quite disappointing.

Golden Tofu

This is a healthy steamed dish. The “golden” part comes from the salted egg yolk that’s stuffed in the centre of each tofu round, which is then topped with a single prawn. Mom-in-law gave me triple helpings, cos up till this point, I hadn’t eaten much.

Would have enjoyed this more if only the prawns weren’t slightly overcooked. Overall, just so-so.

Asparagus with Japanese Mushrooms

Ooh, one of my favs — asparagus! They did a superb job here. The asparagus was sweet, crunchy but tender to the bite. The shimeiji mushrooms were good too. But too bad for me they were rather spicy (another no-no), so I had to limit myself.

Seafood Fried Rice

Fried rice! Another fav of mine! I had a spoonful of this. Very good wok hei (wok breath), and moist but separate rice grains. Also very fragrant due to the fried shallots and garlic bits.

I wish I could have had the whole bowl, but I didn’t cos it’s quite heaty. Oh, of all days, why did this darn sore throat have to come?

Chilli Crab

Ta-dah! Here’s the world-famous Singapore Chilli Crab! You didn’t think we’d come to a seafood restaurant and not order crabs, did you?

This Sri Lankan crab was HUGE! The shell was bigger than my face!

JUMBO crab claw!

And the crab claw was double the size of my fist!

Sorry, can’t comment on the chilli gravy, but I did sample a little crab meat, and it was thick, succulent, firm, and sweet. Well, Palm Beach has built a reputation on its signature dish, so of course the crab had to be of top quality!

Deep-fried mantou

These soft, little sweet buns are perfect for mopping up the crab gravy, but they were lovely for snacking on their own, too.

Teochew Sweet Yam

Ricky’s warm dessert of mashed yam (taro) was topped with syrup, gingko nuts, and pumpkin. It was surprising very light, smooth, and not too sweet.

Longan Almond Jelly Sea Coconut

I hijacked the brother-in-law’s dessert just when he was about to attack it. He mustn’t have been too happy about that! Heh! This was nothing special, just your usual longan almond jelly plus some sea coconut. Looks refreshing, though.

Pomelo Fruit Drops

This was mine! Sounded so poetic but nothing special, really. Basically pomelo bits, some canned fruit dices, and colored sago pearls topped with shaved ice and syrup.

Lush fake foliage on the walls.

We enjoyed dinner very much. But the food here doesn’t come cheap. The brother-in-law insisted that this meal be on him, and refused to tell us the exact amount, but I’m estimating it’s around S$300 (there were 6 of us). The crab alone would have easily cost at least one hundred bucks.

Palm Beach is apparently quite popular with the business types on weekdays as Raffles Place is just across the road. The decor and crockery are definitely more posh than the East Coast seafood joints, and the wait staff more well-trained and polite too; my only complaint is that they neglected to top up our water glasses during the meal.

Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant
1 Fullerton Road
#01-08 One Fullerton
Singapore 049213
Tel: (65) 6423 0040
URL: http://www.palmbeachseafood.com

Appetizer platter.

Clockwise from left: sliced octopus; Teochew braised duck; jellied shark meat; and Japanese-style baby octopus (chuka iidako). Center: sugared cashew nuts.

The braised duck and jellied shark meat are traditionally Teochew, though jellied pork trotter is a more common sight. Light, refreshing flavors here, a nice change from the usual Cantonese appetizer platters.

Teochew cold crab.

Another classic Teochew dish, the freshness of the sweet crabmeat shines through here.

Prawns in abalone sauce.

Stunning in presentation, but short on taste. We thought the chef didn’t do justice to the sweet, fat prawns by splitting them open, deep-frying them, and then smothering them in thick gravy.

Crispy sugared yam/taro.

This is a very famous Teochew dessert, but you don’t often see it served in Teochew restaurants in Singapore. It’s a simple recipe, but the timing is notoriously difficult to master. I much prefer this to sticky oh nee (mashed sweetened yam/taro paste).

Crispy pumpkin pancake.

I went wild when I saw this on the menu. Tried this (also the apple pancake) when I was in Shantou, China, and fell in love with it. Basically, it’s finely shredded pumpkin coated with flour, then pressed into a flat pancake and fried till light and crispy. Don’t know when the sugar comes in, but this dessert isn’t too sweet. Very more-ish and totally addictive. I haven’t seen this anywhere else in Singapore, so if you come here, this is a must-try!

Located in an HDB estate in Bukit Batok (read: obscure), this restaurant is low in profile but scores for the freshness of its ingredients and light, clean flavors. For instance, the steamed red grouper (not pictured) was marvelous. The interior is simple but comfortable and air-conditioned. Prices are comparatively cheaper than the established Teochew restaurants in town.

Teochew Cuisine’s kitchen is helmed by a master chef from Guangzhou, China, who specializes in Teochew/Chaozhou cuisine. Indeed, the taste of the food was very similar to what I had when I visited the city of Chaozhou. A couple of the dishes were a bit of a hit-and-miss, but overall, the food was great.

Teochew Cuisine Restaurant
Blk 132 #01-300
Bukit Batok West Ave 6
Singapore 650132
Tel: (65) 6560 0050

cheers!