Tue 28th Feb, 2006, Food: Chinese

Seow Choon Hua Restaurant

Seow Choon Hua Restaurant
33 Sultan Gate
Singapore 198481

Ratings: 4.5/5.0

On the day where my trusty pink camera decided to fail me (or rather it was due to carelessness on my part for not switching it off after use thus resulting in a flat battery), I ended up flipping open my pink cell phone to do a bit of photo taking. As I’ve only just gotten my new cell phone, I was actually fumbling with its function while taking these photos. Therefore, the photos turned out to be really blurred this time round.

Talking about cell phones, my old Samsung phone had actually kaput in less than a month after the end of its warranty period. The repair cost was estimated to be more than a hundred dollars. I had to get a new phone in the end.

Seow Choon Hua restaurant is located at Sultan Gate, an Arab area in Singapore. While I was on my way there for my lunch, aromatic whiffs of Nasi Padang greeted me from the numerous Muslim stalls. I was so tempted to just ditch my intended lunch location and settle for some nice curry instead.

Thankfully, I didn’t. Despite being located in an Arab area, Seow Choon Hua sells really great Fuzhou cuisine. Lunch there was really memorable and I have definitely labelled the place as one of my favourite eating places in Singapore!


红糟鸡面线 - Red Wine Chicken Thread Noodles

It is rare to find Red Wine Chicken Thread Noodles in Singapore and what’s more, a really delicious bowl of thread noodles.

When I had my first mouthful of the thread noodles, the first thought that came to my mind was, "This is really great." By the second mouthful, I was hooked to this dish.

This dish is actually cooked with the red vinasse, the vinasse of the Shaohsing wine. Red vinasse was first discovered during the Song Dynasty in China and is a common ingredient in Chinese medicine and cuisine due to its numerous health benefits. According to research, it can help to reduce cholesterol and hypertension. Some of the beneficial substances it contains include Monacolin K, y-GABA, Glucosamine, and Lecithin.

The soup has a mixture of sweet and sour taste, thus making this dish especially appetising. Together with the soft and smooth thread noodles, this bowl of noodles is simply irresistible. However, this dish is best eaten hot, as a tinge of bitterness can be tasted after a while when the soup cools.

福州卤面 - Fu Zhou Lor Mee

Unlike the usual Lor Mee that we can find in most of the hawker stalls around Singapore, the Fuzhou Lor Mee that is sold at Seow Choon Hua is slightly different. Instead of the characteristic dark broth of the usual Lor Mee, the broth for this Lor Mee is actually clear. The ingredients in the Lor Mee are also unique. There are fried wantons, char siews, Fuzhou fishballs, and many other ingredients in the Lor Mee which I’ve forgotten what they are.

However, like all other Lor Mees, they are always best eaten with lots of vinegar added to it!

I have grown up eating and loving the Lor Mee with the dark broth. Being so accustomed to the taste of that type of Lor Mee, there is definitely a personal taste bias involed when I eat the Fu Zhou Lor Mee. In comparison, the Fu Zhou Lor Mee has a milder taste. Nevertheless, it is definitely very delectable.

To side track for a while, this place is actually famous for its tasty Fu Zhou Fishballs. The difference between a Fu Zhou fishballs and a usual fishball is that in the middle of a Fu Zhou fishball, there is actually a piece of minced pork in it, unlike the usual fishballs. Despite being very soft, the Fu Zhou fishballs there are also very chewy.


福州算盘子- Fu Zhou Yam Abacus

The Fu Zhou Yam Abacus is also another unique dish sold at Seow Choon Hua Restaurant. Compared to the Yam Abacus sold at Shunfu Road, the Fu Zhou Yam Abacus is definitely less oily. I don’t really like yam abacus a lot personally, but I got to say they taste fine at Seow Choon Hua.

Btw, if anyone happens to know which is the best Nasi Padang stall in that area, please drop me a comment and I’ll visit the place the next time I’m in that area!

Fri 24th Feb, 2006, Food: Singaporean

Good Chance Popiah

Good Chance Popiah
Blk 149, Silat Avenue, #01-58
Singapore 160149

Ratings: 4.0/5.0

Dine & Dish No. 6 - Amazing Graze - A food blogging event


My first attempt in making my own popiah

Popiah is believed to have originated in China during the Qing Dynasty and was usually eaten during spring when there was a surplus of vegetables in the market. After being given a localised flavour, it is now a common snack in Singapore and Malaysia.

Popiah is made up of a variety of ingredients wrapped in spring roll skin. It is similar to the fried spring roll, though a major difference in both dishes is that the popiah is not fried, unlike the fried spring roll.


The ingredients for the popiah comes separately

A good popiah is usually packed tightly and full, thus one factor in determining how delicious the popiah is will be dependent on the skill of the popiah-maker. This is to ensure that the popiah will not disintegrate when it is being picked up for eating. Secondly, it is also to ensure that all the different ingredients are evenly spread out throughout the popiah since a popiah is usually sliced into many smaller pieces so that it can be shared among the people.

I never got to try how good the skill of the chef at Good Chance Popiah is as the ingredients and the spring roll skin are being served separately at the restaurant. This is to allow the diners to have a chance to wrap their own popiah and also at the same time, allow the diners to decide how much ingredients they want inside each popiah.

Personally, I feel that Good Chance Popiah is an ideal place for gatherings among friends and family, where friends can learn how to wrap popiahs from each other while engaging in a friendly banter or harmless teasing on how good or bad the popiahs have turned out to be. It can also be a good place for couples, even though there is a lack in romantic atmosphere at the restaurant. Making your own popiah can be a nice change from the usual mundane dinner dates. In some sense, it’s a chance for the lady to “showcase” her domestic ability by making popiah for her guy (drawing some inferences from the not-so-secret criteria of Singaporean guys who want their significant others to peel the prawn shells for them).

Peeling prawn shells for the guy is something I will never do (It is actually more gentlemanly for the guy to do that for the gal, since it isn’t nice for a lady to get her fingers dirty *innocent smile*), but I will attempt to do an amateur step-by-step guide on how to wrap a popiah:

more…

Sun 12th Feb, 2006, Food: Japanese

Tonkichi

Tonkichi (Isetan)
Shaw House
Level 4

Ratings: 4.0/5.0

I first tried Japanese food when I was very young, and surprisingly, it was also at a restaurant at Shaw House if I didn’t remember wrongly. Being “young and innocent” then, I think I ordered one of their cold noodles because it looked “exotic” from the menu. At that point in time, I hated the noodles tremendously because an overpowering taste had seemingly spread from my tongue to my nose the moment I tasted the noodles and I didn’t like that suffocating feeling. That instance, I told myself never to try Japanese cuisine ever again.

The next time I tried Japanese cuisine was when the craze of conveyor belt sushi hit Singapore for the first time some years back, and many of the authentic Japanese cuisine was given a more localised flavour. From then on, Japanese cuisine has made its way up to one of my favourite cuisine ever (but nothing can ever replace the position that Thai cuisine has on my list), and I’ll get “withdrawal symptoms” if I do not have my fix of tempuras or teriyaki chicken occasionally. Then again, just don’t make me taste wasabi or any of the raw Japanese food because I don’t think I can ever stomach those.

I don’t think I can ever do any justice to this entry on “Tonkichi”. From the moment we entered the restaurant to paying the bills, the entire “process” took only half an hour, as we had a movie to catch in 20 minutes time. Luckily, the service was brisk as the place wasn’t really crowded then, thus we were only 15 minutes late for the movie. Despite the rush, I had enjoyed my meal at “Tonkichi” tremendously and also loved the atmosphere and the service at the restaurant. It’s definitely a restaurant that I’ll visit again given the chance.


Hiyashi Ramen - the main course that I’ve ordered for myself.

I ordered Hiyashi Ramen, or cold Ramen for myself. One reason why I love Japanese food is because of the healthier alternatives it offers. The ingredients that accompanied the ramen were mainly cucumber, eggs, carrots, seaweeds, steamed chicken, and jellyfish (maybe the only not-so healthy ingredient there), thus it makes a very balanced and healthy meal. The sauce for the ramen comes in a separate bowl thus you can determine the taste that you prefer for your ramen.

I was actually thinking of the Fish and Chips that I had for lunch earlier that day and also the calorie-laden “TCC” meal I had over the weekends that consisted of coffee and ice-cream, appetizers and macaroni when I was ordering, thus I decided to have some healthier choice for that day. But, considering the side dishes that were ordered too, maybe my dinner didn’t turn out to be as healthy as I hope it will be.

The rest of the food that was ordered more…

Tue 7th Feb, 2006, Food: Singaporean

Jia Ji Mei Shi

“佳记美食” - Jia Ji Mei Shi
#02-161
Chinatown Complex

Ratings: 4.0/5.0

Very often, I find myself running out of words to describe a food that I’ve just tasted. Many times, the only word that I can think of to describe the food is “delicious”, or that the food just “taste exactly how it should taste”, or just “simply marvellous”.

Maybe I lack the vocabulary depth that will allow me to better describe these foods. Perhaps another reason is because I personally feel that eating a food sometimes feels like falling in love. The food just tastes right, feels right, and I just love it. Yet, there is no special reason attached to it. As a result, I occasionally find myself in a loss for words when I was trying to describe that taste of the food or that special flavour that has just oozed through my taste buds.

I guess every food emits its own unique flavour and there is just not enough words in the dictionary to describe every taste, smell, and texture. The only way to know it is to taste the food yourself.

That’s what I exactly feel about the food sold at “佳记美食”.

What the stall sells are simple hawker fare that most of us have taken for granted, for example the fried noodles that we usually “da bao” (take away) to the office for breakfast. It is these simple hawker fare which I feel that I’m really at a loss on how to describe them because I’ve never thought or wonder how should I ever describe their taste. They are no gastronomical experience, yet they’re food that makes your breakfast, lunch or supper (as in my case) tastes a lot better.

I had my supper there after shopping at the CNY street market at Chinatown. “佳记美食” is one of my mum’s favourite stall around Chinatown and she often patronises it whenever she’s in the area.

I personally feel that this stall at Chinatown complex sells one of the tastiest Chee Cheong Fan in Chinatown. The texture of the Chee Cheong Fan is smooth and the sauce complements the dish perfectly.

Another dish to try at the stall is the fried noodles and beehoon. My deepest impression of the fried noodles is that it’s very springy, which is also the best part of the noodles. Besides that, it is also not very oily and yes, it just tastes like how I feel fried noodles should taste. =P

Thus, I can only end off this entry by saying, order takeaway at this stall if you happen to work or live around the area, or have a snack at the stall if you happen to be around Chinatown. They’re simple hawker fare that’ll brighten up your meal unknowingly. Simple hawker fare that probably most of the time we never really bothers about.