Claypot Bak Kut Teh in Geylang

The Leong Kee Bah Kut Teh, which came all the way from Klang, is located on Geylang Road and is one of the few Singapore places that serves its meat in a claypot. I decided to head down there to satisfy my Bah Kut Teh cravings after all my examinations are over.

There was a huge variety of food to choose from - almost every part of the pig is part of the menu and other than rice, there is other carbohydrates (like vermicelli or mee sue) that you can choose. Since I was alone, I decided to order the Bah Kut Teh and the salted vegetables.

For any Bah Kut Teh, the two most important components of this dish is the soup and the meat (anything else they put in there is secondary). The soup plays an integral role in blending all the taste of the ingredients that is placed inside - it gives the dish its character. It can be peppery or herbal in nature but its the other ingredients and the skills of the cook that gives each soup (and the dish) its unique character. For this Bah Kut Teh, there is an overwhelming "vegetable" taste within the soup. This is in no small part due to the Tau Kee that they put inside when boiling the soup. Usually there is a large portion of Tau Kee inside the soup but I told them not to include that in my portion. Other than the strong "vegetable" taste, this soup is not as herbal-tasting as its counterparts in Malaysia. It lacks the "strength" that other herbal-type Bah Kut Teh offers (maybe its the extra vegetables that affects the taste).

My Bah Kut Teh with vegetables swimming around

The second most important component of this dish is the meat (for obvious reasons). The meat is a huge positive in this dish. Firstly, the portions are generous. My pot had a hefty five chunks of meat and they weren't very small individually. The meat itself weren't hard and came off the bone easily. On top of that, they were very "meaty" meaning that it was 90% meat and just 10% bone. Bravo for the meat!

Good chunky meat

The salted vegetables was a disappointment. It was cooked with quite a bit of chili (spicy haters beware) and it really showed in the taste. Besides the spiciness, the dish was blend and cold when it came to me. This is not something that I am likely to try again.

Salted Vegetables

One other thing I have to mention is a little incident that I have with one of the stall's server. When my food came, I asked the server for a plate of dark soy sauce without the chili on top. The server simply pointed to the table with all the sauces and told me take it myself (he had dirtied my chopstick and still gave it to me like nothing happened). I was alone and had my valuables on the table so I wasn't willing to leave them unattended to get the sauce. It really ticked me off when he insisted I do it myself especially after I mentioned about my valuables. Luckily the uncle (who I think is the owner) stepped in offer to do it himself. I was very pleased and felt really appreciative when he stepped in and "saved the day". Personally, top-notched service like in a hotel or restaurant is definitely not expected, but simple tasks like this can easily make customers enjoy their experience there. Full marks to the owner for saving the day!

My table

Overall, this Bah Kut Teh is different from the usual peppery ones in Singapore and definitely worth a try. My slight dislike for the soup could possibly be down to the aversion for Tau Kee, so do not take my judgement as the entire story and try it yourself. The salted vegetable may be something that can be avoided. From my other visits, I would recommend the mixed organs soup and pigs trotters, both of each are pretty decent and worth a try.

Name: Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh
Address: 251 Geylang Road (Beside Geylang Lor 11)
Opening Hours: 11.15 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Cost: $ ($6.50 for Bah Kut Teh and Salted Vegetables)

Ratings
Food Quality: 65/100
Service: 55/100
Value for Money: 75/100
Overall: 65/100

Dessert at Serangoon Gardens

This small little dessert cafe Dessert Bowl is a good place to go after a full meal at Chomp Chomp in Serangoon Gardens. Its located at a quiet area opposite the Standard Charter Bank on the second floor. This place has very limited seating so try to avoid peak hours for desserts (i.e. after 9 p.m.) or be prepared to wait.

Yi Wan Tian Ping

When you make your way up to the dessert place, the first thing that hits you is the smell of durian. There is even a sign that warns you of the king of fruits is present. So Durian haters - You have been warned!  The decor of the cafe is simple and nice. You'll see miniature mock-up of different food stalls at the entrance which you can explore while waiting for your food. There are two comfortable sofa seats and the other seatings are simple wooden chairs neatly placed around the shop. It can be quite squeezy during peak period, especially with hordes of people waiting around for their table.

You have been warned

Mininature Shops for your enjoyment

Two Nice Comfy Sofa

The Rest of the Shop

Order Chit

Making an order is as simple as ABC - write down the code, hand it to the waitress and you're good to go. My family and I ordered three desserts - their signature Durian Mousse, Mango Pomelo Sago and Durian Crepe. The Durian Mousse is a must try in this place and its easy to understand why. Once the dish is at your table, you'll be overwhelmed by the aroma of durian. However, the taste itself is not so thick that it makes you sick of it after a few mouthful. There is also a bonus of actual durian meat right in the middle of the bowl that can be enjoyed together with the mousse. Its a little bit pricey at $5 a bowl but worth a try especially when you are in a group.

Durian Mousse with a chunk of actual Durian

Next up is the Mango Pomelo Sago. For those lovers of the desserts in Liang Seah Street, this dish here is comparable (and might even be better to some) to its counterparts there. It is a little less sweet than usual but it makes up for it with a richer and thicker than usual mango taste. The pomelo was surprisingly quite crunchy, giving a different texture to the whole dish. Everything blended well together and I'm quite I'll be back for more of this dish next time.

Mango Pomelo Sago

The last dish was the Durian Crepe, which was the least impressive among the three. I think its partially because I still had the rich and creamy Durian Mousse and the thick Mango Pomelo Sago taste in my mouth. The strong taste of the last two dishes was still lingering in my mouth and when I tried the crepe, it tasted very bland. The boring presentation of the food didn't really help its case other. However, I'll reserve my judgement for this dish until I have tried it on its own. Lesson learnt here: Eat food in the right sequence.

Durian Crepe

Overall this dessert cafe can easily rival the better dessert cafes on Liang Seah Street. It champions a rich flavor that many traditional chinese desserts fails to deliver. The portions are quite generous so consider sharing if you don't have a lot of space left in your stomach. The price is similar to those on Liang Seah Street ($4 - $6 per bowl) so its still pretty affordable even for students. So do give this dessert cafe a shot when you are around the area next time!









Name: Dessert Bowl
Address: 80A Serangoon Garden Way
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday - 12 p.m. till 10.30 p.m.
Friday to Sunday - 12 p.m. till 12 a.m.

Ratings
Food Quality: 85/100
Service: 65/100
Value for Money: 75/100
Overall: 75/100
Must trys: Durian Mousse

Fresh Sashimi at Sakuraya

Entrance to the Fish Mart

Sakuraya Fish is one of the few places in Singapore that I regularly go to for my sashimi fix. They serve up on of the freshest sashimi in this city and its price is reasonable for someone on a student budget. They were once located in the Village Center off South Buona Vista Road but have since moved to its current location in West Coast Plaza. I went down with my family to have another go at my regular haunt for sashimi and japanese food.

Wide selection of sashimi to choose from

This restaurant works slightly differently from the typical japanese restaurant here. Instead of ordering from the menu, all their sashimi are displayed in the refrigerated corner and customers just have to simply pick up the ones that they want. The sashimi is flown straight from Japan and the stocks come in every Tuesday and Friday. They have a high turnover rate for their sashimi, so you can be assured that the sashimi that you are picking up is definitely fresh. So after handing over our sashimi selections, we went back to our seats to pick out the cooked food for the rest of our meal.

Sashimi Sashimi Sashimi

Our Sashimi Platter

After picking out the food for the rest of our meal, we were served our sashimi platter. The platter consisted of my all time favorites for this place: the Scallop, Ika, Salmon, Tako and Swordfish sashimi. The sashimi are all cut up in nice thin slices, so there is no big chunks of fish that would have left us with overwhelmed by the taste of the raw sashimi. On top of that, there isn't a tinge of the typical "fishy" taste that the sashimi haters usually complain about. My personal favorite from the platter is the Scallop sashimi. Its a little bit expensive (2 whole scallops for $8) but its texture, freshness and juiciness is worth every dollar.

(L-R) Scallop, Ika, Salmon, Swordfish & Tako

Next up was our appetizers. The Goma Wakame is so fantastic that we decided to order two portion for the four of us. The other appetizers were so-so, therefore I shall not dwell on it.

Appetizers

We decided to order Cha Soba, Hot Soba, Tempura Maki, Soft Shell Crab Maki and Shioyaki Saba for our main dish. Both Soba dishes were forgettable (except that the Hot Soba soup was quite tasty but their miso soup is of much better quality) and not really worth a try. However their makis are quite exceptional. The rice is packed nicely and doesn't fall out when being handled (a sign of a good sushi). They are quite generous with their ebi and soft shell crab servings and the sauce inside the maki blends well with the sushi. The Shioyaki Saba is also one of the must try for this restaurant. The freshness of the meat makes it nice and soft and its salted just enough to make it tasty but not overwhelming. It is also very value-for-money.

Hot Soba

Cha Soba

Tempura Maki 

Soft Shell Crab Maki

Saba Shioyaki

Last stop for the meal is into the mini-mart where they sell Japanese condiments, confectionary and snacks - like a mini version of Medi-ya in Liang Court. Pop by here after a good meal to see if there's anything that you can get to bring the beauty of Japanese Cuisine into the comfort of your own home

Putting the "Mart" in Sakuraya Fish Mart

All in all, this place serves up one of the freshest Sashimi in Singapore. Its price is also reasonable (still on a high side) and the service is decent. The few must-try dishes are sashimi platter (they are all good, so just pick the ones that you personally like), goma wakame, saba shioyaki and their makis (they are all good). My personal favorite sashimi is the Scallop sashimi and my favorite maki is their Salmon Avacado Maki. There is usually a crowd during dinner time but the turnover rate here is quite high, so do not be put off by the crowd. I assure you the quality of food there is worth a short wait for the table.

Name: Sakuraya Fish Mart

Address West Coast Plaza #B1-50

Opening Hours: 11 a.m. - 9.30 p.m.

Cost: $$$ (out of a total of 5x$)

Ratings

Food Quality: 90/100

Service: 75/100

Value-for-Money: 80/100

Overall: 83.33/100

Must try dishes: Sashimi Platter, Goma Wakame, Saba Shioyaki, Salmon Avocado Maki

Swee Choon Dim Sum

I had a enormous craving for Dim Sum when my family was driving around Toa Payoh and the first place I thought of was this Dim Sum place. For me, this isn't Singapore's best Dim Sum but it is definitely one of the better places for Dim Sum after sunset. 

Since 1962

This place is located along Jalan Besar (parking can be a problem) and is near the famous Curry Vegetable Rice stall near Kitchener Road. When my family and I reached there, the place was quite crowed and we had to wait awhile for out tables. The wait for our table turned out to be our shortest wait as the food came in fast and furious shortly after we ordered - A for service.

The Crowd in Swee Choon at 10 p.m.

Within a short time, I decided to order a few of their signature dishes and some all time favorites. After sampling all of these dishes, here are the dishes that stood out.

Firstly, their signature dish "Mee Suah Kuay" is a definite must try. It is not commonly found elsewhere and it is easy to see why this is one of the many reasons why people keep coming back to this place. This dish is very similar to the chinese carrot cake but uses mee suah (thin wheat floor noodles) instead of the usual radish cake. It is a very fresh change from the typical carrot or cam and very easy on the palate. This dish is easy to like and isn't as filling as its similar counterparts.

Mee Suah Kuey

Their next signature is their La Mian, worth a try even if you are here only for Dim Sum. We ordered the "Zha Jian Mian" and it was delicious. They have a pretty generous portion (especially if you compare it to places like Crystal Jade and Ding Tai Feng) and the sauce is thick and tasty. For those who don't eat spicy food, do not be put off by the spicy sign on the menu as I can assure you that this dish is really not spicy at all.

Zha Jian Mian

We also ordered several all time favorites including "Siew Mai", "Har Kow", Char Siew Pau" and many others. These dishes were pretty average and nothing really stood out. Some of the dishes that are nicer than average are their egg tarts, "liu shai pau" (which is basically salted egg custard bun which flows out once you bite into the pau) and pig trotters. Their "Har Kow" and "Siew Mai" can be quite disappointing and the portions a little stingy (2 to a plate instead of the usual 3). Desserts was less than average and not really worth trying.

Portugese Egg Tarts - Best among the rest

Liu Shai Pau

Salted egg custard inside the Pau

Pig's Trotter

Xiao Long Pau

Disappointing Har Kow

Siew Mai

Chilli Wan Tan

Forgettable Desserts

Overall this place is good for its "Mee Sua Kuay", "La Mian", Egg Tarts and Liu Shai Pau. The other dishes that we tried were pretty much around the average standards but still worth a try. It was an enjoyable experience and we all left the place happy and smiling. The service here is lightning quick and there is a short waiting time despite the crowd. I would recommend this place for a quick Dim Sum fix at night that will surely leave you satisfied.

Yummy Yum Yum

Name: Swee Choon Dim Sum Cafe

Address: 187 / 191 Jalan Besar

Opening Hours: 6 p.m. - 10 a.m. (Weekdays) 6 p.m. - 12 p.m. (Weekends)

Cost: $$ (Affordable for even students)

Ratings

Food Quality: 70/100 

Service: 75/100

Value for Money: 70/100

Overall: 71.7/100

Must try dishes: Mee Sua Kuay, Zha Jian Mian, Egg Tarts & Liu Shai Pau

Ya Hua Bah Kut Teh (Keppel Road)

Ya Hua Bah Kut Teh is located along Keppel Road (and Anson Road) and is definitely one of the better Bah Kut Teh around in Singapore. Its usually not crowded (due to its quick service, not because of the quality of the food) and tables can be easily found.

Entrance to the Rou Gu Cha

It was a party of four and we were pretty hungry so we added quite a bit of stuff. First up was obviously the Bah Kut Teh. This place serves free flow "peppery" soup, so do not be afraid to ask for more when your supply runs out. Its level of "pepperiness" is not very high (as compared to places like Founder's along Balestier Road) but its not so low that it becomes tasteless. This soup, to me, has just the right amount of pepper. The meat itself was tender and easily came off the bone. They usually give the ribs portion, so its easy to eat and has lots of meat for us to chew on.

The Fatty Option of the Bah Kut Teh

Next up is a dish that I put equal importance as the meat in judging a Bah Kut Teh store - the salty vegetable. The "giam chai" here is fantastic. Although its a preserved vegetable, this store really makes the vegetable look "fresh". It does not have the feeling that it has been out there for days and we are just eating expired food. It was not too salty and was hot and nice when it came. Good stuff!

Salty Vegetables - Must try!!!

The other dishes we tried weren't too fabulous. The pig intestine wasn't worth the additional bucks and the pig organ soup had really little organs to rave about. The only positive was the soup from the pig organ soup.

Pig Intestine

Overall, this place is good for its Bah Kut Teh and Salty vegetable. Unless you are feeling really adventurous, these two dishes are enough for a tasty full meal. The downside of this place is its price. A bowl of Bah Kut Teh can set you back by $7and the entire meal costs us $16 (i.e. $64 total) each, including drinks - a pretty steep meal for hawker bah kut teh. But I feel its still worth at least one try and you can judge whether if its worth that much for yourself.

Our Dinner Table

Name: Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha
Address: 7 Keppel Road, Tanjong Pagar Complex
Opening Hours: 6 a.m. - 4 a.m.

Cost: $7 / bowl for Bah Kut Teh

Food Quality: 85/100
Service: 80/100
Value for Money: 65/100
Overal: 76.7/100

Bah Kut Teh

Newly Renovated - Toa Payoh Lor 8 Hawker

The Toa Payoh Lor 8 hawker center has always been one of my favorite haunts in Toa Payoh, especially for the Bah Kut Teh and Satay. So after I heard that the renovations for the hawker center was complete, I couldn't wait to bring my family there and see if the renovation had a positive or negative impact on the food and price.

Lor 8 Hawker Center

Once we got there, we went straight for our favorite two stalls - Bah Kut Teh and the Satay. It was a Friday night so it was quite crowded and the stall owners weren't the fastest lot of people around. So after half an hour or so, we finally got our food on the table and was ready to sample what we had missed out over the last few months. 

All ready to go!

First up was the satay. We ordered 35 pieces of Satay and 2 Ketupat ($15) for the 4 of us in which there were 30 pork and 5 chicken pieces. The satay standard was still as good as pre-renovation times.  The meat was tender and it wasn't difficult to chew. The translucent fats on the pork satay made the dish even more delicious than it already is (but also made it a lot more unhealthier). The highlight from this stall is its satay sauce - not spicy yet blends well with the meat. One thing about satay is that you have to eat while its hot because after it turned cold, the meat was hard as rock and difficult to chew.

35 Satays and 2 Ketupat

Next was the dishes from the Bah Ku Teh stall. We ordered Bah Ku Teh, Pig's trotters with intestine, Pig Kidney and Intestine Soup, Salted Vegetables and Peanuts. The service is really slow for this stall as there was only a lady handling the entire operations. The dishes were cheap, generous and pretty decent - well worth a try for anyone. The salted vegetables and peanuts were simply average and worth a miss. The soup was a bit too blend for my liking and the pig's trotter weren't fantastic. However, the pork ribs was really good. The meat was soft and came of the bone easily. On top of that, it cost about $4 to get a bowl that could easily feed two people. This stall's quality definitely can't be compared to the famous Bah Ku Teh stalls in Singapore but still worth a try if you are around that area.

Medium-sized Bah Ku Teh Soup

Pig's Trotters with Intestine (Medium)

Overall, this hawker center still provides a cheap and decent quality of food that it once used to. After trying both the satay and Bah Ku Teh, I'm looking forward to sample the other food that this place has to offer. The satay is definitely a must try in this place, but you have to be prepared to wait. The Bah Ku Teh isn't the best around but its a cheap and decent option that is worth a try.

Name: Toa Payoh Lor 8 Hawker Center

Address: Toa Payoh Lor 8 (Opposite Melben Seafood)

Opening Hours: This place is usually for the breakfast and lunch crowd. Be there before 8.30p.m.

Cost: Satay - $0.40/stick, $0.50/Ketupat. Bah Ku Teh - $4 for medium size portion of BKT Soup

Ratings

Food Quality: Satay - 85/100. Bah Ku Teh: 60/100

Service: Satay 60/100 Bah Ku Teh: 60/100

Value for money: Satay: 70/100 Bah Ku Teh: 85/100

Overall: Satay: 71.7/100 Bah Ku Teh: 68.3/100