Fei Fei Wanton Mee - Money fly away

There are two kinds of wanton mee (云吞面) you can get in Singapore. The first is local style, with the thicker, softer noodles and thick, dark soya sauce or tomato ketchup and red chilli sauce. The second is the Hong Kong noodles style, with the translucent, springier noodles and a light, watery sauce. Personally, my preference is for Hong Kong-style noodles, perhaps because I have been eating local-style wanton mee from young and have grown tired of it.

A while back, I read that Fei Fei Wanton Mee (飞飞云吞面) is a "must-try" for any wanton mee lover, and yet I had not eaten from there before, so one day, we headed to Joo Chiat to see what was so great about this Fei Fei Wanton Mee. Now, it is important that if you want to go on a food hunt, that you do your research carefully first. Unfortunately, we didn't, so instead of going to 62 Joo Chiat Place, we ended up at 72 Joo Chiat Place, simply because we passed that first. The shop at 72 is actually called 炎記飛飛雲吞面大王 (simpl.: 炎记飞飞云吞面大王). Like Dr. Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost, we were actually at the franchised stall, and not the original.

Of course, we didn't know that at the time. And since we went all the way to Joo Chiat for the famed wanton mee, we ordered the big portion.

Wanton mee (云吞面) - $3.50 (big)

This was what was served to us. It doesn't look like much. I gave my noodles a stir.

No, it certainly isn't much. First, the noodles. No, I didn't think it was all that great. Yes, it's better than most of the local-style noodles, that's for sure. But it wasn't that much better. The chilli sauce is supposed to go with the noodles, of course. But again, I didn't think the chilli was all that great. I actually thought it was a little too salty, and being a chilli lover, I felt it lacked the spicy "oomph". So, chilli plus noodles didn't help too. Next, the wantons were tiny. It would not be an exaggeration to say they were the size of, say, macadamia nuts. They tasted alright, but there were just too few of the tiny wantons. And the char siew (barbecued pork / 叉烧) was not even barbecued. I guess my opinion of this bowl of wanton mee is pretty clear by now. There wasn't a single redeeming factor. Above average noodles and an average chilli sauce do not make outstanding noodles. That, coupled with the meagre and substandard ingredients makes this $3.50 bowl of noodles a rip-off.

We also ordered a portion of hei zho (fried prawn roll).

Hei zho (fried prawn roll / 虾枣) - $6

This has got to be the most expensive hei zho I've eaten. The photo shows the portion. If the hei zho were good, it would have been money well spent. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The hei zho was (re-)fried after being cut into pieces, which I really dislike because it usually results in the filling being overcooked, and it was the case. It also destroyed the taste of the filling, and so I felt like I was eating flour instead of meat and prawns. I have eaten better and cheaper hei zho.

When I started this blog, I wanted to be different, to be objective. I wanted to be fair as well. Perhaps I went on a bad day. Perhaps I had too high expectations. Perhaps it was simply because I wasn't at the original stall. I certainly did not enjoy my meal at all, and I have absolutely no reason to return. I am even hesitant of trying the original stall. Instead, I might just stick to my usual stall in Dunman Road Food Centre.

Fei Fei Wanton Mee (炎記飛飛雲吞面大王)
72 Joo Chiat Place (map)
Singapore 427789

Also, the original:
Fei Fei Wanton Mee (飛飛雲吞面)
62 Joo Chiat Place
Sin Wah Coffeeshop (map)
Singapore 427785

Links: HungryGoWhere

Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House

I find it surprising that good Chinese cuisine - and I mean the China stuff, not local - hasn't made much progress into our food centres and coffee shops. Sure, once in a while, there's a stall that sells Chinese la mian (拉面), or maybe a stall that sells xiao long bao (小笼包) and guo tie (pan-fried dumplings, 锅贴), but if you really want to go Chinese, you'd have to step into a restaurant. (Maybe I just haven't discovered such a food stall yet.) Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰) is, of course, a rather well-known restaurant. Granted, the food there is pretty decent, but my experiences have always been ruined by the "fast-food" feel that the waitstaff exude. You take a number to enter, place your order while waiting, get ushered to a table, and hurriedly finish your food. At least that's how I felt with the waitstaff running about and quickly clearing the dishes the instant you're done.

Of course, my whole rant about Din Tai Fung is merely a set up for one of my favourite places for a nice, quiet (generally), relaxed Chinese meal. I first discovered Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House (高记饺子拉面) a few years ago when a friend brought me there. Later on, they underwent a menu change, and it was then that I discovered, and fell in love, with the Ramen with Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup. Some time back, I suggested this place to another friend, and so, two weeks ago, we finally had our dinner at Koo Kee.

My dining partner had a hearty appetite, so we ordered some dim sum (点心) in addition to our noodles. We settled on the xiao long bao and guo tie.

Steamed Juicy Meat Bun (小笼汤包) - $6

Pan Fried Pork & Chive Dumpling (三鲜锅贴) - $6

Both the xiao long bao and guo tie were good, though maybe the skin of the xiao long bao was a little drier and tougher than Din Tai Fung's. I guess it really depends on how you like it, and to me, I liked Koo Kee's all the same.

My dining partner ordered the Ramen with Spicy Seafood Soup, which she said she enjoyed.

Ramen with Spicy Seafood Soup (辣汤海鲜拉面) - $8.80

I ordered my usual, of course.

Ramen with Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup (人参鸡汤面) - $8.80

And I wasn't disappointed at all. The soup tasted great, with a strong, but not over-powering taste of ginseng and herbs. The chicken was smaller than I remembered, but there were also pieces of pork in the soup, probably to give it a meatier "oomph". The noodles were great too, not too thick, and cooked just right. After I finished my noodles, I continued drinking the delicious soup. Two-in-one! A good bowl of noodles, finished with ginseng chicken soup.

Although we were having dinner at the "peak" dinner period, the place was only about three quarters full. It was also rather quiet, except for the pounding sounds by the chef making the noodles (yes, the noodles are hand-made). The atmosphere was also very relaxed, which is the way I like it. Who likes being rushed through a meal, after all?

Koo Kee remains one of my favourite places to go for Chinese la mian. The good food and decent prices (it would even be fair to consider the food cheap) makes this an appealing place to go to. Yes, I would definitely be back again, and yes, more ginseng chicken ramen for me please!

Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House
2 Tampines Central 5
#B1-27 Century Square (map)
Singapore 529509
Phone: 6782 6338

Other outlets:
159 Rochor Road
Bugis Village (map)
Singapore 188434

80 Marine Parade Road
#B1-125 Parkway Parade (map)
Singapore 449269

Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg

Baked Rice at PastaMania

PastaMania's Ham & Sausage Baked Rice came highly recommended to me, so I decided to try it for lunch one day.

Ham & Sausage Baked Rice - $9.20

The baked rice was served with slices of ham, sausage and button mushrooms, with a layer of cheese on top. I enjoyed the baked rice quite a lot, especially because of the generous amount of cheese that it came with. I think it might've been too cheesy. But since I like cheese, I'm not complaining! At $9.20 a serving ($3.20 to $4.90 more if you order a set meal), I thought it was a little pricey, considering the fast-food nature of Pastamania and the quantity of ham and sausages on the baked rice. Still, I can't deny that it was satisfying and filling.

PastaMania (website)
79 Robinson Road
#01-07 CPF Building (map)
Singapore 068897
Phone: 6223 6964

Other outlets: See website

Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg

Great bowls of fire - Mini-wok Noodles

Among my comfort foods, bak chor mee (肉脞面) and mini-wok noodles (小锅面, sometimes also called 小碗面) rank among the top. Actually I prefer bak chor mee over mini-wok noodles, but because I like it so much, I seldom dare to try ordering it at unfamiliar stalls, for fear of getting disappointed. But mini-wok noodles get an additional chance: good soup and substantive ingredients can still make up for lousy noodles.

Mini-wok noodles are so-called because the ingredients are placed in a wok-shaped bowl filled with soup, and a flame is lit below to heat the soup and to cook the ingredients.

I decided to drop in to try the mini-wok noodles after receiving a flyer advertising this stall at a recently renovated coffee shop near my place.

小锅面 (mini-wok noodles) - $4

The noodles are not cooked the usual style like at bak chor mee stalls. Instead, this is cooked Teochew noodles style, which is sweeter, and does not have the dark/black colour of the dark soy sauce or vinegar. This is hardly surprising since the stall sells Teochew noodles. I quite liked the noodles, and this has convinced me to try the Teochew noodles on my next visit. The mini-wok ingredients were decent, and the soup was rather tasty. I wouldn't rate this as one of the best I've eaten, but it is still pretty good.

麵世家 Noodle stall
Jurong Cafe coffee shop
Blk 829 Tampines St 81
#01-296 (map)
Singapore 520829

Xin Wang Hong Kong Kitchen

Despite the cha chan teng (茶餐厅), or Hong Kong café, craze that hit Singapore a few years ago, I haven't actually caught on to it. So when my dining partner suggested Xin Wang (新旺) Hong Kong Kitchen at White Sands shopping centre, I agreed.

There weren't the usual Hong Kong café food items like pastas and baked rice. Instead, this outlet sold mostly Hong Kong cuisine. We both ordered the Shrimp Dumpling Noodles in soup (水饺面汤), Iced Milk Tea and a Strawberry Snow Ice.

Iced Milk Tea - $2.90

Our iced milk teas came first. It was actually quite a small cup, and filled to the brim with ice cubes. But the taste... oh... the taste... This was probably the best iced milk tea I've ever had, and beats one of my favourites from a coffee shop in Simpang Bedok.

Shrimp Dumpling Noodles in soup - $6

It doesn't look like much, nor taste like much either. Still, it really isn't their fault since there's really little you can do with soup and noodles. The noodles were good, as they should be - the springy HK-style noodles. The shrimp dumplings tasted pretty good, but I thought the skin was a little on the thick and soggy side, which was a bit of a let-down.

Strawberry Snow Ice - $5.90

This gigantic abomination arrived at our table. You can see the cup of iced milk tea behind on the left. Yes, this thing is huge. Shaved ice packed very tight, drizzled with generous amount of strawberry syrup and condensed milk, plus a scoop of ice cream placed precariously on the top, and "garnished" with jelly and attap chee (attap seeds). This is a really sweet dessert (well, duh...) so consider yourself warned. I did enjoy it, because the strawberry syrup was really good. Don't attempt to eat it by yourself though. Unless you have a really good appetite and are immune to brain freeze.

It was an enjoyable meal, and I especially enjoyed the iced milk tea and strawberry snow ice. Service was generally good - the waitstaff were courteous and seemed friendly enough. I don't think I'd really crave to return to this place, but I sure wouldn't mind returning if the opportunity arises.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Kitchen (website)
1 Pasir Ris Central Street 3
#01-14 White Sands Shopping Centre (map)
Singapore 518457
Phone: 6583 3611

Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg

Laksa from a mee rebus stall

Lunch today was at Treats Food Court in Parkway Parade. The Mee Rebus stall is famous for their, well, mee rebus. Having had the mee rebus before, I decided to try the laksa.

The stall offers laksa with chicken or cockles, probably because some people do not like cockles. But personally, I feel that laksa is not laksa without cockles, so you can guess which one I went for.

Laksa with cockles - $3.80

The laksa comes in a rather large bowl that is filled to the brim. There is fish cake, tau ge (beansprouts), a hard-boiled egg and of course, cockles. On their own, the ingredients are pretty ordinary. The noodles, too, were initially a little hard (undercooked), though they softened up mid-meal. The laksa leaf garnish hardly looked appetising with that dark green mess. But the laksa was saved by the delicious gravy, which was thick and tasty, though a mite on the salty side.

This was a very filling and delicious bowl of laksa, and well worth every cent.

Goody N Jolly Mee Rebus
Treats Food Court
Basement, Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road (map)
Singapore 449269

Nihon Mura - Not for the sushi

My first review is for Nihon Mura. Nihon Mura first appeared on the scene with a very hot deal - $0.99 sushi. Of course, this was a good deal. Where else can you find sushi for under a dollar a serving in a resturant? Even supermarket sushi cost $0.60 each at that time (and they probably cost more now).

While more outlets have opened, Nihon Mura has, unforunately, gained a rather bad rep, if online reviews are to be believed. But in my search, few people, it seems, have tried their tea-time buffet.

This is my second time to Nihon Mura at Tampines Swimming Complex for the buffet. Since my last visit, the price has gone up by a dollar, to $17.90++ ($15.90++ for students), with a slight menu change. Soft drinks are also included in the buffet, as are iced and hot green tea. There is also ice cream for dessert. The grilled enoki wrapped in bacon is no longer offered though.

Service was pretty much excellent. While we were still standing outside, a waitstaff promptly went to the door and opened it for us. The waitstaff were attentive, friendly, patient and polite. With the exception of a server who just dumped our food on the table. We placed a first round of order, and then headed to the sushi conveyor belt. I picked a salmon sushi and unagi (eel) sushi.

Salmon sushi

I felt that the salmon was sliced too thin, and didn't look particularly fresh. Of course, if you consider that plate of sushi cost $0.99, well, then you get what you pay for. The unagi sushi was alright - better than the salmon, but nothing extraordinary.

Next came our ordered food. We started off with each of the six types of sashimi: salmon, maguro (tuna), kisu (sillago), tai (red sea bream), ika (squid) and amaebi (pink shrimp).

Assorted sashimi

The sashimi were all pretty good and tasted fresh. This is especially important for the ika, which must be fresh. Unfortunately, I have had bad experiences with the ika sashimi at Hanabi and Sakura. I am a big fan of ika, amaebi and salmon sashimi, and I had a few more rounds of those!

Assorted sashimi: amaebi, salmon and ika

Soft shell crab hand roll

The soft shell crab handroll was rather good too. It was definitely wrapped upon ordering. The crab and seaweed were crispy. I felt there was a good balance of rice, mayo and crab. Later, I also had the ebi tempura handroll and unagi tempura handroll. Yes, you read it right. Unagi tempura. I'm pretty sure this is my first time eating unagi tempura. It was interesting - the soft unagi with a crispy tempura coating.

Chawanmushi

I loved the chawanmushi. It wasn't too "eggy", and I feel is comparable at least to Sakae Sushi's. Among the grilled dishes, we also ordered teriyaki chicken, shiitake mushrooms, shishamo and iwatako mentai (grilled octopus with roe).

Teriyaki chicken

The shishamo was disappointingly small, shriveled and dry. The first bite of the shiitake mushroom was quite a surprise, because it was hard and chewy. But the remaining two (of a stick of four) were perfectly grilled. I think the grill was hotter at the tip, resulting in the mushrooms at the ends to be overcooked. We also got this for the octopus and the chicken wings, where the ends were significantly more burnt. Otherwise, the grilled items were quite good, especially the octopus.

Iwatako mentai

Next were the fried items. Some of what we ordered included ebi fry (breaded fried prawns), tako yaki (octopus balls), ebi yaki (prawn balls), karaage (fried chicken) and squid.

Tori karaage, ebi yaki, tako yaki, ebi fry

Squid skewer tempura

They were all freshly fried and absolutely delicious.

To end our meal, we had the ice cream - ordinary ice cream, but topped with a bit of fresh cream, a small piece of cherry, and a stick of strawberry love letter.

Overall, it was a very satisfying meal at Nihon Mura, and the really friendly waitstaff made it even better. I would definitely be willing to return again for the buffet. But really, don't go for the sushi.

Pricing
Tea time buffet
2.30pm to 5.30pm (last order at 5pm)
Adult: $17.90++
Student: $15.90++
Child: $10.90++ (less than 10 yrs)

Nihon Mura (website)
Tampines Swimming Complex
505 Tampines Ave 5 #01-03/04 (map)
Singapore 529652
Phone: 6260 8197

Other outlets: See website

Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg

Intro

I have been taking pictures of my food rather excessively since I got my HTC Touch Diamond, and decided that I should start a dedicated food blog. So yes, this is yet another Singapore food blog. There are just so many food blogs around - some casual, some professional. I myself am a regular reader of Dr. Leslie Tay's food blog, ieatishootipost.

But reading other people's opinion on food is one thing. I like to give my opinion too. But then, I am no food connoisseur. Yes, I might like something, but I may not be able to give an analytic breakdown of what exactly is great or otherwise. So I guess this places me more toward the "casual" food blog.

What I hope sets me apart is that I strive to offer a balanced review. I try to avoid the extreme route that seems to be the one most people take - when they have a bad experience, be it service or food, everything else about that establishment is tainted. The second thing is that I will, as far as possible, avoid any sort of rating system. This is why I do not write at HungryGoWhere. HGW requires rating several aspects of an eating place - service, value, food and ambience. My gripe with this is that such rating systems are completely arbitrary. One person's 7 might be another's 5. Thus the numbers are meaningless.

The reason I wish to avoid a rating system, even on my own blog, is because I do not want to be restricted by that very system that is meant to display the standard of an establishment at a single glance. As I post more, I would need to rate establishments relative to what I have rated in the past. For example, say I rated X 4.5, and rated Y 4.0, and Z is better than Y but not as good as X. Then I need to decide a point between 4.0 and 4.5. Imagine my difficulty as this gap gets reduced.

So to summarise, this is just another Singapore food blog offering casual, balanced reviews with no ratings. :)

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