Pad Thai That Touch My Heart - Ah Loy Thai

The foodie trek finally is coming to an end. I decide to end it at Shaw Centre (Beach Road) - Ah Loy Thai. Ah Loy Thai is one of the most elusive Thai restaurant I ever encountered as they do not operate in the afternoon or Sunday as a result I never got the chance to taste their Thai food.  

We reached Ah Loy Thai at 6pm and was delighted they are open for business. We are lucky the dinner crowd haven't came in yet. Ah Loy Thai is a no frills Thai restaurant as they do not charge GST or service charge. Basically, you tick down your orders on menu chit, paid for it at the cashier and sit down wait for your order to be serve. We order 2 Pad Thai ($4.80/pax) and a Thai Green Curry ($5.50).

 

 

As we gingerly wait for our orders, the dinner crowd finally comes and Ah Loy Thai  was fully packed in minutes with queue growing. At last, our Pad Thai and Green Curry finally came. When I took my first bite into the Pad Thai, I was amazed of the "Wok Hei" this Pad Thai packed. So far I haven't come across a Pad Thai that was cook with enough "Wok Hei" to touch my heart. The Pad Thai is adequately season with fish sauce coupled with generous serving of Sotong and Prawns that wasn't overcook. It might be a tat oily for some but the lime slice provide is adequate enough to reduce the excess oily feeling this Pad Thai might render.

I moved on try the Thai Green Curry and I find it not too thick (like soup curry) and not overwhelming with coconut cream which is a plus as I have bad experience with thick Thai Green Curry that gave me indigestion. My friend is surprised to find fish ball in the green curry as he no idea that fish ball can add as a accompaniment. The chicken pieces is chunky enough but wasn't as tender as I hoped. Ah Loy Thai would be the contender to rather expensive Thai Restaurant like ThaiXpress or Lerk Thai offering same kind of Thai food.

Temple Street Cookware Shops - Sin Huat/Lau Choy Sing

After finish my bowl of Lor Mee, it is time to move on to my next destination in my Foodie Trek that is cookware shops along Temple Street as I looking for some unique cookware to showcase my culinary creation.

The first cookware shop we set foot is Sin Huat. Sin Huat houses a wide assortment of cookwares as well as F&B industrial appliances ranging from blender to griller/oven. It is like mecca for all culinary artists irregardless if you are professional or amateur. I was deeply in trance when I step in the first level that houses the F&B appliances, pots/pans, glassware which is quite bizarre and not sold at your average supermarket or departmental store.  

I have no idea there is a second level at Sin Huat. So I happily prance up to the second level to find unique dining ware arrange in 4 rows of glass shelf. Some of the dinning ware shown below is even used in famous restaurant like Taste Paradise. But I didn't manage to find the dinning ware I wanted, so I proceed to Lau Choy Sing further down. Lau Choy Sing was bustling with customer therefore, I cut my trip short. However, I manage to find a cheaply price unqiue ceramic ware at Moderne shop across Temple Street.

Famous Lor Mee??? - Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee

After Maxwell Ham Jin Pang, it time to move to the next destination in the Foodie Trek is Amoy Food Centre that is located behind Maxwell Market. There are quite a few notable hawkers in Amoy Food Centre. I already set my target on the Amoy Street Lor Mee that was widely reported in the papers and TV. As it is our first time going to Amoy Food Centre, it took quite a while to reach there as we got lost when we took a wrong turn.

When we reached Amoy Food Centre at 2pm, a lot of stalls had already closed. However, lady luck is smiling in my favor as Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee is still open for business. As I notice they are about to close judging there is not much Lor Mee toppings left on the counter, I quickly proceed to order a small bowl of Lor Mee ($2.50).

Yuan Chun's Lor Mee is traditional style Lor Mee served with stewed pork belly, steam fish and fried crispy flour. However, it didn't hit me as the ideal Lor Mee I used to have when I was just a kid as the noodle isn't cook thoroughly as I can still taste the rawness. The stew pork belly and steam fish is rather dry maybe due to long exposure to atmosphere. Overall, it is a major disappointment (partly maybe because I came late during their closing) if compared to the Lor Mee I had previously in Tiong Bahru Market(Link). However, I will give the benefit of doubt to foodies that swear by Yuan Chun Lor Mee and reassess Yuan Chun Lor Mee at a later date.    

DIY Salty Fried Bun - China Street Hum Jin Pang

After having chicken rice, we still have some void left in our stomach. We decide to have Hum Jin Pang (literally translate as Salty Fried Bun) instead. Ham Jin Pang is a traditional bun that is cooked by frying. It is available either salty or sweet with red bean fillings inside. 

China Street Hum Jin Pang is one of the oldest resident hawker in Maxwell Market as far as I know. I have been eating their Hum Jin Pang since I was a kid and their Hum Jin Pang is simple down to earth without frills that capture heart of locals with price affordable ($1 for 6 buns) for all levels of life be it rich or poor.

The Hum Jin Pang is able to priced cheaply is due to the owner do not hire any extra helper and her belief Hum Jin Pang should be affordable to all walks of life. This belief really touch me as so far there isn't much hawker or restaurant dare lay claim on such belief.   

To keep cost low, everyone who ordered Hum Jin Pang will have to assist the owner to fry the Ham Jin Pang. Once you just place your order with the owner, pick up the long wooden chopstick and you ready to go. As my friend is not so adept in frying Ham Jin Pang, I took his place and fry our share. The main trick is to fry the Ham Jin Pang till golden brown then take out and drain on the colander. After that, you dip the Ham Jin Pang in caster sugar and pack it into paper bag. Ham Jin Pang is best consume when it newly fried as you can feel the outer crispy El Dente bun texture with traces of red filling spilling out that compliment with it. For those who never had freshly fried Ham Jin Pang to give it a try as it will be memorable to eat your own fried Ham Jin Pang.

El Dente Rice - Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

I met up with my dead beat friend (just complete his 10km Nike Run in the morning) at Outram MRT station. He wanted to tag along as I planning to go and feast on a few well known hawkers that lies along Chinatown. The first foodie trek stop of the day is Maxwell Market that lies along Maxwell Road. Maxwell Market house a lot of famous hawker foods that appeared in lot newspaper, magazine as well TV.

We decide to settle for hainanese chicken rice at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice as we are both famished from the long wait for him at the MRT and his 10km run. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken rice have gain a lot of accolades from newspapers & TV naming it one of  the top chicken rice stall in Singapore. I persevere on even though the queue for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is snake-like long. My perseverance is finally rewarded when the auntie asked for my order.

I ordered 2 small plates of Hainanese Chicken Rice ($2.80) as I plan to save my stomach for others along my foodie trek. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken rice is very generous as they don't skimp on the meat even if it is just for $2.80. First bite on the rice, bring you nice aroma of pandan leaf chicken infused rice. The rice is very El Dente like risotto but not dry which is very nice, so far not much chicken rice I ate can match Tian Tian on El Dente department. Tian Tian's rice is oilier than normal chicken rice, if you are counting calories you might want to reduce intake.

Tian Tian's Hainanese Chicken didn't leave me much of an impression as the chicken meat is pretty firm (for those who like firm chicken meat) but I prefer it to be tender like one of the notable one I had in Golden Mile Market. It might be due to the type of chicken use as different type of chickens - farm or kampong offers different meat texture when cooked. Tian Tian's chili sauce is standard kalamansi chili blend with garlic and ginger which is slightly spicier than others. Overall, it is quite a nice chicken rice as for whether it is worth the queue is highly depends on individual. As for me, I will probably give it a miss.

Saturday Cooking Spree Afterthought

While cooking is a chore for most, cooking really bring me a lot of pleasure if compared to other types of hobbies. The sight of seeing the person you cook for enjoying the fruits of your labor is priceless. I would always go the extra miles to made a particular recipe or dish more flavorful or appealing as cooking for someone you know is very personal.

The same cannot be said for restaurant as every dish or recipe are subject to economy of scale and chef in the restaurant are subjected to cooking for many clientele at a single night as a result it might lack a personal touch. This is just a general statement as there is still a lot of great restaurants and hawkers out there serving great food even go to extra miles to customise to your taste. I know a few restaurant that go the extra miles to customise the dish to your preference.

I didn't cook much this Saturday as I plan to go on foodie trek with my friend in Chinatown district. However, I whip up a fast brunch peri peri winglet, ham mesculin salad, garlic potato soup accompanied with toasted garlic french bread for my mother before I moved out. There is a few hit and miss in this Saturday foodie trek which I will post later.

Pasandra Pork Curry

Pasanda Curry is a popular  Pakistani/North Indian curry meat dish originate from a meal served in the Court of the Moghul Emperors. Pasanda was originally made from leg of a lamb, flatten into strips. Mughal empire religious belief originate from muslim, therefore Pasanda Curry is only available in lamb, beef, chicken or prawn.

I decide to add a twist of chinese element into Pasanda Curry. Instead of using the meat commonly use for Pasanda Curry, I decide to use pork as the main ingredient for Pasanda Curry. I decide to use sliced Pork Belly as it is readily available in local supermarket in Singapore and the fat layered between the flesh will add additional flavour to the Pasanda Curry.  The Pasanda Pork Curry came out pretty well within my expectation. It is pretty thick and warmly spiced with a slight tang. For those who don't like tangy curry, you could replace yogurt with whipping cream or coconut cream. It is best serve with rice or naan.

Pasandra Pork Curry

• 125g Pork Belly Thin Slices
• 1 Medium Tomato Chopped Finely
• 1 Onion Chopped Finely
  
• 1 Teaspoon Ginger Puree
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Puree
• 4 Oz Water
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Ketchup
  

Marinade

• 2 Tablespoons Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Salt

Combine all the dry spices and salt in a mixing bowl and add in the yogurt and stir it into a paste. Add in the sliced pork and made sure the paste is evenly coated in every pork slice and leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight or at least 3 hours.

Heat a non-stick pan and add in the oil. Add in the chopped onion and cooked until it turn brown and soften. Add in the chopped ginger and garlic and fry it till you smell fragrant release by the garlic and ginger. Add in the chopped tomato. You can add a bit of water if you find the mixture too dry. Fry until the oil separate then add in the marinate pork. Turn up the heat and fry for 5 mins add in rest of the water and turn down the flame and let it simmer for 10 mins then you are ready to serve it over rice or naan. As the curry aged, it get more flavorful.

New Sauce & Cooking Condiments Discovery

I'm always searching for new cooking condiments and sauces that will aid cooking various meal from different continent. Since it is deepavali long weekend, I decide it is high time I update my personal cooking condiment database. I struck goldmine at Mediya Japanese Supermarket at Liang Court Basement as they import quite a lot of new condiments and sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop on my list is gourmet supermarket 360 Degrees at Orchard ION, I'm surprise to see the famous Tabasco Sauce Company - Mc Ilhenny Co came out their own special sauce fusion ranging from spicy ketchup to spicy teriyaki sauce giving those culinary artist more creation avenue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pan Fried Peri Peri Wings

Peri-Peri Chicken, is chicken, marinated in a hot chile pepper marinade, then grilled. The dish's Portuguese and African origins are clearly seen in its names. This dish evolved in Angola and Mozambique (once Portuguese colonies) after Portuguese explorers and settlers brought American chile peppers to Africa. Nando's is one of the famous Peri Peri Chicken restaurant having franchises all over the world. Unfortunately, Nando's have yet set foot in Singapore.

I asked my colleague from Malaysia to purchase the Nando's Peri Peri Sauce so that I can made my own Peri Peri chicken. As I do not have an oven so instead of roasting or grilling the chicken. I will pan fried it on non-stick pan. The end result pretty good as the peri peri wing stick pretty succulent and spicy.
 

Pan Fried Peri Peri Wings

• 7 Piece of Mid-Chicken Wings
• 3 Tablespoon of Nando's Extra Spicy Peri Peri Sauce
• 1 Drop of Wright's Liquid Smoke
• 1 Lime Quarter Slice
• 1 Tablespoon of Jamaican Jerk Spice
• Salt
• Oil
  

Marinate the Mid-Chicken Wings with 2 tablespoons of peri peri sauce, liquid smoke, jamaican jerk spice, pinch of salt and lime juice. Leave it to marinate overight for best result. Heat up a non-stick frying pan lightly coated with oil and pan fried the wings till both side turn golden brown. Serve it on a plate, use a silicone brush and coat the remaining peri peri sauce on the wings and microwave on high settings for 2 mins. Serve it while it is hot.
 

Chicken Rassa - Indian Chicken Gravy

I'm brooding what gravy should I made for the upcoming biryani cooking session as I have no idea how to go about it until I chance on Aayi's Chicken Rassa which was said to great to serve with biryani. I decided add more vegetable into the chicken rassa to spruce it up. The end result is pretty good as the vegetable made the rassa less meaty and ideal accompaniment for biryani. 

Chicken Rassa - Indian Chicken Gravy

• 6-7 chicken wings
  
• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon of coconut powder
  
• 2 tablespoon of yogurt
• 1 cup of chicken stock
  
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
  
• 4-5 cloves
• 2″ cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chilies de-vein
• 4 sprigs of coriander
• 1 chopped potato cubes
  
• 1 chopped carrot cubes
  
• Oil
• Salt

Heat a 1 teaspoon and fry cloves, cinnamon, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, red chilies, 1/4 cup onion. When onion turns slightly brownish, add coconut and fry for sometime. Blend them.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil and fry remaining onions, ginger-garlic paste till they are slightly brownish. Add the chopped tomato and fry till tomatoes become slightly tender. Now add chicken wings and paste, fry till oil separates.
Add well beaten yogurt, salt and cook till chicken is completely done. 

Add in the chicken stock, carrot, potato and boil until the chicken tender. Add chopped coriander and cook for another 1-2mins. The gravy get better as it cooked longer.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

After gathering information on how Dum Biryani should taste like from Bismillah Biryani, I decide to whip my my own version of Dum Biryani Hyderbadi style to celebrate Deepavali. Before my visit to Bismillah, I had google on the web and manage to find the cooking procedure for Dum Biryani at Vahrahvah.com.

Based on Vahrahvah instruction, the basmati rice need to precook to certain degree so that when you cook the meat together with the rice both will be evenly cooked. As Vaharahvah didn't specify how much you need to precook the basmatic rice, as a result my hyderabadi biryani didn't came out exactly as I wanted as the rice is not cooked well enough. In order to resolve this issue, I steam the rice over steamer for another 10mins and it came out pretty well.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

• 4 pieces of chicken thighs with bone
• 2 cups of basmati rice
• 15 strands of saffron soaked in hot water
• Chicken rassa
• 3 tablespoon of dry chopped red onions

 Marinade

• 60ml of yogurt
• 1 cup of fried dry chopped red onions
• 10 sprigs of coriander
• 1 packet of Shan Chicken Biryani Mix 50g
  
• 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger
• 1 quart slice lime
• salt
• 1 tablespoon of oil
  

Marinate the chicken thighs with a pinch of salt, garlic and ginger. Squeeze a lime on the chicken and made sure the chicken thighs are evenly marinated. Mix 25g of Shan Chicken Biryani Mix with 60ml of yogurt, coriander, chopped red onions and oil. Apply to the chicken thighs and ensure all the thighs are even coated with the biryani mix. It is best if the chicken thighs are marinated overnight. 

Before you pre-cook the basmati rice, you need to soak it for at least 30 mins. After that, you boil a pot of boiling water with oil and adequate salt in it. When you add in the rice, the water will cease to boil. When the water start to boil, time the cooking for 5mins and drain the rice on colander. On thick based pot or non-stick pot, line the marinated chicken thigh with skin facing the cooking surface as the skin will help protect the chicken from over cook.

Start scooping the pre-cook rice on the chicken thigh to form a think layer, start sprinkle some fried chopped onion coriander and splash the saffron water onto the rice. Repeat for for the next layer until you have completely fill the pot with pre-cook rice. Use a wet cloth and seal the pot with the lid and cook under medium heat for 30mins until you can smell the biryani fragrance the you can start to serve it with chicken rassa. Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is at it's best when freshly cook so do not delay serving it.

Adult Themed Burger King - BK Whopper Bar (Clarke Quay)

After having a hearty lunch at Bismillah Biryani, we decide to go jalan jalan in the search of new food haunts. After traversing through Suntec City, we finally set foot at Clarke Quay and surprise to find a BK Whopper Bar that differs from the regular BK outlets.

Upon stepping into the BK Whopper Bar, we thought we enter a night joint as the interior is dimly lit with rolls of plush leather seats on one side (Link1) and round top tables and chair on the other side (Link2).    

As we move those the cavernous passageway, we are greeted with BK flash menu. You won't find your average BK Rendang or BK Fish Burger here. BK Whopper Bar had revamp their menu (Link) and even give you to option to customise your own burger with topping of your choice. The most significant difference you find in Whopper Bar is alchoholic beverage (Tiger & Heinenken Beer) is available making it a more adult theme fast food outlet and first of it kind in Singapore.   

One of the BK Whopper Bar menu offering caught my eye, Angry Whopper - jalapenos, onions with a splash of Angry Sauce. I'm a fan of hot sauce therefore I proceed to order Double Angry Whopper meal set with 500ml Heinenken Beer priced at $15.90. The burger was made fresh in big open kitchen behind the cashier counter giving me a visual eye candy.

When I take my first bite into Angry Double Whopper, my first impression is BK Whopper Bar beef patties are significantly thicker than other outlets. The Angry Sauce wasn't that tantalizing as the spicy level is not up to my mark yet but the jalapenos do pack a bit of punch. The major displeasure I had with Angry Whopper is the burger bun start to disintegrate as I take further bites as a result my hands are both drenched with the sauce. Luckily, the restroom is just next door for me to do a quick clean up. Overall, it is a valiant effort for BK to revamp their product line. But BK Whopper Bar need to do a lot more if they plan to compete with local and oversea burger house that are offering freshly baked (non-disintegrating) buns and localize flavour meat patties like tandoori chicken.       

Arguable Healthiest Biryani - Bismillah Biryani

I already plan to cook Hyderbadi Chicken Biryani on Sunday to celebrate Deepavali long weekend holiday. I'm no stranger to Dum Biryani. I had tried Biryani Xpress's Dum Chicken Biryani (which uses rose water to cook their biryani) at Geylang Serai Market. After reading ieatshootipost post on Bismillah Dum Biryani, I gather my 2 food kakis and decide to give it a go this Saturday and hopefully Bismillah Biryani can titillate our tastebuds.  

Boarding the MRT with my kakis, we start to worry if Bismillah will be open on Deepavali and whether it will be packed with customers. Thanks our lucky star, Bismillah Biryani is open for business.Contrary to what we believed, business was pretty brisk at Bismillah with just a tourist couple chowing down mutton biryani at one corner. Bismillah is a biryani shop without frills, so don't complain the sweltering afternoon heat if you cannot stand dining without air conditioning.

We proceeded to order 3 Dum Mutton Biryani since it is highly recomended by ieatishootipost. It took a while before the mutton biryanis were served to us. The mutton biryani served to us totally differ from the ieatishootipost's post (link). We are slightly disappointed as Bismillah serving is not consistent to what ieatishootipost post on their blog. The photos were taken with a PSP camera, therefore it might not be able to reflect Bismallah Biryani in it's full glory since ieatishootipost uses professional DSLR camera. However, I believe it is adequate for me since all my blog photos were taken with PSP camera.

Currently, there are 2 types of Biryani cooking style Pukka & Kaccha (link). For Pukka cooking style, the rice and meat is cook separately and layer during serving. It is predominantly popular in Muslim style biryani in Geylang Serai Market. As for Kaccha cooking style, the rice and meat is cook together which is predominate in Indian Biryani. Bismillah Biryani cooking style falls under Kaccha. Therefore, their basmati rice have a very strong infusion spices as it is cook on top of the marinated mutton. My first impression of Bismillah Biryani, it is the most healthiest biryani I ever eaten as you don't feel the over-powering ghee or butter that is predominant in Biryani. The mutton is very tender and not oily at all which surprising as it is first time I've eaten a biryani that don't feel jerlat (over-powering).

However the downside of Kaccha style, the basmati rice is drier than Pakka style which is reaffirms further after I tasted Bismillah & Biryani Xpress. For those prefer moisture content higher biryani, you might prefer Pakka style more. The rassa given by Bismillah wasn't enough to moisture the dry basmati rice. Most biryani, the mutton is heavily seasoned which you don't find it at Bismillah. For those who like strongly seasoned meat, you might want to avoid Bismillah as their mutton is lightly season. The tenderness of mutton is actually the saving grace for Bismillah. If the mutton is dry and hard coupled with the their pretty dry basmati rice, I will avoid Bismillah entirely.          

Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow

Today, I was "coerced" by my ex-colleague to join her for beef noodle dinner after work as it been quite a long while since we meet and she want to see my fruit of labor (the 9Kg I sheded in just 2 months without any special dieting or exercise). She manage to locate me in the crowd after much difficulty as she surprised how much weight I had shed. As it's pretty late, we cut short the greeting and proceed to the intended destination that is beef noodle.

I had no idea I will be having Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow along Purvis Street for dinner until my friend point it out to me. I had read quite a few positive review on Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow but I had yet taste it personally. So, I proceed to order $5 Dry Beef Kway Teow with the service staff. When the Dry Beef Kway Teow serve to me, I was quite surpise how "big" the serving is as I can get bigger portion at famous Scott Road Dry Beef Kway Teow at Orchard ION at comparable price. Portions aside, I decide to dig in and see how it fare against my favourite Zheng Yi Hainanese Beef Noodle.

Unfortunately, Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow dry version fail to impress me as similar to Scott Road the gravy have strong dark soya sauce aftertaste with just 3 beef slices. Much to my dismay, the beef slice is overcook and pretty tough. The only saving grace is the beef soup that accompanied the dry beef kway teow as the beef soup is comparable to Zheng Yi's beef soup in the herbs and beefy taste. However, Hock Lam's beef soup is more salty for those sodium intake conscious individual. For those going Hock Lam for their beef kway teow should forget about trying their dry version and order the wet version instead.

City Square Mall Revisit

After persistent badgering from my friend who wanted to go City Square Mall (since he got wind of the mall opening from Today papers), I decided to accompany him since he never set his foot on Little India before. After waiting for 10 mins at Farrer Park MRT, he finally arrive and we set off to City Square Mall. As we cross the road to City Square Mall, we are greeted by white wash Bread Talk Spin-off franchise - Toast Box. Toast Box seem to be severely lacking in customer if you compare to other popular outlet in Orchard road.

I have no idea City Square Mall got 2 basement level until my friend reported to me after he cannot find a freaking POSB/DBS ATM to draw money. So after we have KFC for lunch, we proceed to explore City Square Mall B2 further. When we reach B2, we surpised to find another foodcourt - Banquet operating there. City Square Mall can be consider as the only Mall to have the most foodcourt prior to the one I saw at Level 4. There is alot of shop spaces vacant, so we decide to end the trip early and proceed to Mustafa Centre.

As we cross the road we notice a strange procession across the road. We thought there is Thailand Red Shirt uprising(Link) in Little India as you see a group of people in red drag. But the majority difference is the guys are in red sexy lingerie or dress outfit remind me of the movie Priscilla, Queen of Desert LOL. We have no idea what statement this procession is trying to put through to the public. Seeing the participants so gungho especially the guys wearing sexy lingerie outfit is fairly sporty of them as I cannot anticipate myself doing that in the public. After the procession have passed, we move to Mustafa Centre and did some shopping and end the excursion by having dinner in Juz Acia Doby Ghaut.