Thursday, April 30, 2009

Blackforest @ Al Forno

Blackforest

Do note that this cake is only available as a whole (10", >1.5kg @ $60++) but we were honoured to have it served per slice.Dribbled with raspberry sauce on the plate, the cake looks sinfully rich for its deep, dark and moist outlook.

Yuan claimed it is the best blackforest cake he had tasted so far for its rich chocolate sponge and mousse. Incorporating in each bite is the rum-soaked cherries to remind us that it is a Blackforest. Yes, the cake is that rich when it comes to chocolate.

What was also nice about this cake is the vanilla-flavoured whipped cream in which the cherry sits on. As for me, I thought this cake has to be shared by two or finished by a hard-core chocolate fan. Definitely a cake that will leave most satisfied and happy.

Al Forno Trattoria
203 Thomson Road
Goldhill Centre
Singapore 307638
Tel: 6256 2838
http://www.alfornotrattoria.com/
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Tiramisu @ Al Forno

Tiramisu

Pretty impressed by the mascarpone cheese for its smooth and light texture but yet the strength of cheezy-ness is not compromised. Although the cake is not overly soaked with espressor or liquor, the overall combination is worth a try.

Al Forno Trattoria
203 Thomson Road
Goldhill Centre
Singapore 307638
Tel: 6256 2838
http://www.alfornotrattoria.com/
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Relish, is it all about burgers?

Interior of Relish III

Relish, better known as a burger restaurant by Wild Rocket is pretty well-heard in the internet community. Located at Cluny Court, the restaurant is situated on the second floor of this colonial bungalow and the design of the place is spacious with a touch of simplicity. I have to admit I was enamored with the white walls, high ceilings and the blackboards. Moreover, orange in an immaculate place provides a cool chic vibe, hence it a good place for casual dining with family and friends.

Interior of Relish II

Being a burger place, the menu (apart from burgers) is quite limited. Most would have associated burgers with thick juicy beef patties but Relish expand the choice of burger patties to chicken, pork and tofu. What makes this place different from other burger joints or restaurants is the introduction of local flavours such as Char Siew and Ramlee so once you have settled the choice of meat, it is not a painstaking chore to order.

The range of burgers offered
Blue Cheese and WIlliam Pear Burger

Apart from bread and beef patty, Blue Cheese and William Pear Burger ($19++) also came with walnut butter, bleu auvergne, rocket and poached pear. Being a fan of blue cheese, I felt that the blue cheese was not strong to my liking but given that it is an acquired taste, I guessed this is just right for most. The burger buns weren't soaked and the beef patty was juicy and not over-minced. Mild sweetness of poached pears and bitterish taste rocket complement well but having mention many plus points, this burger is done to satisfaction but not memorable.
Crispy Skin Alantic Salmon

Crispy Skin Alantic Salmon ($21.50++), which was served with lemon butter sauce and scallion potato mash, was disappointing for the fact that the meat wasn't tender and juicy to my liking. The potato mash that came with it was alittle bland and dry. B Bakery is definitely a better bet for grilled salmon.

Roasted Black Sesame Puree

Black Seasame Puree ($8++) is definitely my favourite dessert among the three (Strawberry Cheese Cake, Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau). This is pretty similar to Black sesame soup (芝麻糊) but a less watery version with more crunch. All in all, my liking towards this place is tipped towards its ambience rather than the food offered. To curb my burger craving, give me Big Mac or a Double Mushroom Swiss, or maybe the Blue Cheese Burger from Brewerkz.

Relish by Wild Rocket
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259760
Tel: 6763 1547

Operating hours -
noon to 3pm; 6:30pm to 11pm (Mon to Fri)
10:30am to 11pm (Sat and Sun)
http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/relish.htm

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Monday, April 27, 2009

Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau

Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau

Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau ($12++)
With a choice of acommpanying this molten chocolate cake with either flambed bananas or vanilla ice cream, the impression of this cake stops at average. No doubt, it has molten lava chocolate in the core and a slight crisp crust, the cake wasn't extremely moist nor rich. My expectation of chocolate fondant would be alittle high for that week as I happened to have one earlier the week at Oh Carol, Biopolis and that one is at least a point better than this.

Relish by Wild Rocket
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road Singapore 259760
Tel: 6763 1547

Operating hours
noon to 3pm; 6:30pm to 11pm (Mon to Fri)10:30am to 11pm (Sat and Sun)
http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/relish.htm

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Wild Rocket Signature Cheesecake

Strawberry Cheese Cake

Wild Rocket Signature Cheesecake ($9++) -


A deconstructed cheesecake with a delectable mix of ice-cream, cream cheese, whipped cream, berries and crumble. Definitely doesn't taste like a typical cheesecake but its creamy texture with the crunchy crumble is a good twist from American cheesecakes. Personally, I thought it is pretty pricey, given its portion but interesting.

Relish by Wild Rocket
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259760
Tel: 6763 1547

Operating hours
noon to 3pm; 6:30pm to 11pm (Mon to Fri)10:30am to 11pm (Sat and Sun)
http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/relish.htm

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Saturday, April 25, 2009

Mr Baoz! 包子先生

Mr Baoz! 包子先生

You won't miss this as you exit from the Malaysian customs and enter City Square. A Taiwanese concept shop, mixing traditional baos with savoury flavours e.g. potatos, squids, bonito flakes, chicken...

Savoury Baoz

Of course there are those donut looking baoz :)

Snowflake and Chocolate series

Half a dozen of these baoz cost RM14.95. These were the flavours which we tried.

1/2 dozen @ RM14.95

I would like to especially highlight 2 flavours. First is the viennese cheese baoz which contains crab mayonaise. This contrastes pretty well with the sweet man tou (bao). The next is the Curry Chicken baoz, the outer layer is fried and the filling is similar to the found in curry puffs but this is not too spicy. I wouldn't recommend the steamed series, they taste pretty ordinary for that price. Overall worth a try and as they say, it will change your lifestyle.

Interior of the cafe


Mr Baoz
JB City Square
Lot No J3-25 Level 3
Johor Baru City Square
Tel 07 226 2682
http://www.mrbaoz.com.my/

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Friday, April 24, 2009

Moo Year's Delicious Cheese Cake

Talking about Calendar's, one of their products I will not forget is their carrot cake . I happened to give slices of carrot cake to some of my colleagues/friends and out of 8, 3 actually purchase from Calendar's, 3 were craving for carrot cakes after that while 2 found it so-so.

This time round, apart from Calendar's carrot cake, I have tried 3 flavours of their cheesecakes and I can't help but to think of Ben and Jerry while eating them.

The gorgeous Guernsey look in their Mmoolala Cheesecake with patches of pure chocolate on creamy cheese,
Mmoolala Cheesecake

The handsome Holstein, Moreoreo cheesecake
Moreoreo Cheesecake

The Seductive Strawberry Swirl with strawberries snug in cream cheese pockets
Strawberry Swirl

Calendar's cheesecakes are generally creamy and smooth. Not the most memorable one but all the flavours were well-received by my family. Strawberry Swirl had bits of strawberries in them and was not overly sour. The tangy strawberry puree provide a refreshing taste but I thought the digestive biscuit base was not crunchy enough to my liking. Oh, my bad. The base / crust is actually made from Graham crackers brought in from Los Angeles so for people who want a different type of base, don't miss out what Calendar's got to offer.

Moreoreo cheesecake had a thick oreo base which was better-received among my sisters and me. What is good about it was the reduced sweetness but like the Strawberry Swirl, it lacks the crunch from the oreo bits.

Had a mixed feeling about Mmoolala Cheesecake as the sourish bit of cream cheese does confuse the taste of chocolate, since I have not come across a good chocolate cheesecake, I shall reserve my comments. Last note, there is an unaccountable bitterish aftertaste, it might contain some nutmeg for this flavour.

All in all, its smooth texture and the effort to make the various flavours looks different from the conventional, monotonous, single-colour cheesecakes, are worth mentioning. As the cheesecakes are not rich with cream cheese, neither was it tinted with lots of lemon juice, they were pretty neutral to be accepted by most. Also, Calendar's strives to make it better with quality topmost ingredients and to keep the oils cholesterol friendly, butter unsalted, sugar reduced, omit the salt if that can be done. Definitely appeal to the health conscious category.

Currently, they are having a promotion of selling their dairy delicious at $39 till 30th April. The cakes are 8" (>1.2kg) and delivery will be waived for any purchase above $150 per location.

Calendar's Cakes
257 Pandan Loop
#04-00
Singapore 128434
Tel: 6464 0383
http://calendarcakes.com/
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Chinese Dessert - Part 2

Ah Chew Desserts 阿秋甜品


Located along Liang Seah Street and is normally crowded in the evenings - Ah Chew Desserts. So we will mildly satisfied after Ji De Chi, so we crossed over to Ah Chew.

Durian-Mango Pomelo Sago Dessert, 榴莲杨枝甘露


What better to compare then to order the Durian Mango Pomelo. In contrast to Ji De Chi, this was way cheaper $4.80 v $6.50. Alas, this was an even bigger disappointment. Mango plus durian is really a potential diarrhoea mix for the weak stomach. In fact, it tasted more like mango sago with durian pulp. The most annoying thing about this dessert was the small ice cubes which you would end up chewing half the time.

Waterchest nut with egg, 马蹄蛋花


After two durian dessert, we opted for something mild - Egg drop with Chestnut. Fen had 2 comments after eating this. 1) Too Starchy 2) Too diluted and chestnut too chunky.

My overall verdict based on the durian puree at least, Ji De Chi is a clear winner but I would certainly be back to compare more desserts between them.

Ah Chew Dessert Ptd Ltd
1 Liang Seah Street
#01-11
Singapore 189022
Tel: 6339 8198

Operating Hours -
12.30pm-11.30pm (Tue-Fri)
1.30pm-11.30pm (
Sat-Sun)
Closed on Mondays
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Monday, April 20, 2009

Chinese Dessert - Part 1

Ji De Chi 记得吃


Venturing down Liang Seah Street one would notice the 2 dessert outlets Ji De Chi and Ah Chews on both sides of the road. In this entry we shall review Ji De Chi and the next we shall review Ah Chews.

Tang yuan, 汤圆


We put 2 desserts to test. First up is the all time favourite Tang yuan, 汤圆 in ginger soup. It was generally up to standard but the only let down was the peanut flavoured Tang Yuan, the peanut was kind of harden in one huge block.

Pureed durian with fresh durian and pomelo


Next up is a Singaporean favourite - Durian Puree with pomelo Sago. I recall that I once said that this was the best durian puree which I have tried. Alas, this time they served me durian puree with frozen durian pulp. Apart from the frozen pulp, the durian puree was indeed satisfying.

We were kind of upset with this episode and decided to cross over to Ah Chew's. To find out what was our verdict? Read our next post.

Ji De Chi 记得吃
8 Liang Seah Street
#01-03
Singapore 189029
Tel: 6339 9928

Operating hours -
Open daily from 11am - 11pm
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Friday, April 17, 2009

Four Leaves' Blackforest

St. Leaven @ Takashimaya


I am sure at some point of time in a person’s childhood; one would have eaten the localized Blackforest from neighbourhood confectionaries which are in the form of whipping cream and chocolate sponges, topped with glazed cherries and chocolate flakes. So, in a way, the few Blackforests we have at sgdessert.com didn’t leave a deep impression.

A collection of cakes by Four Leaves


This time round, we have chosen to have Four Leaves’ Blackforest cake back to back with Mezza9 and we felt that the choice is pretty clear. We definitely like Four Leaves’ Blackforest Classic. In our definition, we felt that this version of Blackforest is a bridge between the all-time childhood favourite to the more authentic ones.

Blackforest Classic


Unlike the extreme sourness of the cherries, the ones in here are sweeter and do not have the bitterish after-taste of Kirsch. In addition, the fresh cream is very light with an acceptable level of sweetness. What makes it different is its chocolate whipping cream and its higher cake content, making the overall combination pretty light to be finished by one.

Saint Leaven by Four Leaves
B2 Takashimya
Tel: 6735 1235
http://www.fourleaves.com.sg/
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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Strawberry Shortcake from Mezza9

A collection of cakes @ Mezza9


Mezza 9 is located at the second floor of the Hyatt Hotel. Offers a quality cakes at competitive prices. Cakes are priced at $4.50 to $6.50 per slice.

Chocolate Bonbons @ Mezza9


My personal favourite of Mezza 9 is the strawberry shortcake. At $4.50, its a steal. One entire strawberry with white chocolate carvings over vanilla cream and sponge. The sponge bears resemblence to those found in sugar rolls. Overall refreshing and should be well liked by most.

Strawberry Shortcake


Mezza9
Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Road
Tel: 6887 5492
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No.4 - Blackforest from Mezza9

We first had this cake last year and the impression was poor. Having ate this the second time round, and using Laurent Bernard Chocolatier’s Blackforest as a benchmark, I reached my verdict that expensive blackforest are meant to be bitter-sourish due to the incorporation of Kirsch-soaked cherries.


Blackforest

Setting aside the bland or rather tasteless fresh cream, the rich dark chocolate mousse is commendable. In the case of Laurent’s version, the chocolate mousse is smoother and creamier.

The dark chocolate sponges were actually wet, which is most probably due to the excessive amount of kirsch used in the cake. For that, BakerZin’s Foret Noir and Laurent’s Blackforest are a better bet.

Mezza9
Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Road
Tel: 6887 5492
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Mezza9

Cookies before unwrapping

Chocolate Chip Cookies ($6.00+) was featured in the in The Chocolate Bible of 8 days (No. 933, Sept 4, 2008 - The Chocolate Issue) to be the best chocolate chip cookies in Singapore. Being a cookie lover, one of the most important factors in a chocolate chip cookie is sufficient amount of chocolate to curb chocolate cravings so this can be done by either large chocolate chunks or simply increase the chocolate content of the cookie dough.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

In this case, what Mezza9 does was to increase the chocolate content in the cookie dough, which is stronger than the melted chocolate chips but on the downside, the cookies are sweet, probably additional sugar for the extra crisp and crunch.

Mezza9
Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Road
Tel: 6887 5492
[ ... ]

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

TWG Tea Salon

Singapore-based TWG (i.e. The Wellness Group) Tea Company, aims to bring in top-quality single-estate teas and to promote the appreciation of the finest teas available in all parts of the world. According to TWG managing director, Mr. Aum-Stievenard, the wide variety of teas are achieved via the spontaneous effort to build rapport with tea planters. So some of the teas available in TWG are exclusive access to the finest harvests.

TWG (Republic Plaza)

What caught my attention was when I first saw the ambience this place has to offer in 8 days last year. The first impression obtained from TWG's dining area is the neatly arranged old-fashioned painted tea containers in the warm timber cupboards. Adopting a Continental-style dining atmosphere with the use of Bone China dinnerware, TWG aims to bring tea drinking to a different level.

Dining area of TWG (Republic Plaza)

Flipping through the tea menu presents an astonishing selection of more than 300 varieties and blends from around the world and the fine concoction of in-house blends such as floral white tea and chocolate tea are only exclusively available at TWG.

Dining area of TWG (Republic Plaza) II

The tea are served in uniquely designed teapots. To ensure that the tea is warm even after 1 hour, the Bone China teapot is housed in a shiny metallic casing, cushioned on the interior with black fabric to prevent heat loss. All the fine details to tea brewing such as the temperature of the water, the seeping time and its timing to remove the tea leaves are carefully monitored to maintain consistency of flavour. What surprises me was the use of cotton filters and the release of tannins beyond each tea's seeping time contribute greatly to the outcome of the taste. These gourmet teas are also not served with milk and only pure crystalized sugar are used to ensure the unalteration of taste. Extreme acidic lemon slices are a definite no-no but Mr. Aum-Stievenard recommended orange slices as a less-acidic option.

Iced Sexy Tea and Hot 1837 White Tea

Apart from the teas, we are also keen about the cakes and patisseries. What makes it different from other places is that most of the bakes are uniquely infused with tea. In fact, Executive Chef Philippe Langlois has been attributed with the invention of tea gastronomy in France. So there is no way we are going to miss out the tea infused macarons as well as the Singapore Surprise, which are extremely popular.

Since we have no clues of what to have, we have settled with a Celebration tea time set ($28++) which comes with
  • a pot of TWG Tea (of your choice),
  • a selection of four fine finger sandwiches,
  • a choice of 2 homemade tea pastries (selection ranges from Earl Grey infused Madeleine, Matcha Tea infused Financiers, Muffins or Scones) or 1 patisserie
  • a choice of 3 macarons (see previous post for the flavours)
Finger sandwiches

The assortment of finger sandwiches includes foie gras, smoked salmon, shrimp and crab mayonnaise served with green salad and house vinaigrette. The wholemeal bread is lightly toasted with slight nutty crisp crust and has a soft inner part. According to the staff, the bread is freshly baked by the chef daily. The fillings were lightly marinated and the moisture content was just right to prevent the bread from turning soggy.

Singapore Surprise

Instead of choosing 2 tea pastries, we have settled with TWG specialty, a wild strawberry and pastry cream tart, Singapore Surprise ($8.50++). This is highly recommended for its refreshing and strong vanilla mousse which is the result of the vanilla Bourbon tea. The torched caramelized sugar eaten together with the vanilla mousse and berries has just a good mixture of sweetness, sourishness and a punch of vanilla. The tart pastry to complete the contrasting texture is worth every bit of your $8.50.

Macarons

For the macarons, we have originally settled with the 3 recommended flavours, Napoleon tea (Black), Rose and Praline (Dark brown) but Mr. Aum-Stievenard was kind enough to allow us to sample all 6 flavours. A complete breakdown of each flavours can be found here.

TWG Tea Chocolate Fondant

TWG TEA Chocolate Fondant ($10++), is a melting chocolate cake served with a light caramel cream infused with vanilla Bourbon Tea. Mysteriously, this bears close resemblance to the sticky date pudding except that it was covered with chocolate. This should be eaten hot or the sticky feeling may be a put off. The combination of caramel, chocolate and tea was a little extreme for our taste buds and poor Yuan couldn’t really make out what he was eating.

Creme Brulee

Instead of the regular Crème Brulee ($10++), this is a refreshing twist to the traditional French Confection where Jasmine Imperial Tea is introduced. In a way, the introduction of tea into this dessert, makes it a little less sweet than the usual ones.

All in all, this was indeed an eye-opening experience for us, particularly when we are introduced alittle to tea processing and tea brewing. Definitely looking forward to our next chi-chi high tea session or should I say dinner given the time we reached the place.

Anyway, Timeless Facade happens to have an entry on TWG Tea Restaurant last Saturday.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
9 Raffles Place, #01 - 22
Republic Plaza
Singapore 048619
Tel: 6538 1837
http://www.twgtea.com/
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Monday, April 13, 2009

Tea-infused macarons

Macarons, these crispy almond biscuits are getting popular in Singapore and through our macaron spree, we have come across a wide variations of flavours. What TWG uniquely has in their macarons is the ability to infuse it with their signature tea. We have tried macarons that are flavoured with tea and we would say it was pretty disastrous. That was our encounter with GOBI.

Evan's Earl Grey and Salted Caramel macarons

Since then, our impression of tea-infused macarons became really bad until we get to try Evan's Earl Grey macarons. Did I mention that I ate at least 4-5 pieces in a go despite after a 9-course food tasting session. Yeh, it was good.

Tea-infused macarons

Given that the taste of tea-infused macarons can go either way, I would say such tea-infused macarons are pretty rare in comparison to chocolate, fruity and floral flavours. One of the place to go for tea-infused macarons is none other TWG. Their macarons are sold in packs of 6 ($12) and are also available at TWG Tea retail counter at basement 2 of Takashimaya.

Before going into details the individual flavours, we have to admit these are one of the best macarons we have eaten. All TWG's macarons are flavoured with their in-house tea and given the care in seeping the tea, the macarons are able to bring out the fragrance of each tea without leaving the bitter aftertaste of tannins.

Macarons

Also, the winning factor of these macarons would be them being not-so-sweet but due to the reduction of sugar, the shells lack the crispy outer crust. Highly recommended for macaron lovers.

In case you are wondering what are the flavours, here is the breakdown
  • Black - infused with Napoleon tea (a type of black tea), Tahitian vanilla and caramel dices.
  • Dark Brown - infused with Camelot tea ( a type of black tea) and praline
  • Brown - Earl Grey Fortune with chocolate gauche
  • Pink - Bain De Rose tea (extracted from the Rose of Grasse)
  • White - Moroccan Mint
  • Yellow - Lemon Bush
Oh before I forgot, instead of the regular buttercream, their macarons are filled with either milk or white chocolate ganache, so the texture is pretty smooth and not cloying.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
9 Raffles Place, #01 - 22
Republic Plaza
Singapore 048619
Tel: 6538 1837
http://www.twgtea.com/
[ ... ]

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Ah Hoi's Kitchen

Ah Hoi's Kitchen, located at Traders Hotel beside the rooftop swimming pool, is one Chinese restaurant that surprised me when it comes to ambience. Most people will have a misconception that Chinese Restaurants, particularly in hotels, should adopt a Oriental outlook with large Chinese calligraphy paintings, high-backed chairs and wooden tables. Definitely a direct opposite when Ah Hoi is concerned.

Interior of Ah Hoi II

What lies behind the panels of folded door is an adaptation of casual dining. Spacious with high ceiling, giving people a relaxing environment to dine after work. The tables are not arranged closely, making it wheelchair and child friendly. The alfresco dining overlooking the swimming pool, giving a very light-hearted atmosphere. Very similar to what the Line @ Shangri-la got to offer.

Exterior of Ah Hoi III

I don't know how many share the same sentiments as me but I am one that will not spend on Chinese food as it is often overpriced and I would prefer to enjoy similar dishes at home or Cze Char style. This was directly the opposite of what Ah Hoi's Kitchen is trying to portray.

Exterior of Ah Hoi I

According to the F&B manager of Traders Hotel, Ah Hoi aims to provide affordable and good quality Chinese food in a light-hearted atmosphere. That was also why Ah Hoi introduced set lunches to appeal to working crowd, something which Chinese restaurants usually don't offer.

Interior of Ah Hoi I

In addition, the staff Ah Hoi hired are mainly fun-loving and full of drive to provide a more lively environment. Traditional cheongsam or suits are ditched but instead the staff are dressed very casually. As the tiles and the use of iron-wrought tables have lost its appeal over the years, Traders Hotel will revamp this place soon. So, if one is curious how different Ah Hoi is to other Chinese restaurants, it is worthwhile to drop by a visit.

Ah Hoi offers quite a variety of Chinese food, ranging from

  • Starters (e.g. Mango Salad, Satay, Hokkien Popiah priced between $7 to 14),
  • Soups (e.g. Seafood soup, Shark's fin broth, Fish maw broth priced between $6 to 18),
  • Fresh Seafood (e.g. Garoupa fillet, Steamed/Sit-fried Scallops, Steamed Cod fish priced between $23 to 38),
  • Meat dishes (e.g. Grilled pork ribs, Braised Mongolian lamb chops, Stir-fried beef priced between $13 to 18),
  • Vegetables (e.g. Hong Kong Kai Lan, Sambal Kangkong, Mixed vegetables with beancurd in claypot, mostly priced at $8)
  • Noodles/Rice (e.g. Pineapple fried rice, Seafood fried rice with X.O. sauce, Hokkien nooles and Crispy fried vermicelli with seafood in egg broth priced $13 to $17)
  • Of course, not missing out live seafood such as prawns, Sri Lanka crab, Indonesian crab, Lobster, etc.
Also, according to Ah Hoi's senior chef, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong do come by frequently for Ah Hoi's signature crabs and Hokkien Mee.

Crispy fried baby squid in fruit sauce ($8.00++) was the first dish we had and my dad specifically mentioned that the squids were not over-fried, thus was crispy and not tough. The tangy fruit sauce that came with it was mild and not overly sweet.

Crispy fried baby squid in fruit sauce

Hot and sour soup ($8.00++), a classic Szechuan dish has a generous serving of tofu, pork and dried mushrooms. For someone like me who don't take spicy food, this was just right and not overly starchy. Worth a try.

Hot and sour soup

Poached spinach with conpoy and trio egg in superior stock ($11.00++), is a common dish in most Cantonese restaurant but is one of the pricier dish. For $11++, the serving of this dish is worth mentioning and what makes it good was that it was not overloaded with MSG nor extremely salty. However, salted eggs lovers like me will be alittle disappointed as the egg yolks were a tad too hard.

Poached spinach with conpoy and trio egg in superior stock

Steamed cod fish with crispy beancurd crumbs ($38.00++), was my favourite dish of the evening, for its tender and firm fish meat. However, daddy pointed out that the oil is alittle too much but we weren't sure if that came from the fish or the cooking oil from the beancurd crumbs. The most important thing is that the fish is fresh with the bulk of the bones removed. Good for kids and people like me who always end up swallowing fish bones (accidentally).

Steamed cod fish with crispy beancurd crumbs

The star dish of the evening, Chilli Indonesian crabs ($32.00++) (their crabs are also served in black pepper, butter, steamed, stir-fried style) served with deep-fried mantou ($0.80++) was memorable for its size of the crab and the firmness of the meat. The sauce that came with it was not overly sweet nor salty and the mantou that came with this has an extremely crisp skin but not overladen with oil.

Chilli Crab

We were pretty honoured to try one of the dessert creations of Traders Hotel which is not released in the menu, Mango crepe with pudding. This dish was served hot and the crepe was light and fluffy with mangoes cubes wrapped in it. The sweet mangoes complement very well with the mildly flavoured crepe. When eaten together with the curd-like mango pudding, the result was refreshing and extraordinary.

Mango Crepe

It is good that the dishes Ah Hoi offers are pretty up-to-date, in other words, the dishes weren't oily nor overly sweet nor salty but for those who has a liking of strong taste, the dishes might be alittle bland to them.

Traders Hotel, Singapore
1A Cuscaden Road
4F Traders Hotel
Singapore 249716
Tel: 6831 4373
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