Dinner @ Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice

October 3, 2017 in Chinese

It has been a long while since my last siblings’ dinner out. My younger brother suggested heading to Traditional Sembawang Claypot Rice (TSCP) because he recently chanced upon the place and enjoyed the food at TSCP much. So yes! If it’s approved by my brother, I am sure it’s good.

And boy was my brother right.

The thing about zi char… It’s always better to come in a big group. So when my siblings and I went, we could only order 4 dishes. And because I enjoyed the food so much, I popped by 5 days later with a colleague for late dinner. Keke.

Reservation is a definite must if one is coming during peak hours or in big groups. My sibling assisted with the reservation and shared that the restaurant took down his contact number only. Hmm. Not of his name too?

But of course, the con about the location was parking. If one intends to park at the lots within the private house estate, please make sure to put parking coupon! When colleague and I arrived on the second occasion at 9pm, he decided to take the risk of not putting since free parking starts at 10pm. Bad move. We joked that the parking attendant must be staying in one of the landed properties because my colleague’s ticket was timed 9.12pm. Gasp.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), we ordered:-


1) Crispy salted egg sotong, $12.80 (above)


2) Hakka crispy pork, $12.80 (above)


3) Garlic fried chicken, $12.80 (above)

4) Qing long cai, $12.80 (above)


5) San lao bee hoon, $8.80 (large) (above) – Let’s be real… I think san lao beehoon is almost synonymous with J.B Ah Meng. So although it wasn’t fair to compare the two since they are cooked with different style, comparing was still inevitable. And the difference between the two was TSCR’s was paler in colour and the burnt surface was not as charred. But the (real) distinct difference was TSCR’s was cooked with prawn, pork, egg and vegetables and was wet with (some) gravy at the bottom. TSCR’s was still enjoyable, but not my favourite rendition of san lao beehoon.


6) La la bee hoon, $4.80 (small) (above)


  

7) Claypot seafood da lu mian, $8.80 (small) (above) – Saw some patrons eating this dish during my first visit and it looked so good. So yes, one can say I came back specially for this dish. And it didn’t disappoint. But if one intends to share this, get the bigger portion. We really enjoyed the chewy noodles which was too little for 2 to have enough of since TSCP was more generous with the ingredients.


8) Traditional claypot rice, $13.80 (medium) (above)

I second my brother’s recommendation. I truly enjoyed the food at Traditional Sembawang Claypot Rice. If one is in Sembawang and is unsure of where to head to for a meal, do check them out! One must really get the claypot noodle. When I told my youngest brother that I went back for the claypot noodle, he said he too noticed that dish and would return for it. Keke. Great minds stomachs think alike.

SEMBAWANG TRADITIONAL CLAYPOT RICE
4 Jalan Tampang, Singapore
6757 7144, Website, Facebook
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Sun : 11:00 – 22:00
Ambience: 6
Value: 8
Service: 6

Dinner @ Orchid Live Seafood

April 30, 2015 in Chinese

Having just knocked off from work and feeling kinda tired, my friends and I wanted to have dinner somewhere near. Which meant up north of Singapore. To which, someone suddenly suggested Orchid Live Seafood. And I thought, “Why not”. Since it felt it has been a while since I last had Chinese cuisine. =p

And I’m glad we drove. Getting to Orchid Live Seafood can be a little tricky to arrive by public transport as the place is only accessible via bus. If not, there’s always cab of course. $_$ Parking isn’t a problem since they have their own space for patrons to park.

Upon entering the premise (which was the moment once we drove through the metal gate), we were immediately teleported to the (good, old) kampong days. Not that I’m old enough to have experienced the kampong days. (^^lll) Ha.

Although there’re indoor seats, we were led by the staff to the alfresco seats. Which I felt was more appropriate, especially if one wishes to soak up the atmosphere. And although it was a weekday, children donning netted singlets were running around and playing ‘Pepsi-Cola 1-2-3’! OMG! Nostalgic.

In fact, I liked the laid-back atmosphere and not-too-bad food so much that I went back again! It’s a refreshing change from the usual restaurant affair.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2), we ordered:-

1) Baby nai bai, $8 (S) (above)

2) Sambal kang kong, $8 (S) (above)


3) Steven chicken, $12 (S) (above) – My original choice was shrimp paste chicken, but I was told by the staff that they don’t have / keep stock of the shrimp paste chicken because people normally order their steven chicken. Like what! So in the end, I went along since I wanted to eat chicken. And it’s understood why it’s one of their signature. There’s something about the marinate which was really addictive. Tangy yet sweet. But what I really like was that the chicken was cooked in such a way that the marinate was crispy. Eat the dish when these are served piping hot!


4) Crab, $5 per 100g (above) – We had wanted to order just 1 crab since there was only 2 of us, but we were informed that there’s a minimum number of 2 crabs. With 3 ways of having the crabs prepared (steamed, chilli, black pepper), we went with chilli. The staff asked if we wanted to order mini fried buns, but we decided not to. And I have to say, these Sri Lanka crabs were definitely heavily fertilised. Just look at the roe! However, my friend and I suspected the crabs were not fresh. Its texture was slightly powdery although the flesh still came out as shreds. We paid $80 for the crabs.

5) Red grouper, $8 per 100g (above) – The staff highly recommended the fish, and we went with it being steamed. We paid $52. So while the fish was undeniably flesh, my friend and I noticed one-third of the flesh (nearer to the tail) was missing when served. Hmm…


6) Lobster porridge, $60 (above) – And from the menu, the lobster which is priced at $10 per 100g can be served with porridge, butter coated or garlic steamed. And since lobster porridge is their signature, we had to go with porridge. And this was not too bad. Upon served, the staff proceeded to remove the lobsters from the porridge. And the soup was light. Although when I compared it to the other lobster porridge that I had tried, the lobster porridge at Orchid Live Seafood only had a little lobster roe.

So while there’re not many places like Orchid Live Seafood which transports one back to the 1980s, one should manage one’s expectation of the service before coming.

During my first visit, the female staff who took our order was very insistent. We had wanted sambal kangkong, but was told kang kong was not available. When we asked what (vegetable) was available, she replied “Kai lan and nai bai.” Even though I decided to go with kai lan, the staff continued to suggest nai bai. Even when I turned her down. And when she repeated our order, she repeated our order as “nai bai”. Obviously, by then, my friend and I decided to leave it as it is since it was just vegetable after all.

ORCHID LIVE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
1 Bah Soon Pah Road, Singapore
6756 0311, Website, Facebook
Overall: 6
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 6
Mon – Sun : 11:00 – 23:00
Ambience: 6
Value: 6
Service: 5

Dinner @ Buckaroo BBQ & Grill

July 21, 2012 in American

I would not have known of this place had it not been for my friend’s recommendation. Buckaroo is nestled inside the estate of private houses, which to me, is really inconvenient unless one drives.

Buckaroo is easily identifiable along the row of terrace houses as we drove up, with its excessive usage of timber for the exterior and usage of green, red, yellow neon lights.

And from the menu, we ordered :-

1) Ranch style crispy fried chicken wings, $15.80 (half dozen) (above) – Wanting our chicken wings crispy, we chose not to go for the buffalo wings. Not too bad. The wings were crispy (not the thick kind of batter) and juicy. Nice!!!

2) Onion rings, $9.80 (regular) (above) – I admit, I ordered this because it’s somewhat interesting that the onion rings were served stacked up in a long pole. Haha. And nothing beats food which is served hot. Nice.

3) Escargot bourguignonne, $16.80 (half dozen) – I felt this was normal. Nothing special.


4) Clam chowder, $9.80 (above) – A big bread is used to hold the soup. And the best way to eat it is really to scoop out the ‘flesh’ of the bread from within, and consume it with the soup. Yes, please do not neglect the bread. It’s such a pity when I saw others touching the soup, but not the bread. The soup is thick and creamy with lots of ingredients.


5) Fish ‘n’ chips , $19.50 (above) – This is absolutely a must order! Buckaroo sure is very generous with the serving. The one slab (Oh yes, I am using the word ‘slab’ instead of ‘piece’) of dory served is thick, juicy and fresh with the batter being thin and crispy. Definitely one of the better fish & chips I have tried.

The service staff are warm and approachable. Will definitely head back to Buckaroo for their clam chowder and fish ‘n’ chips if I am in the area.

BUCKAROO BBQ & GRILL
12B Andrews Avenue, Singapore
6481 4986, Facebook
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon, Wed – Sun : 16:00 – 22:30
Ambience: 7
Value: 7
* Closed on Tues
Service: 7

UPDATE: Restaurant has moved to 921 Upper Bukit Timah Road.