Category: Singaporean

The most famous Singaporean dishes are the Chilli Crab and Hainan Chicken Rice. It is mostly influenced by dishes from South East Asia region.

Sinma Laksa House

Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10

Price: $401 for 8 people

Place: 6/10

Review:

For those of you looking at the price tag on this week’s restaurant, Sinma Laksa House, it might seem very excessive, especially if you know the restaurant inside out. Truth be told, I actually took quite a gamble when I invited my close group of friends to have a dinner here.

The main reason why I wanted to eat in this restaurant was this solitary dish, Singapore Chilli Crab. I am comparing this dish with the original one in Singapore, chilli crab from Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. There were quite a few differences between the two. In Sinma, they use Mud Crab for the dish (at around $86 / kg). Ours was 2.6 kgs of Mud crab and it was gigantic! They also dumbed down the spice. I guess it would make it edible to the local tongue. I was actually very pleased with the crab (until I received the bill ^_^).

The second dish was a dish recommended by the waitress, Fried Chicken (?). It’s a very ordinary looking deep fried chicken dish with prawn crackers. The portion was also quite big tho. In contrast, the third one, Beef and Chicken Satay, was very yummy. They were grilled perfectly with sides of rice cake, pickles and onions.

Our next highlight (and second most expensive dish) is the Steamed Barramundi with Ginger and Shallot. Together with the crab, they contributed to 2/3 of the total bill! However, they were really the top two dishes of the night. The soup base of the fish was fantastic, and the fish itself was succulent.

As you might know, I am not a big fan of the green stuff, but I think these next two were okay. Long Bean Belachan is a staple food in many Asian restaurants in Sydney. There was really nothing wrong with it, but nothing special as well. I quite like the Stir fried garlic asparagus for its crunchy and tasty asparagus.

Last but not least, we ordered a dish that might need an acquired taste: Sambal Prawns and Petai. Petai (known also as stink bean) has a very unusual smell and was a perfect match for the sambal prawns. The only downside for this was the dish was brought out very-very late in the service (when everything else was practically finished).

The final verdict for Sinma Laksa House

Sinma Laksa House has a very nice Singapore Chilli Crab. Is it worth the value? It would if the restaurant and waitresses were nicer. The rest of the dishes were also nice and presentable.

Did you know?

Without the chilli crab, it would only cost us around $20 per person!

Details:

391 Anzac Parade, Kingsford 2032

02 9313 7663

Oct 1, 2013
Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8.5/10

Price: S$208++ set menu for four

Place: 7/10

Review:

Jumbo Seafood restaurant is one of the household names in Singapore. They even had the motto ‘The big name in Seafood’ to illustrate how famous they are. Last year when I visited Singapore, I wanted to go to Jumbo restaurant but they didn’t open in the afternoon. Hence, this time around I must go!

Jumbo seafood have quite a view branch and we went to the one in Riverwalk, a nice river-side location in Clarke Quay, Singapore. When we saw the menu, there were a whole bunch of seafood dishes to choose from and it was quite hard to decide. In the end, we chose the set menu for four people, priced at S$208++. There are five dishes (with optional mantou that we took) and a dessert.

Our first dish of the day was Superior Seafood in Thick Pumpkin Soup. This was the first time I ever tasted a pumpkin soup combined with a whole lot of seafood goodies and mushrooms. It quickly built up my appetite and expectations (a good thing considering it was already sky high!) through the roof!

The second dish Jumbo presented us was Fresh Scallop & Squid Fillet in XO Sauce. Unfortunately this one was a bit spicy to my liking and I was kinda worried that the chilli crab would be this spicy! In terms of presentations, they had a balanced combination of seafood and vegetables on a deep fried noodles ‘plate’.

Our next dish fell in the category of ‘as expected’. It was the traditional-looking Roasted Duck. Although it was in the ‘nice’ end of the scale, it was still a regular roast duck with sauce, tender meat and crispy skin.

Then came the dish that I’ve been dying to try for ages, Jumbo Chilli Crab. It was presented in a wok, possibly not the one they are cooking it from as the crab was too immersed in the soup. I was extremely pleased that the Singaporean chilli crab wasn’t actually as hot as I would have imagined them to be.

Jumbo seafood’s signature dish came with an optional deep-fried mantou which I strongly recommend to take (or add some more!). The mantou really enhanced the chilli crab’s taste.

Similar to other Chinese restaurants, they served the rice last. In this case, it was Seafood Fried Rice with Silver Fish. It was staple food good to fill up tummy that wasn’t really full, like mine 🙂

It was a really yummy dessert to end the night, Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo. It was condensed milk on crushed ice with toppings of mango sago and pomelo.

The final verdict for Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

I must say I am very pleased with my visit to Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. They might command a slight premium value to the average Singaporean Restaurant, but it was thoroughly justified with the dishes they presented. Its Singaporean Chilli Crab also lived up to my expectations.

Details:

20 Upper Circular Road #B1-48

The Riverwalk, Singapore 058416

+65 343435

http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/

Jun 11, 2013
Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee’s rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $8 per person

Place: 6.5/10

Review:

We are extremely excited to welcome you to our first ever review on a restaurant in Singapore! Our friends recommended me of a ‘nice’ Hainan chicken rice place that I would really enjoy. I was taken to the east coast branch of Boon Tong Kee. Little did I know the restaurant was featured in Wikipedia for its infamous chicken dish.

In Boon Tong Kee, the dish was simply called Signature Boiled Chicken. It should be ordered in the companion of a bowl of Chicken Rice. The chicken was cooked to perfection with a shiny glazing of its sauce. Portion-wise, I can say it wasn’t built for Australians. You might want to order two of these when you come around.

I just realised that our three out of the next four dishes had ‘crispy’ on its name. The first one was Crispy Roast Chicken. This was the roasted version of the chicken. It presented a different dimension to the boiled chicken and this one was served on the bone. It was crisp and crunchy on the outside with a tender meat. Both dishes came with preserved vegetables on the side.

Crispy Beancurd was supposed to be the entrée but we would take it nonetheless. It was bite size and had an orchid flower as a decorative ornament. I wasn’t sure what they used for the coating but it was crunchy as well as soft. It kind of reminded me of a dried agedashi tofu since there was also a Japanese mayonnaise for the sauce. Our vegetable dish, Poached Chinese Spinach with Assorted Eggs, didn’t remotely look like the one on the menu. It was very soupy and it didn’t really showcase the assortments of eggs. We also had to fish out the century egg.

Our last dish of the day was Crispy Cereal Prawns. There were four giant prawns on the plate and my immediate thought was ‘value for money’. However as it turned out, it was more than just that! The prawns were crispy all the way that you could eat the whole thing! As an added bonus, they were coated with salted duck egg yolk.

The final verdict for Boon Tong Kee

Four prawns + salted duck egg yolk – the price = a must! However, we must not drift too far from the signature boiled chicken. Boon Tong Kee’s was definitely better than most Hainan Chicken Rice in Sydney.

Did you know?

Singapore’s Changi airport is one of the best airports in the world. It has EVERYTHING you need (even shower and massages!).

Details:

199 East Coast Road, Singapore 428902

+65 6478 1462

http://www.boontongkee.com.sg/

Jul 10, 2012
Aseana Food Village

Update: Aseana Food Village has closed its doors for good and I haven’t heard about the Chef reopening somewhere else / some time soon.

Southeast Asian Food Cuisine

Rating:

7 / 10

Taste: 7/10

Price: <15 per person

Place: 7/10

Review:

Aseana Food Village offered us a ‘casual street side dining’ experience according to their website. They did deliver the experience by its restaurant décor, hospitality, and most importantly authentic Singaporean (+ Malaysian and Burmese) Cuisine.

To illustrate the price range, we didn’t have shared plates like in the usual South East Asian dining but instead we ordered individual rice dishes. In the Mains menu, Beef Rendang is definitely the dish that you should try.

Also available as a main menu, our first dish of the day was Lee’s Stewed Duck. This was the only dish that has a person’s name on the menu, so I guess it must mean something to them – I couldn’t find it in Google. The duck was served on a bed of green veggies. It was incredibly tender and came off the bone easily. It also had a very unique taste to it.

Then, Nasi Lemak was brought in a wonderful leaf-like green plate. This is a traditional Malaysian dish with coconut rice and a mixture of condiments (pickles, anchovies, sambal, and egg). You could also have a choice of three add-ons to it. Nasi Goreng Kampong came up next. It was fried rice with anchovies, prawn crackers and a fried egg. Both dishes were just spot-on. They delivered a combination of complementary tastes in each of its elements.

For the dessert, I had the Aseana Toast Set. I absolutely love this set, although it was supposed to be enjoyed as breakfast. It was a set of traditional toast (with a choice of three toppings – Butterkaya for this occasion), soft boiled eggs and kopitiam drinks (I chose hot Teh Tarik). They provided you with a full guideline on how to enjoy the set and condiments to enhance the taste to suit yours. There was also Es Bandung (no affiliation to the city in Indonesia!) that was made of Rose syrup and condensed milk.

The final verdict: Aseana Food Villageis a perfect place to savour wonderful and authentic Singaporean dishes. All of my dishes (and some that I have also tried but excluded on this occasion) were really nice. My most favourite would have to be the Aseana Toast Set.

Did you know?

As a point of reference, my Singaporean friend has made Aseana’s Bak Chor Mee his personal favourite in Sydney. He said that this was as close as he can get to the original taste in Singapore.

Details:

Shop 1/149 Alison Road, Randwick NSW 2031

02 9399 7010

http://www.aseanafoodvillage.com/

Nov 2, 2011