WADA rating: (46 + 23) = 69 pts
QPI: 6 ($37 per pax for for special signature dish set menu
WFI: D(Free corkage but ikea glasses and they have lousy bottle openers!)
Tasted thrice. Once when they were back in Serangoon, twice at their current Joo Chiat outlet. The most recent visit on 19 Apr 08 for dinner with my family.
What's Good
Crab Steamed with Glutinous Rice
Fantastic and well-integrated. The soft & tasty rice has absorbed the full sweet essence & sea saltiness of the crab. The lotus leaf aromas is very inviting and not overwhelming on the dish. The sweet aftertaste and gluey goodness of the rice permeates the throat...leaving you wanting for more.
Fried Bee Hoon
Well done with the right balance of dryness / wetness. Just nice with purity of flavours seeping through the dish. I especially love having this with some nice hot chilli padi soaked in soy sauce splashed over the bee hoon.
Fried Brinjal with Pork Floss
Thin bite-size brinjal chips fried in a batter to perfection and topped off with pork floss. Good crispy chewiness. This is the best of its category DBF and I have tried. It retains its crispness even when cold . This is pringles ...Singaporean style...once you start , you can't stop going at this.
Homemade Tofu
DBF says this is good.
What's Not
Shark Cartilage Soup
Has some good "boiled over slow fire for a long time" frontal assault on the nose and palate. But after two scoops, this comes across as a little over the top with essence of saltiness...probably coming from the chinese ham. Good for hangovers.
Pork done in Two Ways
This is like the value deal of this restaurant...you get coffee pork and sweet & sour pork in one dish. When I first tasted this back in the Serangoon outlet days (2 - 3 years ago), it was wickedly good..but now its just wicked. It just wasn't as special anymore...the sweet sour is plain normal zhi char fare but the coffee pork does retains its tastiness with intoxicating coffee smells. All in all, this just punches not below , not above but just nicely on the belt.
Comments
Though my granny says the place is too cramped and noisy with a full crowd, this place does have its charm. It is located in an old traditional rich towkay bungalow along Joo Chiat's stretch of many good restaurants. This is rustic charm that might not appeal to the atas-hearted.
Given the space constraints and full house, the service staff were showingly worn out. They try hard to serve but it is like a over-reved charade with a full load of passengers trying to get upslope.
Food is good but not as good as before. Felt like Chef Kang outsourced the cooking entirely to a "foreign talent" and took a back seat playing golf (or mahjong). With the signature menu, do try the food here but the ala carte looks expensive. Most importantly, BYOG!!! (Bring Your Own Glasses!!!) cos their glasses really suck and look dirty.
Other Dishes Tasted
Steamed Fish with Chilli, Fried Salad Prawns, Papaya with White Fungus dessert.
Wine Pairings Done
2007 Peter Lehmann Rose
WADA rated 73pts
Light redish pink. This is nothing to shout about. Cherryish nose with some fake sweet dilute ribena on the palate. Forgettable but still gives good length.
2001 Apollonio Copertino, South Italy (WE95)
WADA rated 82pts
Dark purple. Funky nose of cat's pee mixed with something green...maybe jalepenos. Cherries dominate with good structure of oak and acid. It is a little hot on the alcohol with ruggard tannins.
Wine Pairing Suggestions
Any cabernet or blends would do well. Do also bring a fresh new world white with some crisp acidity to pair with the crab with glutinous rice.
No comments:
Post a Comment