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2013-01-14
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My wife and I was searching for the 'perfect' Singapore food ....instead of flying home to Singapore ...Heard of this recommendation from a friend and decided to make a reservation for lunch. The cafe is on the 3rd floor of a hotel, whose lobby area is itself on the 2nd floor. the ground floor facing the Empress Street west was rather inconspicuous. Anyway the taxi took us there and the taxi appear to be very familiar with Sai Wan area. The restaurant had only 3 tables when we arrived at 12.30 p
My wife and I was searching for the 'perfect' Singapore food ....instead of flying home to Singapore ...
Heard of this recommendation from a friend and decided to make a reservation for lunch.
The cafe is on the 3rd floor of a hotel, whose lobby area is itself on the 2nd floor. the ground floor facing the Empress Street west was rather inconspicuous. Anyway the taxi took us there and the taxi appear to be very familiar with Sai Wan area.
The restaurant had only 3 tables when we arrived at 12.30 pm.
The Menu was fabulously Singaporean ... with fried char kway teow ( also known as ' Penang fried kway Teow'), Hainanese chicken rice, bak kut teh, prawn mee......mee goreng...
Being consciously Singaporean, we could tell the Malaysian dishes apart. The Malaysian taste varies with Singapore taste in many subtle ways. It could be more spicy, more sweet or even sour in some aspect. However the basic taste of the dish will remain acceptable to both Malaysian and Singaporeans.
Regretting that we both had only 2 stomachs we could only order the following:
Main :
1. Penang fried kway teow - Spicy and dark versions. The more refined versions sold in hotels rather than the oily and black sauce version sold in Singapore 'kopi tiam'. But has the 'wok fried' smell and flavour.
2. Mee siam - the Chinese version with 'dou chio' and sweet bean taste rather than the malay version - but the taste was very rich and very tastefully flavoured and seasoned.
3. Satay chicken + beef ( came in 2 sticks each - was fabulously bbq - very similar to Singapore's Malay satay in botanic gardens or satay club flavour)
Drinks:
1. Teh Halia - suppose to be ginger tea the Malay version but it was disappointing and was the worse dish of the lunch.
2. Calamansi juice : Lime juice - very true to its original taste in Malay or indonesian restaurants.
Dessert:
1. Sago Pudding : This is a traditional dessert which is dying in restaurants in Singapore and Malaysia. Comparable to best I ever had - my mother's. However, unlike the Singaporean sago beads, the sago beads here were larger in size thus making it very tasty and crunchy. Best dish of my lunch.
Overall the experience was very good. One of the best 'stocked' restaurant with a long list of local Singaporean delights. the taste was rich and very delicious. We will definitely return as we still have yet to try the cha toa kway ( fried turnip cake) and the mee goreng ..amongst others......
The damage for lunch for 2 persons was $293 after a discount of HKD$46 due to a visa promotion...
By the time we left the restaurant at 130pm there were 10 tables. Hope they will still be there for us to return..
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