Katong (Moved)

新年期間經過圓方，間間餐廳都有人龍在等，見時間尚早，到Katong看看，果然不用等。兩個人點了細肉骨茶，例牌海南雞，雞油飯加峇參炒菜苗。先上肉骨茶，一小煲的份量都不少，每人有兩小碗。先嚐口湯，湯底香，易入口，不知道是否要遷就香港人口味，其實藥材味可以更濃！豆卜沾滿湯汁，肉仍鬆化，唯炸油條太硬，配上湯仍覺太硬呢。招牌海南雞，肉質滑，沾上濃厚的醬油，味道一流！另外的薑蓉和辣醬則味道平平，令人失望。我最期待的雞油飯，這裡的海南雞不算一絕，但這個雞油飯可算數一數二。飯粒甘香，平均地佈滿雞油，吃時只覺油香而不覺油膩，好味道！可是今天的飯稍微不夠熱，可能是農曆新年期間吧！本身想點峇參炒通菜，待應說現在沒有通菜，推介炒菜苗。這碟炒菜香口惹味，想不到配菜苗的效果不俗呢。整體食物質素不錯，服務比開業時改善不少，偶到圓方都可一試。…Read More

睇戲前食飯得好少時間放棄心愛既丼丼屋黎呢到食左碗喇沙味道同大部分食店食到既差不多有三四粒獅堪仔都幾鮮甜仲有煲細既肉骨茶 夠兩人飲有突有個火興住唔會凍冰冰但係又唔會熱 都細心既冇咩藥材味 有冬菇豆卜同鞋十十既煲湯豬肉幾舊最後有海南雞例牌其實只係白切雞 不過幾嫩同埋冇骨都食到有雞味 算係咁不過九成九係一早整好曬因為叫左都冇一分鐘就有得食呢d餐廳 食平果d食物都ok 食貴果d炒蟹應該會失望了好過丼丼屋既就係坐得舒服d同耐d因為少人夠曬靜…Read More

It had been quite a while since we wanted to try Katong located at Elements Shopping Mall. The name of the restaurant itself would certainly make any Singaporean reminisce the famous Katong Laksa. To those unfamiliar with the name Katong, it is actually a residential area in the east of Singapore near the seafront. Katong's rich cultural mix has contributed to its unique cuisine, particularly Peranakan (Straits Chinese) cuisine. Having lived away from Singapore for a couple of months now, an impromptu decision to dine at Katong left us with great excitement and anticipation!Special Singapore Prawn Laksa ($78/-)Tasting this Peranakan noodle dish would usually lift a smile on my face. This made me recall our last visit to the original Katong Laksa also known as 'Janggut Laksa' in Singapore quite a while ago. This bowl of laksa was almost three times more expensive to the one we had in Singapore and unfortunately, the taste was nowhere thrice as superior. There were the usual ingredients to the dish such as cockles, shrimps, and shredded fish cakes, but the traditional way of enjoying the 'Katong laksa' was to scoop up the shortened noodles with a spoon and slurp it down. The coconut curry soup base carried a slight tinge of fragrance, though it tasted too mild, inclining towards bland. Despite the smooth and al dente texture of the noodles, the soup lacked the gritty texture owed from grounded dried shrimps and spices. At $78, I would have expected more prawns and cockles but once again, we were left disappointed. With that being said, the dish was not horrible. Personally I would have thought that someone who was not familiar with how the traditional Singapore Katong laksa should taste like would actually consider this a decent dish. It was simply lacking the 'oomph' factor to win my tastebuds over.Verdict: 6.5/10Singapore Bak Kut Teh (Small - $78/-)This was yet another classic Singapore dish, though not really pertaining to Peranakan cuisine which would have a closer correlation to the name of the restaurant. The name of the dish translates literally to 'meat bone tea', which consisted of pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices for hours. The traditional method of enjoying this simple dish would normally involve a pot of strong Chinese oolong tea served alongside the fat-laden soup in the belief that it would dissolve the fats and aid digestion. Quite frankly, this was one of the poorest version of 'Bak Kut Teh' that I had ever tasted. The broth tasted bland and too diluted. You would be able to taste the presence of herbs and spices in the soup, but the fragrance and flavour was too weak to make any impact. The pork rib was not simmered long enough, which explained the stiffness of the meat. There was barely less than three large pieces of pork ribs in the soup, coupled with a few miserable pieces of fried tofu puffs. At almost three times the price of what would normally cost you at a food joint in Singapore, it was one of the biggest letdown on the table. If there was any room for credibility, the offering of chopped chilis, dark soy sauce and crispy fried fritters was a close concoction of the original 'Bak Kut Teh' in Singapore. I would have scored this dish a 'Don't waste your calories' grade, though on hindsight, it might briefly provide a glimpse of how the dish actually looked and tasted like for non-Singaporeans interested in our local cuisine. Much work would need to be in place to improve the flavour and authenticity of the dish.Verdict: 5.5/10Signature Hainan Chicken ($88/-; Chicken Rice charged separately for $18/-)This was my first time having to pay for a bowl of chicken rice, for it would usually be part of the 'chicken rice'. It just seemed rather ridiculous to me to just have the Hainanese chicken without the rice. Moving on, the chicken meat tasted 'okay', tender and succulent, but nothing excessively impressive. The dish was served complete with minced ginger, dark soy sauce and chili, which added a touch of authenticity. The chicken rice was however a complete flop, tasting too hard and dry. There was a complete lack of oiliness and moisture to the rice, which was supposed to enhance the aroma and fragrance of the chicken-flavoured rice. Once again, the pricing was too exorbitant for a simple dish which could be easily enjoyed at any food centres in Singapore. The only saviour to the dish was perhaps the chili sauce, which possessed a relatively strong degree of heat to it. The added lime juice and sugar were of the right proportions, resulting in a balanced dipping sauce for the chicken.Also, when the steamed chicken was first served, there was still some blood close to the bones and we requested for them to further cook it. Well, semi-raw chicken meat should never be served to diners anyway. The server took away our plate and returned less than 3 minutes later and to be honest, I did not spot any difference, for the chicken was pretty much left in the same state as before.Verdict: 6.0/10Char Kway Teow ($88/-)This version of 'char kway teow' (CKT) was close to what you could get in Singapore, though the taste, flavour and 'wok-fire' lacked substance. The salinity of the dish, owed from the dark soy sauce, somewhat transcended the original intended saccharine base as commonly tasted in Singapore. It could do with some tweaks to the dish, starting with the use of more sweet and tamarind sauce. The 'wok-fire' could also be improved upon to impart a stronger flavour and taste to the simple-looking fried noodle dish. Like the other signature dishes, this was not bad, but it was not great either.Verdict: 6.0/10Pepper and salt bean curd ($58/-)This dish tasted more 'Cantonese-style' rather than Singapore, with salt and pepper as the primary ingredients forming the pre-eminent taste and flavours. The exterior surface of the bean curd was deep fried to a beautiful golden-brown and had a crisp texture to it, complementing the soft inside of the bean curd perfectly. The seasoning was optimal, with the correct balance of salt, enhanced by the heat and spiciness of the chopped bird's eye chilis. Personally, I have a rather strong tolerance to salty dishes, so this was 'okay' by my books, but more neutral-tasting diners could possibly find it a touch too strong.Verdict: 7.0/10Beverages (From left: Pear & Apple honey ($26/-); Barley Water ($26/-), Calamansi Juice ($26/-)Each of the three types of drinks ordered were passable and tasted rich and strong. It was a fair touch above my expectations, especially the calamansi juice, which was acidic and gave a refreshing burst which stimulated my taste buds and awoke my food senses. In fact, all three drinks were recommended on their menu, and you could not possibly go very wrong.Verdict: 7.5/10My overall impression of the restaurant was not terrible, despite the relatively low ratings for the dishes. Being a Singaporean and a self-professed foodie, I am very particular about my food, especially my own national cuisine. That being said, I would think that the dishes served at Katong were mostly pedestrian-standard, lacked authenticity and failed to impress. If you are however interested in a glimpse (and I meant vaguely) of how Singapore food taste like and do not mind the rather exorbitant prices, then it would be worth a visit.…Read More

平常吃得太多意日菜，偶爾嚐辣的星馬菜都很覺滋味。湊巧來到位於九龍站的圓方，原來自上次到訪後，不少餐廳商店經已易了手，之前的扒房Wooloomooloo 也早已一分為二，變成了 Starbucks coffee 和星馬菜館 Katong。眼見 Katong 一位員工落力地在門外推介美食，亦樂意地給個機會一試。坐下來仔細看看菜單，方才發覺餐廳午市絕不設散叫的。幸好套餐也有八、九種配搭的選擇，也總算是豐富，同時亦可花少點腦筋。 海南雞飯、配海鮮喇沙 (Grade: 3.5/5)侍應率先送上海南雞飯、配海鮮喇沙。兩者一清一辣，配搭頗為匹配。海南雞飯的水準不俗，雞肉鮮味彈牙，油飯亦椰香撲鼻。海鮮喇沙也不遜色，材料包括有鮮蝦、魷魚、豆卜、魚蛋和鮮雞蛋等等，陣容一點都不馬虎。湯底夠濃而椰漿味略重，總括是個不錯的選擇。 馬來海鮮炒麵 (Grade: 4/5)點了不在餐牌之上的是日精選 - 馬來海鮮炒麵。炒麵不需三五分鐘便到，相信不是即叫即炒。不過效果意外地令人滿意，入口特別有種新加坡 hawker centre 的風味，醬汁辛辣中帶層次，麵條亦有嚼勁，加上豐富的海鮮配料，意外收穫。 凍薏米水+竹蔗雪梨茶 (Grade: 1/5)飲品絕對是整頓午餐的敗筆。薏米水稀得淡如水，完全沒有解渴的功效。竹蔗雪梨茶稍稍優勝，但同樣大有改善空間。 總結海南雞飯和馬來海鮮炒麵兩款菜式都做得不錯，但選擇略嫌局限而欠缺新意，極需幾款招牌菜來撐場。飲品以至服務也可以有進步的空間，不過在圓方可算是百物騰貴，Katong 相比之下總算抵食，絕對值得一試。…Read More

平日去完Elements 睇戲, 正當煩惱在那裡開餐時, 路過此店不用排隊。看到招牌的胡椒蟹, 看似吸引, 就沖入去了。(個人超喜歡食蟹)二話不說就點了招牌胡椒蟹，賣相看上去有點燶了, 試第一口時, 感覺是蜜糖蟹而不是胡椒蟹，一點辣味都沒有，不過都算OK 幾好食，唔知系咪TUNE O左做港版胡椒蟹，不辣了，沒有星加坡那種辣得爽的感覺。吃完蟹，加多份炒飯，兩個人都飽了。埋單4百幾算是可接受啦。:)…Read More

看《閃亮人生》前先吃頓午飯，經過Katong，店員在門外宣傳，令我意外。我一直認為圓方走高檔路線，大部分餐廳都價錢昂貴、格調高尚，怎會有人主動推銷呢？Katong令我有茶餐廳的感覺，店內職員全都是同聲同氣的，我可以放心點菜，感覺親切。我們本想吃一個套餐再單點一碟粉，但侍應說午市只有套餐餐牌，選擇共有九款。結果我們吃了～黑椒牛肉炒貴刁($78)：份量足，芽菜也多。河粉色澤較深，很入味，有鑊氣；牛肉算嫩，不會韌。薯仔湯：餐牌上沒有寫會送湯，侍應說是貴刁附送的。湯清清的，感覺沒有味精，味道不錯。海南雞飯拼新加坡喇沙套餐($108)：海南雞飯賣相不錯，雞肉軟滑，特別喜歡那些飯可自行添加薑蔥、辣椒油，吃得特別開胃；新加坡喇沙看似有點辣，事實卻很易接受，有椰汁香，米線軟滑，蝦肉新鮮，另有半隻蛋、魚肉絲、豆腐卜，材料豐富。餐飲：可選薏米水或是日特飲，前者味道與平常無異，而特飲是蘆薈雪梨水，有半個雪梨，感覺滋潤，但味道不甜，較淡。整體而言，Katong的食物味道不錯，價錢不算便宜，但在圓方內算是較經濟的選擇。…Read More

點了海南雞飯和喇沙，付飲品，要了薏米水，合共$200以下。十分鐘內上餐，賣相像樣。外子的海南雞飯，理所當是給雞胸，而不是雞腿肉（見後話）。雞肉香嫩好肉地，適合喜歡雞胸肉的食客（如：我）。油飯都是水準之作。喇沙是幾企理的，湯頭是惹味濃郁，配料份量合理。薏米水，冷熱都好味。環境企理，服務算不俗。可一試。…Read More

新加坡喇沙-味道可以，米缐淋到不能接受，唯一可取是蝦較新鮮豬牛羊串燒-一般水準肉骨茶-可以，但藥材味不是太濃酸柑汁-幾醒胃是夜炒貴刁賣完，試唔到…Read More

Decided to try this new restaurant in Elements.I was promptly seated and given a menu. Figured out what I wanted and was ready to order, but the waiters were pretty oblivious. The manager took note and came to my rescue.I ordered chicken satay, garlic morning glory and roti. The satay and morning glory came out promptly and were hot. I liked the taste of both of them. The satay could have been a little bigger for the price (HKD 68). The sauce for the satay was different that what I expected, but maybe it is Singaporean style. I am used to the peanut-based sauce from Thailand. It was good, but I typically don't use much of the sauce anyway. The roti came out last and was tasty, but a pinch greasy.I enjoyed the meal and one of the waitresses was good to refill my water.When I was ready to get the bill, I did have a hard time getting any of the waiters' attention, which was odd because they really weren't that busy. The manager again saw what was going on and brought the bill.The total for the dishes was $180 which I think is a bit high.It was a decent meal, but a bit pricy and the wait staff could be more consistent. …Read More

向來只是OPEN RICE的讀者. 寫食評是頭一次, 也是迫於無奈的一次… 昨晚年初四, 收工同太太到圓方搵野食. 發現KATONG 裝修好, 開始營業, 於是就入去試下. 點知唔試尤自可, 一試把幾火!令人把火的不是環境, 不是食物, 而是服務態度. 店內有位不知道是老闆還是經理的短髮女服務員 (我相信是老闆吧, 不然憑著以下的服務態度要當上經理應該是不可能的吧!), 服務態度令人側目.我和太太看過菜牌後, 太太舉手示意要寫單. 由於久久沒服務員看見/ 或示意看見, 我太太的手就一直舉著, 大概有十秒鐘吧. 怎料那女服務員突然大叫一聲 “睇到你喇! 睇到你喇!” 全場食客目光隨即轉移過來, 場面顯得有點尷尬. 發生甚麼事呢 客人舉手要求落單, 不獲回應而需繼續舉手是客人的錯嗎 作為服務員, 如果一時間沒空TAKE ORDER, 大可跟客人說聲 “好O既, 轉頭過來幫你”吧我們坐的是兩人枱, 旁邊隔兩寸是一張沒人坐的兩人枱. 為了座得舒適一點, 我把背囊放在沒人坐的兩人枱的櫈上面, 諗住如果有人入黎坐時我都會攞番放O係自己的大脾上的. 食飯途中果然有另一對情侶入坐, 我都未及攞起個背囊時, 果位服務員又再好無禮貌地大叫 “個袋係咪你架!” 乜野事呀宜家 果度就係得我地呢枱最近張空枱, 個袋唔係我地會係邊個 我相信正常人想叫人攞開個袋係唔會咁樣講野個囉. 你係咪可以講 "呀, 唔好意思呀先生, 可唔可以拎一拎個袋 我地有第二枱客要坐” 呢無符… 就當佢PRESENTATION 差算了, 繼續食飯. 到埋單時, 都費事再有不快事件, 我地刻意叫另一位服務員埋單. 點知呢位服務員又係要叫番果位女經理/ 老闆去CASHIER 打張單出黎… 我地一共食左$320蚊, 遞張單埋黎無態度都算了, 好聲好氣同佢講 “唔該轉頭比張泊車飛丫”, 怎料佢回應一句 “你想泊幾耐呀 你地食得果3百幾蚊, 我最多比到2個鐘頭泊車你地咋喎”. (註: 圓方消費$180可泊兩個鐘; $400可泊4個鐘) 我O晒嘴. 保持鎮定話 ”唔緊要, 你就出番我張單比我就得了.” 反正我諗住食完就走, 無諗過要留O係圓方好耐. 點知簽完單, 佢O係櫃枱走番埋黎時話 “呢張係你自己張單, 你楂住! 嗱! 我再比多張七百幾蚊O既單你, 夠你泊4個鐘架喇, 你鐘意就用, 唔鐘意就掉啦!” 講完就拂袖而去. 真係佛都有火! 咩事呢 我來乞你的嗎 我有要求過你提供4個鐘頭的泊車單嗎 想同佢理論, 太太叫我算了, 我地攞番自己張收據就走左, 佢果張7百幾蚊的收據留左O係枱面.再美味的食物, 如果服務態度差, 都只會背”隻"骨落. 何況佢D野食只得4個字評語: 乏善足陳!這家所謂星馬菜餐廰, 除了表面功夫, 即裝修呀, 門面呀之類做得較好外, 食物味道就是你預期得到的一般香港商場餐廳所能提供的水準, 食物有其形而無其味, 落O下師傅咁O既野啦. 當作一餐普通便飯尚可, 絕對不能跟地道星馬菜相提並論. 以下是簡短食評:ROTI – 細件而多油, 用小藍盛載顯得份外小家. 這尺寸的ROTI可能是本人食過的最細小的ROTI巴東牛肉 - 預期得到的一般味道, 用牛月展做巴東牛肉真是人生第一次見識到.炒揶菜苗 – 說是甚麼新加坡炒法, 出來跟一般蒜蓉炒菜無分別.炒蘿白糕 – 無香辣味, 油就多到無朋友梨子水 – 比開水有味, 不過回家自己煲的話你會發覺好飲D咸桔子水 – 杯內只得一粒青擰, 但成杯野夠晒酸味, 然後你會發覺呢杯只不過是concentrated 沖劑佢標榜胡椒蟹/ 咖喱蟹是招牌菜, 4百幾蚊一碟, 原本都想叫黎試O下. 太座意見是第一次入新舖頭試菜, 唔知水準去到邊度, 唔好叫D咁貴的. 寧願好食下次來再食過. 好在有聽太座規勸. 如果唔係, 我的傷心程度應該會更高的.:)結論: 打死都唔會有下次. …Read More

因為HSBC強積金既關係，途經圓方睇福爾摩斯，因為要同大人食Lunch關係，於是就早一點到圓方找東西吃吧。這裡有一家叫Katong的新加坡餐廳，單看門面就知道夠懷舊了，壞壞的石柱，壞壞的裝飾，真的令我想走入去"睇下有咩Fu Fit"哈哈，除了特別的裝修外，食物也是很不錯的。大人吃了一整碗喇沙，而我則點了一客海南雞飯。可能平時不常吃到喇沙的關係，我們喝了一整碗的湯。裏面有一點點像蜆的東西，也很鮮味。至於海南雞飯，雞很滑，雞飯油香十足。在睇戲前吃了這餐飽飽的午餐後，竟然在入場前有兩大大包爆谷，真是十分開心的下午呀～…Read More

自從回來九龍站，食飽午飯之後可以散步的地方很少，所以只好在商場和平台兜來兜去，也正因為如此所以我留意到這家新開的星馬食店。其實這家店在一家大型連鎖咖啡店的旁邊，門口頗小，很容易就會錯過。家人去了旅行所以沒有預備飯盒，正好我就可以找鬆弛來一起試新店。為了避開人潮，我們選擇兩點才午餐，的確那時候只有三檯客人，而且大部份都是差不多吃完。店子雖然小，但是裝修很有心思，牆壁是一個個好像窗子又好像抽屜的木牆，色彩繽紛，剛好我們坐的位置旁邊一有個黑色的大雀籠，裡面放了一張咭紙說明餐廳所肩負的社會責任。午餐餐牌很大張，選擇不少，最欣賞是有一個海南雞飯和新加坡喇沙(配時菜)的雙併套餐，一次過可以試到兩款新加坡代表食物，滿足我們的貪心，另外我們就再點了一個參峇醬燒魔鬼魚配雞湯和白飯，另外每個套餐都會奉送薏米水或是日特飲，而今天的特飲是桂圓紅棗水，所以每款要了一杯。上檯時雞飯和喇沙都放在一個盤子裡，感覺很豐富。喇沙傳來陣陣椰香，裡面用的不是油麵和米粉，而變成了類似米線的東西，不過煮得比較腍，而且粉條比較短，我愛吃煮爛了的就覺得不錯，但未必人人喜歡。喇沙湯底微辣，入口溫和，充滿椰香和咖喱香，相當濃郁。材料有魚片條、豆卜、鮮蝦和一粒獅奄，雖然只得一粒，不過在香港的喇沙裡面找到感覺就像如獲至寶，當然多幾粒就更加好啦；而完全吸收了湯汁的豆卜非常好吃。海南雞飯的水準亦不差，雞已經去骨，皮下脂肪不多，雖不算十分有雞味，但雞肉嫰滑。三色醬之中，最深得我心的是薑蓉，比起平常的多了點油香，單憑這個就可以讓我吃掉一碗白飯；黑醬油也不錯，濃稠度當然不及廣祥泰般，但同樣鹹中帶甜，和海南雞很配；反而辣醬就比較普通。這裡的飯煮得比較乾，無論是雞油飯還是白飯，都不夠軟熟，這方面實在要改善一下。另外，餐牌上寫著跟油菜，還以為有一碟，怎知道原來只是放在碟邊的三四條菜心，如果只有那麼少就不用寫出來嘛。參峇醬燒魔鬼魚，魔鬼魚被參峇醬重重包圍著，幾乎看不到魚肉。參峇醬帶點酸，稍嫌辣度不足也不夠香；魚肉滑溜，但不如沒有配醬同吃的話就沒什麼味道，感覺上好像少了燒魚的那種香口，但整體上味道也不錯的。跟餐的雞湯雖然鮮甜但不夠熱，只是比暖多一點點，始終湯是要熱喝才好。裡面有一件白蘿蔔，入口軟腍，清甜無渣。好一陣子前聽女性朋友說多喝紅棗水對身體好，不過買了一大包回來，喝了幾次就沒有再喝，因為我實在不怎麼喜歡紅棗的味道。而這裡的紅棗桂圓水沒想到十分好喝，裡面相當足料，有四顆以上的桂圓肉，還有切成一片片的紅棗，甜度適中，很有養生的感覺；而鬆弛喝的薏米水也不錯，不太甜，而且薏米很有益，多喝無妨。一開始其實對這家店沒什麼期望，可能是以這種心態去吃，反而得到意想不到的驚喜，特別是喇沙和海南雞飯，水準中上，而且這個價位在圓方算是不貴，自此又多了一個午餐新食點呢。…Read More