A thin crispy layer of flatbread sandwiching some braised sticky pork belly with refreshing carrot daikon slaw, kimchi, coriander and shallots. The tangy tasting vegetables gave an Asian touch to the flatbread and would definitely whet your appetite to a good brunch ahead!
Brunch and lunch is now available at Don Ho on weekends from 10am onwards.
Tried a couple of dishes at Epicurean Market 2017 tonight and my pick will definitely be the Grilled Ohmi Beef ($20) from Waku Ghin. It is folded and pan seared on the hot pan so that it remains tender — went very well with the refreshing wasabi from Shizuoka and the crispy garlic chips.
The nation's birthday has led to eateries creating dishes to celebrate the occasion and one of which is Toast Box with the Tok Gong Set.
It comes with a dish of chilli crab sauce with chunks of crab meat and strips of toasted bread to pick up those sauce, completed with a glass of homemade barley. The sauce tasted rich with tomato while having some spicy notes. It's not bad though the serving was quite small for the price and there's not enough bread for the sauce!
Hawker food might become a dying trade in future as more and more hawkers retire. Having young hawkers entering this laborious scene is very encouraging as they strive to continue serving comforting food at affordable prices.
Xiao Di Fried Prawn Noodles is helmed by a young hawker who first started out helping his friends at their hawker stall and then moving on to fry hokkien mee at a few places such as Yong Heng Hokkien Mee. Under the training of several hawkers and self exploration of recipe & cooking techniques via the internet, he decided to open his own stall. His hokkien mee (pictured is $4) is wet with the noodles soaking up the broth. I found that winning factor to be the broth which was robust and sweet tasting. He shared that he uses prawns from Thailand with more roe in the prawn heads to achieve the flavorful soup stock. He also uses more than average amount of garlic to increase the fragrance of the noodles. The pork lard is freshly fried and each piece is airy and extremely crispy. Chilli is an important component to me and the housemade sambal chilli (I asked for more!) is spicy and sour which complements the noodles without overpowering it.
Each serving comes with prawns, sotong, pork belly and egg — my only gripe is the serving is on the small side! We wiped out the plate in minutes and can't wait to return for the large serving next time! #BurppleYoungHawkers
Start your meal at Open Door Policy with the Vitel Tone —sous vide veal loin sitting on a gluten free flat bread drizzled with tuna mayo and pickled purple cabbage. I liked the contrast between the crispy cracker and tender veal, seasoned with the tangy vegetables and creamy sauce.
The tartness of the calamansi & lime zest custard and the bitterness of the chocolate tart shell of the Calamansi Chocolate Tart is a match made in heaven. This no-bake tart was super satisfying with those chocolatey notes but did not feel heavy on my stomach with the refreshing custard. Topped with torched meringue and dehydrated calamansi slices, I was glad it wasn't overly sweet and had the flavors well balanced out.
Charcoal Duck Buns with a slightly sweet crusty bun enclosing a shredded duck filling. It reminded us of the char siew version that we usually have as the duck did not taste very apparent and did nothing to distinguish itself. That said, thankfully the crust and sauce was good so it was still enjoyable!
I had to take a second look to realize that this is Pig Skin Tagliatelle with the neatly sliced braised pig skin acting as the "noodles". It's tossed with an excellent savory meat and vegetable ragout. Having strips of pork skin in this manner was completely new to me, but thankfully, the bouncy chewy texture of the skin was enjoyable. It'll be good for sharing, as with the style for having Spanish tapas.
The Xiao Long Bao ($6/5pcs) was filled with lots of broth on the inside with a fairly nice skin enveloping it. Another dish that we liked was the Wantons in Vinegar and Chilli Oil ($7.8) as it had a good amount of meat filling on the inside, drenched with a garlicky tangy spicy sauce. The menu has a striking resemblance to a certain famous Chinese food chain and I must say the food was fairly comparable.
As part of the nation's birthday, Yum Cha introduces the Bak Kut Teh Xiao Long Bao ($5.2/3pcs) from now till 13 August 2017.
One look at the heavy sag and you can tell that there is a lot of broth within it. The herbal fragrance of the broth greeted us as we bit into the dumpling and it is made with a mixture of fragrant herbs, pepper and garlic. I liked that subtle herbal taste which complemented the minced meat very well. This is a really good creation that I would go return for more!
Yum Cha members and DBS/POSB card members get to enjoy 1 for 1 Bak Kut Teh Xiao Long Bao so that's a really good deal!
$18.80 for all day toppoki buffet — 8 different kinds of toppoki are available such as those stuffed with cheese and sweet potato but my favorite was the thin plain rice cake which was softer and more chewy! Though the selection of ingredients was nothing to shout about, I enjoyed that self concocted red sauce a lot! Mix the Toppoki, Dookki, Gungjung and Flaming sauce by following the recommended recipe or based it on your own preference.
With the leftover sauce after finishing your ingredients, you can have some fried rice with kimchi, corn, sesame oil and lots of seaweed — just like how the Koreans do it. And if your stomach allows (ours didn't because we were super full after the rice), you can change to a smaller pot and have Korean ramyeon!
A chocolate x coffee cafe that will satisfy all the chocolate & caffeine fans. I had the Chocolate Cube Hazelnut Latte that came deconstructed — chocolate ice cubes, cold milk, hazelnut espresso. The milk did not dilute the drink and the combination serves as a good afternoon booster!
The Dark Gallery was packed on a Sunday afternoon and seemed under staffed. Probably need to give them some time to sort the operations out!
