Dudu Dessert 嘟嘟甜品

Walking through the streets of Chinatown on CNY eve, we decided to seek respite from the crowds and had some dessert at Dudu Dessert. The shop space was small to begin with and they were probably shorthanded, so it took a very long time for our desserts to come. 

They had quite an extensive dessert menu.

I ordered the Mango Mini Mochi ($4.80). The sweet mango/mango juice was blended with ice, resulting in the slightly crunchy ice texture. The portion was quite generous as well. Together with the chewy mini glutinous rice balls, this made a pleasant dessert to eat when it's really hot.

Dudu Dessert
29A Trengganu Street

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Ci Yan Organic Vegetarian Health Food

Upon seeing an extremely high rating on hungrygowhere for Ci Yan Organic Vegetarian Health Food, I decided to go there for dinner. Who doesn't want to feel super healthy once in a while?

Menu is extremely limited and apparently you can call them to check out what their menu for the day is. The day we went, there was Brown Rice Set, vegetarian Kuey Chap, some vegetarian wrap and Lotus Soup.

We opted for the Brown Rice Set ($5.50). It's no doubt, homely. If after chalking up 100 hours a week in office and eating a lot of junk food to make yourself feel happier, you could come here to get yourself a healthy fix. But other than that, this is not something I would pay $5.50 over if I can easily have it at home. Homely, to me, means not oily, not salty and no MSG. 

If you are thinking of having a vegetarian and healthy meal, here's an option. But I'd prefer a place which offers more variety and something more out of the box.

Ci Yan Organic Vegetarian Health Food
8 Smith Street
Tel No: 6225 9026 

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Lian He Ben Ji Claypot 联合本记煲饭

Armed with a list of famous food to try in Chinatown Complex, we ended up at Lian He Ben Ji Claypot 联合本记煲饭 because it was the only one still open at 730 pm. The people seated at the tables near this stall seem to be eating only one thing- the Claypot Rice. You get to see claypots lined up and cooked over charcoal. 

Different kinds of claypot are available. We opted for the Sausage Claypot ($8, other options include $5, $10, $12 etc.) Honestly, what did I not like about this? Nothing, really nothing. The chicken was moist, the rice with sauce was fragrant, the sausage was sweet- nothing to fault. Scrapping the sides of the claypot is always the best part of eating claypot rice. Scrape the sides and you get a non-charred crispy layer of rice with a light burnt taste. Scrape the bottom of the claypot and you get a charred crispy layer.

If you are really famished, don't queue for this because there's a long wait (at least 30 minutes)- it takes time for the smoky taste to permeate the dish! Or you could order the BBQ seafood next door while waiting, it smells incredible too. Claypot rice is not on my radar normally, but I have to say this stall sells pretty amazing claypot. 

Lian He Ben Ji Clay Pot Rice 联合本记煲饭
Chinatown Complex Food Centre
335 Smith Street
#02-198/199
Tel No: 6227 2470 

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Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (Hong Lim)

My first memories of curry noodles started when I was in secondary school. Every Thursday, they would sell curry noodles and I would definitely queue for it. Today, I tried the famous Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee. In prices of $3.50, $4.50 or $5.50, I opted for the smallest bowl. You can also choose from different types of noodles.

Don't go there without a packet of tissue paper. First, to wipe your perspiration from the spicy gravy. Second, to wipe the curry away from your mouth. Third, what else? To chope seat!

I haven't tasted curry noodles as spicy as this. The gravy is very slurp-worthy (those who are watching their waistlines please don't eat this) and is completely absorbed by the thinly sliced tau pok. There are also other ingredients, such as potato, chicken and fishcake. They don't skimp on the ingredients. The uncle also makes it a point not to scoop the layer of oil in the big pot into the individual pots.

For $3.50, this portion was just right for me although those with bigger appetites should get a bigger bowl. I was lucky to get my food within 5 minutes before the queue got long. But there's usually a queue so run to Hong Lim to get your food! Tasty and worth its price.

Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee 
Hong Lim Food Centre
Block 531A Upper Cross Street
#02-58
Tel No: 9243 0601 

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Mouth Restaurant 地茂馆 (China Square Central)

We decided to head down to Mouth Restaurant 地茂馆 a couple of weeks ago. If you look at the picture carefully, you will see that the restaurant is located at the shophouse with light blue paint. Don't you just love how colourful some of the shophouses in Singapore can be? 

We claimed some offer from Facebook for a free peking duck with minimum spending of $128. On their website, they also state that there's a OCBC coupon with the same deal. For example, the $128 that we spent does not include the price of desserts or the price of the duck meat. So note the terms and conditions and call them up to make them tell you all the restrictions before going.

We ordered the usual dimsum. We ordered Egg Tarts ($4) which unfortunately ran out quickly. They were delicious. We also ordered Steamed Har Gao ($4.50) and Siew Mai ($4.50), which were very ordinary. I didn't eat the Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling ($4.80 for 4) so I can't comment!

The Porridge with Century Egg/Shredded Pork ($4.50) is enough for 2 to share if you want to preserve some stomach space.

This is what they are well-known for: Cream of Salted Egg Yolk Bun ($8). I didn't eat it because I'm not a fan of salted egg yolk to begin with. But those who ate it found that it was overrated.

One of the waitresses highly recommended this Abalone Gold Packet ($14.80). The texture of the abalone was good and chewy but that was about it. Didn't particularly fancy something in there, but I'm not very sure what seafood that was.

We came here for the Peking Duck (normally $68). I can't really put a finger to it but I don't find it as good as other peking ducks I've tried.

This was Duck fried with Kobe Sauce ($10 if you ordered the Peking Duck skin). I liked the flavours of this dish, not too salty and the duck had a smokey taste.

Together with some other dishes such as Steamed Spicy Chicken Claw ($3.50), Steamed Spare Ribs ($4.20), Steamed Prawn Rice Roll ($5), Fried Broccoli with Prawn and Scallop ($25) and a Beancurd Claypot with Mixed Seafood ($16), it cost us $199.10.

We obviously didn't intend to order so much but due to various restrictions when ordering ($128 spending does not include dessert or the price of frying the duck meat etc), the amount just snowballed. I think more transparency is needed in this area and you should be aware of this before ordering if you are using your OCBC coupon and credit card. As a result, I was stuffed to the brim because we had to order so much food in order to get a free peking duck- not worth it.

No fun or joy when you're eating just because you have to meet a price quota. Perhaps due to this, we weren't particularly impressed by the food!

Service was very enthusiastic though, with the waitress who served us having good knowledge of the dishes in the menu. She also offered to make an immediate order of the salted egg yolk bun so that we didn't have to wait too long for it!


Mouth Restaurant 地茂馆

China Square Central
22 Cross Street
#01-61
Singapore

Tel: +65 6438 5798

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Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园 (Temple Street)

Chinatown has a whole truckload of food gems. You could probably eat there for a few years without any repetition. After dinner, we went for dessert at Mei Heong Yuen 味香园. It was awarded the Best Food Awards 2009/2010 by "The Green Book", and featured in many newspapers etc. 

There was plenty of space in the shophouse, spanning 3 shop spaces. Check out this CNN article on the oldest shops in Chinatown that remain till this day, of course including Mei Heong Yuen. By the way, another restaurant featured in that article, Moi Lum restaurant, offers great food. (Click here for review) 

Same name, not by coincidence! According to its website, the dessert place has its roots connected to the Farmer Brand groundnuts- yes the peanuts you eat during Chinese New Year. 

(photo credit: cnngo)

Here's the menu, featuring the healthier desserts, special desserts and what they are apparently well known for- mango sago with pomelo. It's also well known for its pastes (walnut, sesame, almond and peanut). Peanut paste is obviously the star- remember Farmer Brand peanuts? 

On the flipside of the menu is a selection of shaved ice.

We settled for a Mango Shaved Ice ($5) after much deliberation. Two of us shared it because we were too full after dinner. The shaved ice was fluffy and there was a lot of mango scattered around the shaved ice. Mango syrup (or whatever you call it) on the ice was not too sweet and that's good. But after a while, it tasted too bland as the mango taste did not seep into the ice. There was a milky taste that started to overpower the mango taste after a while. So it's good to share otherwise it becomes a chore to eat if you eat it alone.

This place didn't impress me very much. It's not bad, but not as stunning as many make it sound. I might give this place a second chance another time though, to try the pastes! 


Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 

65-67 Temple Street
Singapore
Tel: +65 6221 1156

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Durian History

While walking along Chinatown, I saw a Caucasian, by the roadside, eat a whole box of durians on his own. That look of bliss was priceless. I was surprised because I know a lot of Caucasians get turned off by the smell supposedly because it smells like baby poo. To me (and I'm sure many other Singaporeans share my sentiments), durians deserve the accolade of the King of Fruits, whether because of its smell or its taste.

That said, I was glad I chanced upon Durian History. It's easy to spot because of the super long queue at the money changer next to it. They sell an assortment of durian desserts, such as durian pancake, durian puff, durian tapioca cake etc.

I was only interested in the Durian Pancake (regular size) ($1.50) though. Jumbo size comes at $2.50. They do it on the spot so you can be assured it's crispy! First bite- never knew that durian pancakes could be crispy! Normally, they are just soft and pancake like. Second bite- warm skin coupled with cold durian filling. Good D24 durian. Lethal combination. While they do not heap enormous amounts of durian into the pancake, I think it's a suitable amount of filling. 

Warning: Eat it on the spot and don't attempt to buy some back home to enjoy. I bought some home and it became soggy. Comes in a box if you buy 6.

Durian History 
People's Park Complex
1 Park Road
#01-28
Singapore 

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Breakthrough Cafe

It is my second time here and I will say it again: This place has good and cheap food + good service! 

The Prawn Rice Roll (Chee Cheong Fun) ($3) had bouncy and small prawns in each segment of the rice roll. 

The Char Siew Pau's (90 cents) skin was a little dry but the filling was okay.

The Glutinous Rice ($2) was good. Tonnes of juicy mushroom covering the flavourful rice (with dried prawns).

The Har Gow (Prawn Dumpling) ($3.20) had a juicy, big and fresh prawn in every dumpling. The prawn practically takes up every void space there is between the skin and the prawn. Wished the skin could be a tad thinner though!

The Siew Mai ($2.50) was not bad although I think it has been steamed for a little too long, resulting in it being a little dry.

As you can see, there are plenty of servers, so the food came really quickly. Service was good with all of them being very friendly.

Our total bill for two worked out to $11.60 (No service charge). I think the above is a sufficient reason for you to visit even with the very slight misses in the food (mostly it being a little too dry). But if you need one more reason, it's because this cafe gives reformed drug addicts a chance at employment. Their service attitudes are a lot better than many others in the big restaurants, which makes it a joy to dine here.

Breakthrough Cafe

People's Park Centre
101 Upper Cross Street
#01-02
Tel: +65 6533 5977

Opening Hours
Mon–Fri: 7am – 5pm
Sat: 7am – 3pm (Closed on Sun/PH)

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Beng Hiang Restaurant 茗香菜馆

You wouldn't miss Beng Hiang if you walked past it- the red paint and the traditional golden words against a black board. My mum ordered the dishes like a pro, because she had obviously grown up in the era of Beng Hiang. 

I wonder if it looks like Chinese New Year all year round! 

This was the Duck salad ($25) that was very appetising. Rock melon, jellyfish, duck slices, some crunchy vegetables here and there. One commented that this was like yusheng. No, besides the mixing done by the waitress, there's nothing yusheng about this dish. 

Normally not a fan of Spiced sausage and fried prawn balls (Aka Wu Xiang) ($16) but it was not bad. One was filled with prawn and the other was meat. Piping hot and crispy.

The Di Huang Miao ($10) was fried liberally with plenty of garlic. Nothing bad about this dish, just like ordinary vegetables.

Everybody loved the Yam Ring ($30). One said that it could melt in your mouth! Well, that's true because of the crispy exterior of the yam ring coupled with a very smooth consistency of the yam inside! Plus the abundance of ingredients within the yam ring makes it a great dish to try!

Their specialty- Kong Ba Pao ($15). The sauce for the pork was so flavourful and was perfect with the bun. However, I found the meat a little tough.

There was also the Hokkien Mee ($12) which I didn't like because the gravy had too strong a flavour.

Plus, they gave free red bean soup after the meal! Not too sweet and perfect as comfort food.

For this amount of food, we spent $126, including GST but no service charge. Worth it? Definitely. The service is probably one of the features here- where they look like they couldn't really be bothered about your existence. Most of them don't smile, and if you're lucky, you may be able to catch one or two fleeting smiles. Nothing much to be bothered about the service though. They are not mean, they are just indifferent. Contrast this to genuinely mean waiters and waitresses! Plus, you don't pay service charge!

Beng Hiang Restaurant 茗香菜馆 
112 Amoy Street
Tel: +65 6221 6695
Singapore 

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Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Ho Fun

My knowledge of sea animals is like next to zero. To me, crayfish is like the cousin of lobster with a texture that is slightly less chewy than lobster. Speaking about lobsters, I sorely miss the lobsters I could get from Boston's supermarkets at USD$6.99 (on sale) for a very decent-sized lobster! 

It's not that often that you get to see seafood such as lobsters or crayfish in hawker centres. Sure, you have your zichar stalls that sells XO crab beehoon etc, but these are considered to be in the minority. 

The queue for the food at this stall is always long, and as you can tell, plenty of accolades to tell you how good the food is. (I'm not saying that they are always accurate, but at least they serve as a good guide.) 

And here's the Crayfish Hor Fun (without the gravy). This costs $6.50 (additional 50 cents for takeaway). You may consider it expensive, but just look at how those prawns and crayfish cover the hor fun till all you get is a GLIMPSE of the hor fun. The prawns are peeled for you (can't mention how much I love this gesture), and the crayfish is bursting with meat. The seafood is also relatively fresh.

The sah hor fun is very smooth and the gravy went well with this dish. My only gripe was that the gravy was a bit too dilute. But I suppose it's okay, just in case it became too starchy. Plus that mild peppery taste in the gravy- just a little goes a long way!

If you are craving for crayfish, but not willing to fork out anything more than $10, this is a good option for you!


Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Ho Fun 

Hong Lim Food Centre
531A Upper Cross Street,
#02-41A
(Closed on Sundays)

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Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen

After attempting to find out what authentic ramen in Japan tastes like, by going to Tonkotsu King and Bario Ramen, I've reverted to my old ways to eating not-so-authentic ramen, like those in Ajisen. (Disclaimer: I like the ramen at Ajisen, so read any ramen posts with caution!)

So we arrive at this place Kyo-Nichi which my mum raves about. Sometimes, I just don't understand why my mum is more hip than me, trying all the food I've never tried before.

And here you have it, the Singaporean's favourite way to discern whether a place is good. If newspapers say it's good, it must be good right.

So we ordered the cha shu ramen. The pork broth is supposed to have collagen in it. But I'm a person who doesn't drink the broth of anything intentionally, because of the fats and all that stuff. But I did take a few spoonfuls of the soup and the soup were flavourful, but not salty.

There was a generous portion of cha shu which was pretty tender. You didn't need to lose the top of your teeth trying to grind the char siew up. Now, don't tell me you don't know of a place which has char siew so hard that you have to literally rip it. Noodles was average.

It was around $12 (i can't remember the exact figure) which is a decent price to pay for a bowl of ramen like this. Alas, it would have been more worth it if you called for the set. Here's where the dilemma sets in. The set requires you to order ramen worth below $11 in order to enjoy the set (with a can drink and a side dish) at $15.

It was totally empty when we entered today, maybe because there's is no lunchtime crowd to speak of. The waitresses hailed from Hainan and therefore, you might as well speak Mandarin to them since they will reply you in Mandarin anyway.

Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen
20 Cross Street

#01-31/32/33

China Square Central
Tel: +65 6327 3919

(Closed on Sunday)

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