07 Jan 2012 - Xiao Bar Wang and 4fingers

She finally got to try the braised meat meal box $3.80 from Xiao Bar Wang. They'd used lean meat instead of all the fatty portions one would in Taiwan. It was still tasty anyway.

He decided to have the vermicelli soup (mee sua) $3.30 for the umpteenth time. That orange bit of chilli paste packed more than enough spice to leave him sweating. And also upset the digestive system a few hours later. Why did he ask for chilli, then? Because it's worth it.


After cleaning out the set above, they shuffled across to 4fingers for some crispy chicken wing parts. 1 piece of chicken means either the drumlet, or the mid-joint and wing. Asked for the a 12 piece set ($14.50 - upsized) with combo sauce, soy garlic + spicy. Outside crispy and the inside well marinated. Some pieces were a little too salty though.


Came with a drink, and fries sprinkled with some herb seasoning.

23 April 2011 - Old Hong Kong Taste

This time, they visited Old Hong Kong Taste at myVillage, in Serangoon Gardens.

The restaurant was more spacious than the branch at Square 2. Although located at the heart of private housing estate, the queue was also missing in comparison. Reached there around 1.30pm, and ordering without waiting for the 2.30pm 20% discount. Note that this discount is only available for orders between 2.30pm and 5pm everyday, except for Sundays, public holidays and eves.

Photos today are courtesy of her.

Similar table setting with slightly different tableware.


Chrysanthemum Pu-er Tea - $3++ for 2pax
Maybe a little disappointed that this was not the pretty see-through tea set.


Although the ambience was good, healthy amount of space and soothing music, the senior waiter kept casting lingering glances which caused some discomfort. Luckily, the food came quickly to bring their attention elsewhere.

Pan-fried Carrot Cake - $3.30++
Soft and fragrant, with bits of shiitake mushroom and chinese sausage to provide some bite.


Deep-fried Spring Roll - $3.00++
This contained some Chinese BBQ meat (Char Siew) in addition to some other fillings that he didn't manage to identify. It had a crisp crackle when bitten into.


Steamed Flour Roll with BBQ Pork (Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun) - $4.20++
The waitress drizzled some sweet savoury sauce right after serving. The diced char siew was juicy and kept him wanting for more, which didn't occur. The chee cheong fun was thin and smooth, easier to down than the thicker plain variety he always had.


Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd Skin - $3.80++
Huge minced meat balls with herbs, laid upon bean curd skins. Tender and smooth, without any bit of chewy sinew.


Deep-fried Prawn Paste Chicken Wing - $6.80++
Crispy skin without being too oily. Not too bad but not something he would order again.


Beef Brisket Soup with Turnip - $8++
Clear soup has always been appealing to him, and thankfully this tasted more vegetable than game. Tendons and meat were soft and tender, though he would have preferred his beef brisket in thicker chunks. This was also the first time that he's had beef tendons that were not braised with soy, but the gelatinous goodness was not to be underestimated.


Steamed Egg Yolk Custard Bun - $3.30++
Had this previously at Crystal Jade but all he remembered was a sweet tasting bun.


This was a bit of a pleasant surprise, the custard filling had the powdery texture of salted egg yolk, and the contrast of the sweetness and saltiness blended in very well. At least, it was to his liking. Thumbs up for this.


Ordered a lava cake to top things off. Heart Too Soft - $5.50++
Not too sure if he was already dizzy from all the food, but this brought about a few familiar tastes. The powder stuff was like Ovaltine, and the rich chocolatey lava cake actually tasted like Milo.

12 Sep 2010 - homecooked and tampopo ramen

stir fried shanghai greens - he added just one table spoon of oyster sauce, so it tasted a little bland.. oops


braised chicken wing midjoints - she got the balance right, and these were well marinated, except for the fact that too much honey was added that a lot of it was leftover in the wok


later, they went for dinner at takashimaya's tampopo.

ordered sake sashimi for starter's while waiting for the kuro buta ramen. color looked a little more pinkish that orange, but it was smooth and succulent.


finally, the kuro buta ramen. see the orange lump near the top right? regretted mixing that roe into the soup, should have just nibbled at it. quite a fair bit was still stuck at the bottom of the bowl even after finishing the soup...


lava egg! seen this many times but first time eating it, probably why it got badly bitten. hahahha

05 June 2010 at ikea

people say they have large appetites. he begs to differ, she is the one with the large appetite.

1o pcs meatballs - love the sauce


6pcs chicken wings - seem to have become a must eat every visit


chicken rice - very value for money, 3 huge chunks of chicken

coke wings and egg soup

egg soup with potatoes and tomatoes - forgot to stir and ended up having some clumpy chunks of egg. soup was bland, so the only reprieve's probably that it seems healthy.


sin-loaded coke chicken wings - she used a huge scoop of sugar, 2 glasses of coke, salt, light and dark soy sauces, can you feel that he's feeling? marinated the chicken overnight with salt, pepper and some chinese rice wine. after which, the chicken parts were boiled for around 10 minutes before removing from heat. next was to cook the sauce and throw the chicken in to soak in the color and flavour. stirred on high heat until the gravy became thick. next step, dig in!

rainbow pork loin and honey charred wings 22 Jan 2010

rainbow pork loin - not sure how to translate this, it's chinese name is 渔香肉丝, but since it looked so colorful, he decided to name it this way. carrots had to be grated to get the fine strips you see, and they added color and sweetness to the dish. other ingredients were onions, green bell pepper, broad bean sauce


honey coated (or charred) chicken wings - this was supposed to be caramel coated, but she mistakened rock salt for rock sugar, and realised that sugar was actually non-existent. ended up using honey to coated the pre-fried chicken wings before throwing them into the wok again to seal the flavour (according to her). alas, honey appeared to have low tolerance of heat, and the surface got charred just a while into cooking. still edible though, most likely thanks to her 4-hr marinade of the chicken wings. also realised that frying chicken wings in a non-stick pan saves oil and doesn't stick the chicken wings to its surface, unlike using a wok, where you have to keep adding oil, and the stuck-on bits make it a hassle to wash.

friday dinner at ikea

she suggested having dinner at ikea, since they haven't been there in a long while.

she hadn't had much appetite in recent. after having taken a look at the menu, she decided to just have chicken wings.

well, in the end, he ordered 6-piece chicken wings, 15-piece meatballs, and 5 piece kids' nuggets meal. sounds overwhelming for 2 people?

"signature" chicken wings. always very yummy, so crispy yet juicy, they would go for the bones after the meat. $7.50 for 6.


meatballs - he loved this. however, the potatoes this time didn't seem fresh. the outer layer was a tad too tough. meatballs with the cream sauce and strawberry jam was heavenly though. $8 for this 15-piece plate.


close up of the meatballs, potatoes and strawberry jam.


finally, the chicken nuggets. he thought this would cheer her up as it was one of her favourite when they go to mcdonalds. however, he ended up having to eat the bulk of it. $2.90


had iced water, so it shaved some stress off the bill. total damage for the night, $18.40.