Hong Kong Sep 2014 Travel Diary Pt 1

Short trip to Hong Kong for a girlfriend's hens night. Stayed at the Hyatt Regency Shatin which was soo out of the way of everything but what a lovely view!

Ended up not really a hen's party kind of trip but more of an eating one lol (what's new)

No trip to Hong Kong complete without the best eggtart ever, at Tai Chung Bakery. Eat it on the street, when it is hot out of the oven, then double back and buy 12 more because you know you cant stop at one. Tai Chung used to be an old school 'hole in the wall' kind of place but now its pretty commercialized. Still good though

A short walk over to the best Wanton mee ever at Mak's noodle. Do do do order the dry noodle with roe, full of umami goodness and the noodle is so QQ! The beef brisket is pretty kick ass too.

 One meal is not enough! Headed opposite to Tsim Chai Kee for their rendition with huge wantons (like literally 6 prawns per wanton). The difference in both were quite stark if you eat them one after the other. Mak's beats Tsim hands down in my opinion.

Last but not least, some street food. curry fishball anyone?

 
oh yes, and the best dessert drink at Hui Lau Shan. A delicious mixture of mango, coconut, aloe vera etc. Soo good, we had one everyday 

Quayside Fish Bar & Bistro

Popped by for brunch after a night at the next door W Hotel (staycation!)

Not your typical brunch place , Quayside serves beautifully plated dishes highlighting fresh seafood.
Like this gorgeous softshell  chilli crab linguine  

Perfect for the Singaporean palate,  the sauce was sweet and surprisingly spicy. Good if you like a bit of kick to your dish

Squid ink pasta was equally luscious with the umami flavours of the squid ink standing out.

Cod fish burger with fries. Probably the most disappointing dish with too hard buns and slightly overcooked cod. Just an overall dry dish, texturally. 

Snapper Pie with fries, the pastry was nice and flaky. I thought the pie was a tad too watery but nonetheless tasty.


Overall, not a bad place for brunch although I would stick to the pasta dishes


31 Ocean Way, #01-11 Quayside Isle, 
Sentosa Cove, 
Singapore 098375
6268 8633

Papparich

Seriously good nasi lemak from Papparich, I can see why there are 50+ branches in Malaysia and nobody does nasi lemak quite like our neighbour. 

What I liked in particular was the sweet sambal and that crispy fried chicken. 

Seriously sinful too though

Suntec City Mall
#02-386, 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall, 

Singapore 038983 

65 6532 3323

Teppei Japanese Restaurant

I am too lazy a person to try to get a reservation with Teppei so when my friend offered me a seat when someone in her party couldn't make it, I immediately jumped on the chance.

Soo a 4 month in advance reservation is necessary to eat here. Big question here is - is it worth the wait?  So $80+++ for 20+ dishes sounds like a darn good deal, and at the end of the meal I thought it was but given the amount of effort needed to eat here, it was not worth the wait.

20+ dishes may sound like a lot but most of it was just bite sized items, like erm a grilled ginkgo nut and erm a smoked pickle

Here were some of my favourite items

Sashimi platter, fresh and quite a large amount for what we paid. Although the presentation was quite sloppy but I guess it added to that homey charm of teppei 

My favorite item - negitoro handroll with tempura bits. Each bite was a mix of crunch and soft delicious tuna.  This got me on a tuna handroll craze where I started ordering this at every Japanese restaurant lol

Uni and scallop over rice. Give me more of that! 

Not a favorite but one of the more interesting items. Fried grasshopper, looks scary but tasted just like deep fried nothing. 

mmmm beef! The chef made all of us take photo of the raw beef haha, looks so good, I wish I had the whole try to myself.  The grilled beef was tender and very tasty - can I have this over a bowl of rice pls?

Another unusual dish - fried rooster crown. Again, tasted like deep fried nothing lol, really a dish of entertainment value than anything else

Lastly, your choice of sashimi rice or soba noodle. I will choose sashimi rice anytime - uni, tuna, swordfish mmm  

The noodle dish was decent but why would you choose this over sashimi

Overall, it was a fun experience dining at Teppei and I got to try a few weird items which I guess its all part of the omakase experience. That say, except for a few nice items, the rest of the dishes were pretty boring/average. Verdict - try once enough already.



#01-18, Orchid Hotel
1 Tras Link
6222 7363

Akashi Japanese Restaurant

I used to visit Akashi almost every week as a kid when it was located in White Sands so this place brings back many wonderful childhood memories.

Of course, the food's pretty good too

Isn't the beef gorgeous -insert emoticon with heart eyes-

And one more shot from the top. I could do with less sauce but great sear and taste

And the rest of our dishes. 

The miso-baked brinjal was something I grew up eating (a must order everytime) and this might be my bias childhood memories working against me but I have yet to come across any restaurant serving this dish better than Akashi.
Creamy, umami and just so darn good.


1 Harbourfront Walk
#B2-07-09 VivoCity
 +65 6681 6719

Hakata Ikkousha

Wanted to eat ramen but not willing to brave the long queue at Orchid Hotel

And then we remembered the ramen joint just across the road at Tanjong  Pagar Plaza

So apparently this won Ramen Champion in 2011 and 2012 (why so empty!) and I must say the ramen was pretty good.

The original tonkotsu ramen had a rich creamy broth 

I am not a fan of Black Ramen because I usually find the garlic taste overwhelming but the hubby liked it.

So seriously, dont have to queue so long for tonkotsu ramen next time your at tanjong pager. 

Equally good one just 5 mins away :)

Block 7, #01-104

Tanjong Pagar Plaza

Singapore 081007

6538-1880

Coq n Balls

Date night at the very cheeky Coq n Balls @ tiong bahru
It was sports night so place was pretty packed and rowdy, probably not the ideal place for a date haha but we wanted to watch soccer lol.
Menu was typical sports bar fare.

 

 

Namesake burger with wagyu beef patty, bacon, guacamole, onions, tomatoes etc etc
The burger itself was rather ordinary but what stood out were the fries in that awesome cheese dip.
So good we got more fries just to eat the dip. 

 

  Crispy garlic chicken on mash. This was ok but a bit one note with the garlic overpowering the dish.

Come here for the atmosphere and that cheese dip.

6 kim tian road
Kai Fook Mansion
Singapore 169246