Joyden Canton Kitchen, Great World

The space vacated by Ho Fook Hei has become Joyden Canton Kitchen (#01-141/142 Great World, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, tel : +65 6219 2262). Since Joyden is the parent group that runs both restaurants, the tenantship hasn't really changed. We had food from their defunct branch at Orchard some years back and remember them being pretty good.

This was preserved mustard greens (梅菜) and kailan. Tender and intense flavours from the stewed mustard greens together with the clean crisp crunch of the kailan. I like this dish.

Claypot fish maw and tiger prawns with vermicelli (tang hoon/冬粉) - a signature dish from the restaurant apparently. It's big crunchy prawns and XO sauce flavours that permeated the glass noodles. Where they failed were the toasted fish maw which had the oil that was borderline stale. I thought such carelessness with an ingredient like this was unforgivable. 

Seafood beancurd was savoury and delicious. I think these had bits of prawn in them which made the texture a little firmer than regular tofu. They were simmered in a creamy pork broth with cabbages that were so tender they were borderline disintegrating. Nice.

We remembered liking the pork ribs, or what they described as chargrilled slow braised pork ribs with aged mandarin sauce, from the last time so we got them again. Likeable sauce which held a tang that cut through the sweet richness of those tender ribs. Those chilled julienned cucumbers on the side were refreshing with said mandarin peel sauce. 

Kaisen chahan and gyoza from Xing Hua (兴化)

I've noticed the 海鲜炒饭 on Xing Hua's menu for a while and finally decided to order it. It's not bad. A little low on the salt but there's enough of the eggy flavour that I'd eat this again without qualms. The fish was unfortunately the weakest link. Fresh water with a light muddiness and mushy texture. Using sliced mackerel would have seriously upgraded this plate.

Xing Hua has their take on the 红油抄手......a pork-less 红油鲜虾抄手 that had prawns instead of minced pork stuffings. The saucing was a little mild. Not so spicy and vinegar wasn't as punchy but wasn't bad tasting as a whole.

Meng Meng Roasted Duck (阿明帝皇鸭), Ang Mo Kio

Heard chatter about Meng Meng Roasted Duck (#01-2823, 721 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, tel : +65 8908 7000) which was mentioned to be a popular roast meat stall from Johor Bahru known for their dang gui/Chinese angelica root/Angelica Sinensis (当归) roasted duck.

We got them packed for take away and it wasn't the best way to enjoy them. Meat had gotten a little dry by then. Duck was not bad with the dang gui sauce but I personally felt that the best dip for them was the caramel-y sweet sauce for their char siew which tasted similar to the one from the defunct Foong Kee. Foong Kee by the way had nicer tasting and tenderer duck in my opinion. It was a fair comparison because both were takeaways.

Char siew was nice...fatty, sugary and properly caramelized to a smokey sweetness. Too bad we didn't eat this at the stall. Am sure it would have tasted better.

Sichuan Alley, Telok Ayer

Chuan Hung has been rebranded to Sichuan Alley (#01-01, 51 Telok Ayer Street). We liked the food from back then so we came back expecting similar standards since nothing much has actually changed. I was kinda looking forward to trying their red wine brisket and truffle foam noodle but it doesn't seem to be available anymore.

Funky Pork Liver is a curious name - I gotta admit that was part of the reasons why we ordered this. This was basically thinly sliced livers in mala sauce and garlic chives. I don't know if I was getting some sweetness amid the heat from the spicy/savoury mala sauce or did I imagine it.

Says Ramen Egg on the menu and it's 溏心蛋. Not bad, can't argue against the visual appeal of the crystalline orange yolk.

Pork dumplings were good. Skin wasn't overly thick and the minced pork stuffings were juicy. Delicious with or without the chilli oil/vinegar dip on the side. 

Pretty good braised pig intestine noodles. A few items stood out for me - the tender intestines, noodles with great texture and the spicy broth which tied the bowl together. 

Sichuan Alley's dan dan mian was also pretty memorable. These were less nutty/peanut-buttery than others I've tried in the past. There was a a toasty chilli flavour coupled with savoury spicy sweetness of the minced meat that formed a scattered layer of texture on top of the firm noodles. Nice.

Tajimaya Yakiniku, Great World

So, wagyu yakiniku buffet. Didn't think I'd step into one but it was a much cheaper alternative to the a la carte options at Tajimaya Yakiniku (#B1-115 Great World, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, tel : +65 6970 5976). Though the menu states that the duration is a hundred minutes, last orders is at the 60th and you'll get the last order reminder at the 55th. While they call this a "Premium Wagyu Buffet", it's "premium" because it features wagyu. Don't come expecting premium quality wagyu.

If anyone was wondering how an expensive meat like wagyu can be available at the price, the cuts that are better suited for volume eating are MS 4/5. Halfway or less along the ladder of the marbling scale so it's not top quality. There's stuff like short plate which isn't something you'll want to have plenty of because there's just so much fat. See two pictures below. Unless one's tolerance toward surfeit is high, you can't eat so much. 

In my view, the quality of the wagyu was so so. Some were pretty good eating and while others weren't enjoyable. There was a bit of sinewy meat about. Some of those sinewy bits were found in our servings of the short plate. Imagine sinewy wagyu. Treat this like a regular yakiniku buffet and you'll be less disappointed. 

Kimchi beef rib fingers was unexpectedly bad. While the kimchi flavour was in the meat, 90% of that meat was inedible because we couldn't even chew through the sinews. Don't waste time on the unagi, prawns or potato salad. A bunch of sodas were included in the buffet but green tea costed additional $1.50. We didn't pay for that. We thought the best drink for all these meat eating was actually Coke and that's already bottomless. That's not the sugar free one though. 

I want to document what works here in the event that we ever come back. Rice/garlic rice was worth getting for carbs. Scallops on shell were not bad. I didn't mind the lamb even though it was pretty lean and didn't taste as good as the one we had from Yakiniku-GO Plus. Short ribs were the best eating of the wagyu lot. The onsen tamago doubled up well as a dip for the beef/lamb and kimchi was worth getting for the acid to cut through the grease from the meats.

If there's still room for sweets at the end and ice cream sounded better than fruits or daifuku, stick to the double chocolate. It's nicer than the matcha and definitely a better eat than the artificial tasting durian one.

Poh Chan Kee Roasted (寶陳記燒臘), Alexandra Village Food Centre

I noticed this stall (#01-43, Alexandra Village Food Centre, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1) the previously and someone also recommended me to give them a try. This was fatty char siew and roasted pork belly. Not bad tasting. A bit more tender they would have been outstanding. I'd say they're an alternative to Lye Bo for char siew/siu yuk in this food centre. 

Love their garlicky/lime-y sweet chilli sauce which added plenty of zest and a light heat to the plate. This one was a nice counter and accompaniment to the sweet and fatty richness from the meats.