Boon Tong Kee, Ang Mo Kio

Dinner at Boon Tong Kee (#01-1194, 233 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, tel : +65 6457 2696). They're one of the more eminent if not the most recognized name for chicken rice. They're okay - lots of good ones around on this sunny island. The location of this restaurant in Ang Mo Kio looked familiar...did it used to be Uncle Leong in the past?

Anyways, what's not a secret is that they do cze char other than chicken rice.

What we didn't expect was the char siew they positioned together with the appetizers that some Chinese restaurants do and charge you for. We didn't refuse because it looked good. It actually tasted not bad. Gonna come try them again to be sure. Decent caramelization with a sweet glaze and it was a cut that had both meat and fat.

Obligatory vegetables of stir fried kailan. Not one of the better quality kailan around so they're obligatory on hindsight.

I had these crispy skin tofu previously at their restaurant at Boon Keng. Yes, that was quite a while back. While I thought they were nice then, today's impression seemed even better.

Prawn toasts were not bad. Prices have gone up a dollar a piece since they last time we've had them. Which was a long while back.

Chicken's okay. Nothing much to fault and like I've said, there's plenty of good ones to go around.

A side of creamy chicken livers.

Did not realize that their sliced fish and bitter gourd dish was done with black bean sauce when we ordered it. A garlicky black bean sauce at that. What a pleasant surprise.

The rice was pretty much how I remembered them. Decent quality chicken rice with a light flavour and not one of the better ones I've had. They've been consistent with that so I guess it's the way they roll with their rice.

I like the orh nee they serve here. Thick and creamy.

Revisiting Good Pig Trotters Fried Bee Hoon (好猪脚米粉)

Here's back at Good Pig Trotters Fried Bee Hoon. Topped my plate with fish cake and fish fillet (魚柳) today. The add ons aren't special but they're adequate. The point to the stall is the bee hoon after all.

Lay's Roasted Cumin Lamb Skewer Flavor from Scarlett Supermarket

I was apprehensive but curious at the same time when I saw these on the shelves. Turned out to be much better than I had imagined. Was surprised by how they managed to capture those 羊肉串 flavours in the chips.

More stuff from Happy Lamb Hotpot (快乐小羊)

Here's a few items from Happy Lamb Hotpot we haven't tried previously. Like the beef book tripe which was served cooked. The reason you'd swish them in the hotpot is to get them nice and warm. Nice beefy flavour with a tender but chewy texture. 

Beef short rib was not bad. Nice texture from the slightly thicker sliced meat but the flavour had less intensity than I was hoping for.

What I liked much better was their premium marble lamb which was tender and filled with all that wonderful lamb flavour. Note to self : get this again!

Re-revisiting Gaston

Our third time eating at Gaston.

Kronenbourg is a great easy drinking beer just like Hoegaarden with it's floral citrus-y flavour.

Looked like we ordered a lot but we didn't.

Confit trout with the smoked potato salad was delicious. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Meat was about medium doneness and nicely charred on the outside. Those trout skin crackers on the side needed a bit more salt.

Together with the trout was an creamy onion tart with blue cheese and figs that kept our mouths busy while waiting for the main courses. Also delicious.

We had braised lamb with roasted pumpkin which was... ordinary if not for the bursts of citrus from the pomegranate.

The pièce de résistance tonight was their Ris de Veau Sauce Forestière - fried veal sweetbread with forest mushroom sauce. This was so good. They mentioned 140 grams and that it was considered a sizeable piece. Pretty impressed by the sauce which had good salting and an intense flavour from the mushrooms. At this time, I would be hard pressed to recall another mushroom sauce which packed as much flavour as this did. Wished the portions of the sweetbread were bigger for what they charged though.

Tried their Les Crêpes Gaston which was done with banana rum compote, hazelnuts and some sour cream. Said banana rum compote had probably been prepared and refrigerated because unlike the warm crepe, it was chilled. Not bad. The dessert would be more awesome if it was done à la minute table side but I understand that they probably can't with the limited space. 

Lau Wang Claypot Delights, Bugis+

Came across Lau Wang Claypot Delights (#04-13 Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street, tel : +65 9135 3392) the last time we were here, made a mental note to check them out and now we're here.

Decent sambal kang kong with shrimpy heat from the sambal. It's a little more saucy than I was expecting.

Their herbal sliced fish soup came with six thick slices of snakehead. Pretty herbal and sweet - that's as much as I can describe it. I felt it was a little too sweet at the start but I kinda got used to the flavour as I drank it. Wouldn't say I'm a fan of the soup but I didn't dislike it and I loved the fish.

Ngoh hiong passed muster. What got my attention about these was the lack of excessive use of five spice powder. The skin was crispy and the stuffings were minced pork and water chestnut. Not bad tasting and pretty good eat with the chilli sauce they included on the side.

This was their spicy frog claypot - perhaps their rendition of 宫保田鸡 with heat that progressively caught on. Definitely not the standards of kung bao frog I had in mind. Again I didn't dislike them but I was bothered with how small the frogs were. We ordered the pot with three frogs and there was too little meat methinks. 

To catch all the sauces.